There are three awesome things about November in Australia.
Firstly, if you don’t like the heat, this is a good time to plan a holiday Down Under. It’s also the AusMusic month at the ABC radio platforms. And to top it all, various local music industry awards are happening then, too.
Amongst them are the J Awards. And here is why they’re as important as the ARIAs (Australian Grammys).
PART 168 OF “AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?” A RANDOM COLLECTION OF UNKNOWINGLY OBVIOUS FACTS ABOUT AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SCENE
The ARIAs (Australian Recording Industry Association’s Awards) are celebrated by the broader music industry in Australia. Meanwhile, the J Awards are the child of the J Family, composed of three radio platforms.
All of them are owned by ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), but cater to different target groups. triple j, the heavily youth-oriented broadcaster, is the cool kid here. The Double J station is its older, more mature sibling. And Triple J Unearthed is a discovery place for up-and-coming artists.
Every November, the teams from all three platforms get together to choose winners of the J Awards. But here’s a plot twist. Even though it’s a joint ABC effort, the five categories are “sponsored” by different stations within the J Family.
The original award is triple j Australian Album of the Year. Here, one record is picked from 10 nominees. The judging panel looks for creativity, musicianship, contribution to Australian music, and audience impact.
Wolfmother, with the self-titled album, took the first trophy in 2005. Some other winners include Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett, Reclaim Australia by A.B. Original, and 14 Steps to a Better You by Lime Cordiale.
[Update 13 November 2023 – the winner in the triple j Australian Album of the Year category is G Flip’s DRUMMER]
Unearthed Artist of the Year was added in 2007. Despite being a category for newbies in the music business, the criteria are pretty demanding. The candidates “must have grown their profile markedly, and had a noticeable presence on the music scene here and/or internationally. The act also exhibits the potential for future impact in music. ”
But some awarded artists have truly gone on to become household names with stellar careers. Do names like Boy & Bear, The Rubens, Meg Mac or Tash Sultana ring a bell?
[Update 13 November 2023 – the winner in the Unearthed Artist of the Year category is Miss Kaninna]
The third category joined a year later. Australian Music Video of the Year is now a collaboration between triple j and rage – an all-night Aussie music video program broadcast on ABC TV on Friday nights, Saturday mornings and Saturday nights. In this case, the award goes to the musician, the track and the clip’s director.
Here, I recommend checking out Sia and Daniel Askill’s video for “Chandelier”, Sanjay De Silva’s clip for “Final Form” by Sampa The Great, Joey Hunter’s short film for “Billy Bad Again” by Tasman Keith, and Raghav Rampal’s picture for “Oldboy” by 1300.
[Update 13 November 2023 – the winner in the Australian Music Video of the Year category is SHABA — ‘4K TO THE MIDDLE EAST [Ft. UZI]’ — directed by MOONBOY STUDIOS]
Double J finally got its own category in 2014 when Mia Dyson was awarded Australian Artist of the Year. Since then, Gurrumul, The Avalanches and Midnight Oil have joined the esteemed club.
Okay, it might sound like “a copy” of the triple j’s accolade that started it all. But this gong puts the spotlight on an act “who has had a stand-out year for the Double J audience through the release of new music, live performances, or by making a valued contribution to Australian arts and culture.”
[Update 13 November 2023 – the winner in the Double J Australian Artist of the Year category is Briggs]
triple j Live Act of the Year is a new category introduced this year. Here, the judges are focused on the strength of live performances, explained as “consistency, quality and creativity of the act’s live shows and impact with audiences.” And given the 2023 nominees: G Flip, Genesis Owusu, Julia Jacklin, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and King Stingray, it’ll be an interesting category to follow in the future.
[Update 13 November 2023 – the winner in the triple j Live Act of the Year category is Genesis Owusu]
Surprisingly, though, the You Done Good Award seems to have been dropped in 2023. Its dedicated page has been removed as well. Between 2019 and 2022, it was given to an Australian who made “an impact on the industry through outstanding achievement, social change or altruistic endeavours”.
Over its short existence, artists like Heidi Lenffer (for rallying the Aussie music biz to renewable energy), Jaguar Jonze (for advocacy & support of abuse survivors), and Kobe Dee (for enriching First Nations communities) received this noble accolade. Additionally, in 2020, the fully virtual IsolAid Festival was honoured.
Just in case you’re wondering – it’s possible to be nominated and win in more than one category in the same year. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard achieved that in 2016, taking the trophy for both Double J Australian Artist of the Year and Australian Music Video of the Year for “People-Vultures”, directed by Danny Cohen and Jason Galea.
Also, having been honoured in a given category doesn’t necessarily disqualify you from being entered in the same one the following years. For instance, Australian Album of the Year in 2010 and 2012 went to Tame Impala for Innerspeaker and Lonerism, respectively.
But why mention the J Awards at all?
I reckon they are an interesting alternative to other Australian music industry accolades. Sure, the composition of its judging panel (only ABC staff) is somehow limiting. But that panel has shed some light on acts, albums and videos snubbed by the ARIAs over the years.
Additionally, it’s an opportunity for artists who might not necessarily mainstream to be recognised and elevated. Let me give you a couple of examples.
In 2018, “Be Alright” by Dean Lewis won Best Video at the ARIAs. It was a banger that year, without a doubt. Meanwhile, J Awards recognised Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore for the video clip to MoJu‘s (fka Mojo Juju) groundbreaking release, “Native Tongue.”
And in 2019, Matt Corby‘s Rainbow Valley won Australian Album of The Year at the J Awards. Interestingly, at the ARIAs that year, only the album’s producer, Dann Hume, was awarded.
On the other hand, there have been times when it was impossible not to arrive at the same conclusion. Like in 2019, when Tones And I started taking Australia (and the world) by storm. So both the J Awards and the ARIAs named her Unearthed Artist of the Year (in the first case) and Breakthrough Artist (in the latter).
The best thing about the J Awards is that you can listen to them on air as they happen. In 2023, the big reveal takes place on Monday, 13 November.
And if I can add anything else, it’s this. There are way too many artists, videos and records from the period between 1 November 2022-31 October 2023 that I consider outstanding. So I’m not even jealous of the J Family judging panel. It must be really hard to select just one winner in each category.
But I’m keen to find out who and what they pick this time.
You can listen to the ceremony here. And the full list of nominations is here.
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