Aotearoa Music Award for Best Alternative Artist

Last updated

Te Manu Taki Whanokē o te Tau
Best Alternative Artist
Unknown Mortal Orchestra (2015).jpg
Unknown Mortal Orchestra have won the award three times.
Awarded forExcellence in New Zealand Music
Presented by Recorded Music NZ
First award2011
Currently held by Jim Nothing – Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn
Most wins Unknown Mortal Orchestra (3)
Most nominations Unknown Mortal Orchestra (4)
Aotearoa Music Awards

Best Alternative Artist (Māori : Te Manu Taki Whanokē o te Tau) is an Aotearoa Music Award that honours New Zealand artists for outstanding alternative recordings.

Contents

The inaugural award was presented as Best Alternative Album in 2011 to The Naked and Famous for their album Passive Me, Aggressive You . In 2017, the award was changed to Best Alternative Artist. The change was made to all the genre-specific awards, and was to reflect the changing release climate in which full albums had become less common. Under the new rules, an artist who has released "an album OR a minimum of five tracks" can be nominated. [1]

Unknown Mortal Orchestra have the most awards with three wins, followed by The Beths who have won it twice.

Recipients

Best Alternative Album (2010 - 2016)

YearWinnerAlbumOther finalistsRef.
2011 The Naked and Famous Passive Me, Aggressive You [2] [3]
2012 Opossom Electric Hawaii [4]
2013 Unknown Mortal Orchestra II [5]
2014 Tiny Ruins Brightly Painted Ones [6]
2015 Unknown Mortal Orchestra Multi-Love [7]
2016 Lawrence Arabia Absolute Truth [5]

Best Alternative Artist (2017 - present)

YearWinnerOther finalistsRef.
2017 Aldous Harding [8]
2018 Unknown Mortal Orchestra [9]
2019 The Beths – Future Me Hates Me [10]
2020 The Beths [11]
2021 Na Noise [12]
2022 Vera Ellen
  • Ben Woods
  • Te Kaahu
 [13]
2023No awards held
2024 Princess Chelsea [14]
2025 Jim Nothing – Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn
  • Louis Nicklin – The Big Sulk
 [15]

References

  1. ↑ "New Zealand Music Awards dump album categories for artist categories". Stuff . 21 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  2. ↑ "NZ Music Awards finalists line up". The New Zealand Herald . APN News & Media. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  3. ↑ "Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards 2011 Winners" (Press release). New Zealand Music Awards. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "VNZMA 2012: Full List of Winners". The Corner. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  5. 1 2 "AMA | Archive". Aotearoa Music Awards. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  6. ↑ "Lorde wins all the Tuis". NZ Herald . 20 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  7. ↑ Jenkin, Lydia (18 November 2015). "Broods clean up at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards". The New Zealand Herald . NZMA. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Oliver, Henry (17 November 2017). "New Zealand Music Awards hits and misses (+ The Spinoff vs Spotify result!)". The Spinoff . Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  9. ↑ "Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards 2018 Winners Announced". UnderTheRadar.co.nz. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards 2019 Winners Announced". UnderTheRadarNZ. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "AOTEAROA MUSIC AWARDS | NGA TOHU PUORO O AOTEAROA WINNERS 2020 | Recorded Music NZ ® - We Love Music" . Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  12. ↑ Skipwith, David (17 December 2021). "L.A.B. and Teeks reign supreme at 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards". Stuff . Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "L.A.B secures spot in history at 2022 Aotearoa Music Awards". RNZ . 10 November 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "2024 Aotearoa Music Awards recap: The Beths win Best Group, Best Album". RNZ . 30 May 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Aotearoa Music Awards 2025: Fazerdaze re-emerges on top". RNZ . Retrieved 15 June 2025.
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