The Top 20 are:
- Best Thing In The Room, written by Lisa Crawley and Robert Kleiner, performed by Lisa Crawley (Published by St Music ANZ Pty / Songtrust Blvd)
- Bone Dat Needs Pickin’, written and performed by Steve Tofa (Published by Songbroker)
- Don’t You Know Who I Am, written and performed by Reb Fountain (Published by Mushroom Music)
- Get The Devil Out, written and performed by Nadia Reid (Published by Blue Raincoat Songs / Kobalt Music Publishing)
- Glitter written by Stella Bennett, Joshua Fountain and Djesian Suskov, performed by Benee (Published by Universal Music Publishing / Sony/ATV Publishing)
- Guilty Talk, written by Stephanie Brown and Fen Ikner performed by Lips
- Hands, written by Bella Cook and Shannon Fowler, performed by Belladonna (Published by Native Tongue Music Publishing)
- I Might Disappear, written by Gussie Larkin, Lily West and Abraham Hollingsworth, performed by Mermaidens
- 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 (Published by Loop Publishing / Kobalt Music Publishing)
- Let’s Just Stay In Bed, written by Cass Mitchell and Bic Runga, performed by King Sweeties (Published by Mushroom Music)
- Mighty Invader, written and performed by Troy Kingi (Published by Loop Publishing / Kobalt Music Publishing)
- Remote, written by Annabel Alpers and performed by Hamerkop (Published by Native Tongue Music Publishing)
- Ruffle, written by Matthew Barus and Lauren Barus, performed by Terrible Sons (Published by Native Tongue Music Publishing)
- Superfan, written by Chelsea Jade Metcalf and Leroy Clampitt, performed by Chelsea Jade (Published by EMI Music Publishing Australia / Stellar Songs /
- Avant-Garde LOL / These Are Songs of Pulse / Native Tongue Music Publishing)
- Take, written by Finn Scholes, Tam Scholes, Siobhanne Thompson, Cass Mitchell and Alistair Deverick, performed by Carnivorous Plant Society
- Trouble, written by Mona Sanei and Frank Eliesa, performed by CHAII (Published by Big Pop Music Publishing / BMG Rights Management)
- Walk, written by Ria Hall and Laughton Kora, performed by Ria Hall (Published by Loop Publishing / Kobalt Music Publishing)
- War Outside, written by Elijah Manu, Albert Purcell and Rory Noble, performed by Church & AP
- Who?, written by Lance Fepuleai, Tony Tz, Harry Huavi and Stephen Atutolu, performed by Team Dynamite feat. Diggy Dupe
- You Were Mine, written by Tamara Neilson and Joshua Neilson, performed by Tami Neilson (Published by Native Tongue Music Publishing)
This Top 20 list was chosen from over 200 entries by a judging panel of 10 fellow songwriters, who have each made wonderful contributions to the NZ music community.
The judging panel were (in alphabetical order):
Amanda Cheng (Wax Chattels), Abigail Knudson (Missy), Cherie Mathieson, Delaney Davidson, Estere Dalton, Mark Williams (Slave, Fat Freddy’s Drop), Marlon Williams, Mel Parsons, Ned Ngatae (The Black Seeds, Fat Freddy’s Drop), and Shayne Carter.
All APRA members are now invited to vote for their top five songs from this list of 20.
These votes from the APRA membership will determine the five finalists and winner of the 2020 APRA Silver Scroll Award.
You can listen to a Spotify playlist of all 20 songs HERE.
“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. We’re also very excited to see so many new songwriters bringing fresh ideas and sounds to the landscape of music in Aotearoa” says APRA Head of NZ Operations Anthony Healey.
“Of course it was a tough job for our judging panel to select these 20 songs from all the entries, and there are plenty of songwriters who missed out, who continue to create great and valuable work. The standard of songwriting we’re seeing in New Zealand in 2020 is incredibly high, and we applaud everyone for their craft.”
Past recipients of the esteemed award include a long list of iconic Kiwi music stalwarts - from Dave Dobbyn, Don McGlashan and Shona Laing to Neil Finn, Bic Runga, and Ray Columbus. They’re joined by a younger generation of music makers that include James Milne & Luke Buda, Ella Yelich-O’Connor (Lorde) & Joel Little, Tami Neilson, Ruban & Kody Nielson, Marlon Williams, and Aldous Harding.
The APRA Silver Scroll Award will be presented at the Auckland Town Hall on Wednesday October 14. The other awards presented on the night are:
- APRA Maioha Award, celebrating exceptional waiata featuring te reo
- SOUNZ Contemporary Award - Te Tohu Auaha, celebrating excellence in contemporary composition
- APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award
- APRA Best Original Music in a Series Award