Thursday April 30, 2025 : 1am
- Amyl and the Sniffers, Kevin Parker, King Stingray, Sia and Troye Sivan among the winners on the night
- First time winners include Coterie, Kaiit, Lithe, Make Them Suffer and Royel Otis
- lncredible performances from Gut Health, Jude York, Lior, Ripple Effect Band, Sarah Blasko and more
The winners of the 2025 APRA Music Awards have been announced at a star-studded evening at Melbourne Town Hall celebrating the talented songwriters and music publishers that have achieved outstanding success in the past year.
Melbourne powerhouse four-piece, Amyl and the Sniffers, clinched the coveted Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year for their electrifying track “U Should Not Be Doing That”. This accolade, determined by thousands of fellow songwriter members, tops off an exceptional few months for the band, who recently graced the stage at Coachella during their extensive world tour.
Also following up a remarkable year on the circuit is Kevin Parker, who took home two awards for Dua Lipa’s pop anthem “Houdini”, snapping up Most Performed Australian Work and Most Performed Pop Work. Parker collaborated with international co-writers Caroline Ailin, Danny Harle, Dua Lipa and Tobias Jesso Jr. on the hit song.
Three-time nominee, Troye Sivan, who took home last year’s Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year with “Rush”, has been honoured with the prestigious Songwriter of the Year award, as chosen by the APRA Board. The international super star first received an APRA Music Award in 2017 for Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year.
One of Australia’s most successful musical exports, Sia, took out Most Performed Australian Work Overseas for the second consecutive year with her aptly titled hit “Unstoppable”. This marks her sixth win in this category.
Making its grand return to the line-up this year, the International Recognition Award was presented to Grammy-Award-winning producer, Keanu Torres, for his incredible international success writing for superstars including Doechii, Taylor Swift and The Kid LAROI.
The final board-appointed award of the night was the Emerging Songwriter of the Year, presented to first-time winners Otis Pavlovic and Royel Maddell aka Royel Otis.
In the Most Performed categories, first-time winners Coterie, comprised of brothers Brandford, Conrad, Joshua and Tyler Fisher, along with co-writer Robby De Sa, claimed the Most Performed Alternative Work award for "Paradise". Ziggy Alberts, a familiar face at the APRA Music Awards, secured his third time win for Most Performed Blues & Roots Work with his latest hit "New Love."
Nashville-based hit-maker, Kylie Sackley, alongside co-writers Timothy Cooper and Justin Morgan, won the Most Performed Country Work for Cooper Alan’s “Take Forever (Hally’s Song)”. The unstoppable Dom Dolla, with co-writers Clementine Douglas, Toby Scott and Caitlin Stubbs, took out Most Performed Dance/Electronic Work for the smash hit “Saving Up”.
The Most Performed Hard Rock/Heavy Metal category was awarded to APRA Music Award debutants, Make Them Suffer, for “Epitaph”, while fellow first-timers Lithe and co-writer Omid Khasrawy took out Most Performed Hip Hop/Rap Work for the viral hit “Fall Back”.
Neo soul singer-songwriter Kaiit with co-writers Jake Amy, Anthony Liddell, Jaydean Miranda and Justin Smith also won her first award for “Space” in the Most Performed R&B/Soul Work. Yolŋu surf rock favourites, King Stingray, took out the Most Performed Rock Work for their soaring hit “Through The Trees”.
Richard Wilkins was on hand to present Australia’s undisputed queen of pop, Kylie Minogue, with the prestigious Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music. In her acceptance speech, Minogue said: “Thank you so much, APRA. This is such an honour, I am completely over the moon. I'm only sad that I'm not with you in person.
“17-year-old me would not be able to compute the life that music has given me. I mean, we all know it's work. You work for it, but I feel like whatever we give and whatever it might take from us, we receive more.
“As I'm on tour at the moment, I'm singing songs from throughout my entire catalogue. From the first one, “The Locomotion”, right up to songs from Tension, so I'm really aware of the passage of time and just how much more music means to me.”
Photo: Brendan Minogue, Rebecca Shand, Charlie Minogue, James Minogue. Credit: Lucinda Goodwin.
The awards were hosted by Zan Rowe with guest presenters Hau Lātūkefu and Ngaiire. Returning Music Director, Julian Hamilton, curated an electrifying mix of performances including Lior’s cover of the Powderfinger classic “These Days” to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Odyssey Number Five and Sarah Blasko’s moving homage to the late singer-songwriter Jack Colwell for the In Memoriam segment.
The five Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year finalists were reimagined with incredible performances. Dylan Atlantis and FRIDAY* delivered a stunning rendition of Troye Sivan’s “One of Your Girls”, tiffi gave Missy Higgins’ “The Second Act” an indie-pop twist, and Ripple Effect Band’s rendition of King Stingray’s “Through The Trees” was a triumph for the all-female band.
Post-punk six-piece, Gut Health, packed a punch with their cover of Song of the Year winner, Amyl and the Sniffers’ “U Should Not Be Doing That”. DENNI, TAIJA and Zaya wrapped up the final five with their take on 3% and Jessica Mauboy’s powerful “Won’t Stop”. Jude York closed the evening with his crowd-pleasing ode to Queen Kylie’s global hit “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.”
Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS, concluded: “Congratulations to all this year’s nominees and winners on their incredible success. It’s been another huge year for Australian music, both at home and overseas, and it’s fantastic to see our songwriters’ music being played and celebrated on stages big and small, and on platforms globally.
“It’s heartwarming to see so many first-time winners this year, showcasing the incredible breadth of talent Australia produces, and it’s a testament to the opportunity of Australia becoming a global songwriting powerhouse.
“With an election just days away, we hope that both sides of government can see the immense talent we have here, and the opportunities to build a stronger, fairer, more vibrant future for Australian music, recognising our music as the global cultural powerhouse and valuable export that it so clearly is.”
