The 2017 New Zealand Music Awards was the 51st holding of the annual ceremony featuring awards for musical recording artists based in or originating from New Zealand. It took place on 16 November 2017 at Spark Arena in Auckland and it was hosted by Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce. The awards show was broadcast live nationally on Three.
Nominations for the 2017 New Zealand Music Awards opened on 21 June 2017, and covered artists that released commercial recordings between 1 August 2016 and 31 July 2017. Nominations closed on 2 August 2017, and the nominees were announced on 5 October. The artisan award winners were awarded on 25 October 2017.
Early awards While most of the awards were presented at the main November ceremony, five genre awards were presented earlier in the year at ceremonies of their field.
The first was awarded in January, with the Tui for Best Folk Album presented at the Auckland Folk Festival in Kumeu to Kumeu local Guy Wishart for his album West By North. In March, the Best Children's Music Album was presented to Anika Moa for her album Songs for Bubbas 2. For 2017, the presentation was moved to March, as part of Children's Day celebrations. The Best Country Music Album Tui was presented in June at the New Zealand Country Music Awards in Gore to Jody Direen for her album Shake Up. The Tui for Best Pacific Music Album was presented in June at the Vodafone Pacific Music Awards to Aaradhna for her album Brown Girl. Also in June, the Tui for Best Jazz Album was presented at the Wellington Jazz Festival to Jonathan Crayford for his recording East West Moon. The award is now part of the Wellington Jazz Festival.
Nominees and winners
A number of changes were made to the award categories for 2017:
The Best Male Solo Artist and Best Female Solo Artist were amalgamated into Best Solo Artist. Following the 2016 controversy, the Best Urban/Hip Hop Album was split into two awards: Best Hip Hop Artist and Best Soul/RnB Artist. The Critic's Choice Award was not be presented in 2017, with a plan to reevaluate the award. The genre awards are no longer tied to a specific album, in order to reflect the move away from albums in the current recorded music climate. The awards now focus on the artist, with the eligibility changed to "an album OR a minimum of five single tracks".
Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface. Key – Artisan award
Album of the Year Single of the Year Lorde – Melodrama Aldous Harding – Party David Dallas – Hood Country Club Fazerdaze – Morningside Leisure – LEISURE SWIDT – Stoneyhunga Lorde – "Green Light" David Dallas – "Fit In" Ladi6 – "Royal Blue" MAALA – "In My Head" SWIDT – "Player of the Day" Theia – "Roam" Best Group Breakthrough Artist of the YearSponsor SWIDT Devilskin Leisure Shapeshifter Sponsor Aldous Harding Fazerdaze Nadia Reid Teeks Best Solo Artist Best Hip Hop Artist Lorde Aldous Harding Kings Nadia Reid Sponsor SWIDT David Dallas KINGS Best Rock Artist Best Pop ArtistSponsor Devilskin Clap Clap Riot Graham Brazier Lorde Mitch James Theia Best Soul/RnB Artist Best Roots ArtistSponsor Ladi6 Teeks Tommy NeeSponsor Israel Starr Sons of Zion Tomorrow People Best Alternative Artist Best Māori ArtistSponsor Aldous Harding Fazerdaze Nadia Reid Teeks Alien Weaponry Maisey Rika Best Worship Artist Best Classical ArtistSponsor Curate Music Josh & Amberley Klinkenberg JuliagraceSponsor NZTrio Jenny McLeod Te Kōkī Trio Best Electronic Artist Legacy AwardSponsor Truth Chaos in the CBD K+Lab Sharon O'Neill People's Choice Award Lorde Kings Maala SWIDT Theia Sponsor Highest selling New Zealand Single Highest selling New Zealand Album
Kings - "Don't Worry 'Bout It"Sponsor
The Koi Boys - Meant To Be Radio Airplay Record of the Year International Achievement AwardNo finalists are announced in this category. Kings - "Don't Worry 'Bout It"Sponsor
Opetaia Foa'i Lorde Best Music Video‡ Best Album Cover‡Presented 25 October 2017 Dan Watkins (Reel Factory) – "Her" (Shapeshifter) Joel Kefali – "Got It Bad" (Leisure) Sam Kristofski – "Lucky Girl" (Fazerdaze) SponsorPresented 25 October 2017 Dean Poole & Tyrone Ohia (Alt Group) – Stars (Shapeshifter) Henrietta Harris – Otherness (Grayson Gilmour) Jamie Robertson – String Theory (Fly My Pretties) Best Engineer‡ Best Producer‡ SponsorPresented 25 October 2017 Ben Edwards – Preservation (Nadia Reid) Chris Chetland – A Place to Stand (REI) Clint Murphy – Be Like The River (Devilskin) Presented 25 October 2017 Ben Edwards – Preservation (Nadia Reid) Leisure – LEISURE (Leisure) SmokeyGotBeatz – Stoneyhunga (SWIDT) Best Folk Album Best Children's Music AlbumPresented 29 January 2017 Guy Wishart – West By North Graeme James – News From Nowhere Luke Thompson – HostsPresented 5 March 2017 Anika Moa – Songs for Bubbas 2 Claudia Gunn – Little Wild Lullabies Itty Bitty Beats – On the Move Best Country Music Album Best Pacific Music AlbumPresented 1 June 2017 Jody Direen – Shake Up Hamilton County Bluegrass Band – These Old Hands Phil Doublet – Endless HighwayPresented 1 June 2017 Aaradhna – Brown Girl Kings – Kings EP Unity Pacific – Blackbirder Dread Best Jazz Album Presented 11 June 2017 Jonathan Crayford – East West Moon Mike Nock Trio & NZ Trio – Vicissitudes Myele Manzanza – OnePointOne
References
External links Official New Zealand Music Awards website