Friday 22 November 2013

Royals


“We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair

And we'll never be royals (royals)
It don't run in our blood
That kind of lux just ain't for us, we crave a different kind of buzz
Let me be your ruler (ruler)
You can call me queen bee
And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule
Let me live that fantasy”

Royals – Lorde 

I headed along to Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards last night, feeling very excited to see the best of our music industry’s talents. It was a great night and here’s my wrap on the highlights. 

The night was dominated was our current singing sensation Lorde. She won international artist, breakthrough artist of the year and the People’s Choice award, Royals won single of the year and video of the year. But it was obvious Lorde would win big on the night given her success over the past year, and it was her own performance over the course of the evening which stood out for me. Lorde is a very interesting character and the little of her which plays out in the media is fascinating. I commend Lorde firstly for her opening performance of Royals, which was easily the best performance of the night. And I highly commend her for her speeches, particularly when she recognised her fellow artists and when she invited Joel Little onto stage during her single of the year acceptance speech. And I especially commend her for her poise when nearly every host included her in one of their jokes. She is a bright young lady with incredible composure and talent. 

I must mention to Aaradhna who was stunning last night. She looked amazing, sung Wake Up beautifully and gracefully accepted her three awards. I thought she deserved all her awards, especially given the stiff competition for Album of the Year category. Treble & Reverb is a fantastic album and worthy of the award. Two other albums worth mentioning were the winners of Best Rock and Best Pop album. One of my favourite bands Villainy received the former for the excellent Mode. Set. Clear. album, and Jamie McDell won Best Pop for Six Strings and a Sail Boat. I think it is important to note these albums were the debut album from both acts and to come away with a Tui Award is a great achievement. 

Overall the night was a lot of fun. All the performance were good: Lorde, Iva Lamkum (who I had never heard of before but enjoyed a lot), Jamie McDell, Ruby Frost, Titanium, Aaradhna and Stan Walker. There were some good laughs throughout the night, namely when Guy Williams held up a sign saying “Bring Back Ben Lummis” and when the guys from Villainy photo bombed Stan Walker and Bret McKenzie. 

I have always been a fan of New Zealand music, since I was a pre-teen and 48May was, for a short while, my favourite band. Last night I was incredibly proud of our musical talent and the way they presented themselves and the support New Zealanders give our musicians. It was touching to see the standing ovation given to Lorde when she won the International Award, and to Shona Laing when she was awarded the Legacy Award. And I was most proud when the highest selling single of the year was Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That) given the song was put out to raise money for Cure Kids. We have a very talented, multi genre music industry in this country, from Lorde to Shapeshifter to Shona Laing, and we should be proud of the music made on our own soil. 


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