Country star Tami Neilson is among those in the running for this year's Silver Scroll Award. Photo / Supplied
Country star Tami Neilson is among those in the running for this year's Silver Scroll Award. Photo / Supplied
The final five Kiwi artists vying for the prestigious Silver Scroll Award have been revealed.
For over 55 years, the Apra Silver Scroll Award/Kaitito Kaiaka, which recognises achievements in songwriting, has been one of the most coveted awards in Aotearoa's music industry.
And this year's finalists are among some of the most iconic musicians in New Zealand.
Country star Tami Neilson is in the final five for her song Beyond the Stars, co-written by herself and Delaney Davidson and performed alongside Willie Nelson.
Earlier this year, Neilson described the moment she was joined by country legend Nelson for a duet on stage at his Texas ranch as "beyond her wildest dreams".
Ōtautahi/Christchurch indie-pop band There's a Tuesday's song Girl At Night also features in the top five.
Natalie Hutton, Minnie Robberds, Angus Murray and Joel Becker made a name for themselves after winning Smokefree Rockquest in 2019 before releasing their debut EP Dance With Me Before We Cry. Girl At Night comes from their most recent EP Boy Scout, which comes after Benee signed the group with Olive Records.
Last year's Silver Scroll winner Troy Kingi is among the finalists once again. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Te Tairāwhiti choir Ka Hao and Rob Ruha's waiata 35, an anthem for the highway running along the East Coast, has also landed them in the final. With over eight million streams on Spotify after it went viral in late 2021, it's Ka Hao's first single ahead of the release of their debut album Ka Hao: One Tira, One Voice.
Last year's Silver Scroll winner Troy Kingi is among the finalists for the second year in a row, accompanied this time by Iraia Whakamoe, Ryan Prebble and James Coyle - also known as The Nudge - for their waiata reo Māori, He Ōrite/The Same. The collaboration comes after years of sharing stages and shows together.
Marlon Williams is the fifth finalist for the award with his latest hit My Boy, which comes ahead of the release of his album by the same name on September 9. Williams describes My Boy as a "pop song with a Māori folk strum", a genre he says "descended on me like a fever" during his last tour.
Other awards to be presented on the night include the Apra Maioha Award, celebrating waiata featuring te reo Maori, the Sounz Contemporary Award, the Apra Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award, the Apra Best Original Music in a Series Award, and the NZ Music Hall of Fame inductees.
The awards will be presented on Tuesday October 18 at Auckland's Spark Arena.
