Five Kiwi songwriters have been named as finalists for the esteemed 2020 APRA Silver Scroll Award.
Tracks performed by Reb Fountain, Nadia Reid, Benee, L.A.B and Troy Kingi have been selected out of the top 20 nominees from hundreds of entries to move forward with a shot at taking out the renowned prize.
Previous winners include Dave Dobbyn, Don McGlashan and Shona Laing as well as Neil Finn, Bic Runga, and Ray Columbus.
Lorde & Joel Little, Marlon Williams, Tami Neilson and Aldodus Harding have also won, representing a younger generation of music makers across the accolade's 55-year history.
APRA head of NZ operations Anthony Healey said it has been exciting to see so many songwriters bringing fresh ideas and sounds to the landscape of music in Aotearoa.
"We’re thrilled to find that there are plenty of established songwriters who are still surprising and delighting with their work, finding new stories to tell, and new ways to tell them."
He said dwindling the group down proved a tough job for the judging panel of APRA members who rank their favourites.
"The standard of songwriting we’re seeing in New Zealand is incredibly high, and we applaud everyone for their craft.”
The coveted accomplishment will eventually narrow down just one winner to recognise excellence in songwriting.
The Silver Scroll will be presented on Wednesday, October 14, along with the APRA Maioha Award, celebrating exceptional waiata featuring te reo Māori, SOUNZ Contemporary Award, celebrating excellence in contemporary composition, APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award and the APRA Best Original Music in a Series Award.
APRA Silver Scroll Top 5:
'Don’t You Know Who I Am', written and performed by Reb Fountain
'Get The Devil Out', written and performed by Nadia Reid
'Glitter' written by Stella Bennett, Joshua Fountain and Djesian Suskov, performed by Benee
'In The Air', written by Arapekanga Hayden Adams-Tamatea, Brad Donald Kora, Hiriini Stuart Kora, Joel Charles Shadbolt, and Miharo Boaz Gregory, performed by L.A.B
'Mighty Invader', written and performed by Troy Kingi
