Six60 wins big as Marlon Williams takes top gong at NZ Music Awards

Dunedin five-piece Six60 took home a total of five Tuis at the 2018 Vodafone NZ Music Awards, which took place at Auckland’s Spark Arena tonight.

Marlon Williams has won Best Solo Artist and Album of the Year for his 2018 album Make Way For Love at tonight's NZ Music Awards.

Check out RNZ's live coverage of the ceremony here.

After winning Best Music Video for ‘Vampire Again’ at the Artisan Awards in Wellington last week, as well as his 2015 awards for Best Male Solo Artist and Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Williams now has five Tuis to his name.

Earlier in the year he won the country’s top songwriting award the Silver Scroll.

Dunedin five-piece Six60 took home the most awards, winning a total of five Tuis:  Best Group, Highest Selling Album, Highest Selling Single, Radio Airplay Record of the Year and the People’s Choice Award.

The Mixtape: Six60

After kicking the ceremony off with a performance of their song ‘Kai Tangata’, Alien Weaponry won Best Rock Artist. Their debut album Tū in June reached #5 on the New Zealand album charts, and since releasing it the band have had a whirlwind year of international tour and success.

Best Alternative Artist went to Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Best Pop Artist went to Kimbra.

Northland psych soul musician Troy Kingi took home Best Māori Artist and Best Soul/R&B Artist for his genre-bending album Shake That Skinny Ass All the Way to Zygertron

Onehunga crew SWIDT won Best Hip Hop Artist, their second NZ Music Awards after winning Best Group in 2017. The group were famously offered the Trophy for Best Urban/Hip-Hop artist in 2016 by Aaradhna after she refused to accept it.

Aotearoa hip-hop pioneers Upper Hutt Posse were inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame with Che Fu and The Kratez performing a version their hit ‘E Tū’ featuring 14-year-old DMC DJ World Champ K-Swizz.

E Tū: Thirty years on

Wellington's Drax Project took home Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Single of the Year for ‘Woke Up Late’.

The 2018 International Achievement recipient was Brooke Ligertwood aka Brooke Fraser.

Ligertwood’s albums have been certified 15x Platinum in NZ, and her recent work with worship group Hillsong earned her a Grammy earlier this year.

'Being a big fish in a little pond doesn’t really appeal to me'

Sons of Zion were awarded Best Roots Artist, Equippers Revolution received Best Worship Artist, and Eve de Castro Robinson won Best Classical Artist for 2018.

The ceremony, held at Auckland’s Spark Arena, included performances from Six60, Alien Weaponry, Robinson, Drax Project, JessB, Sons of Zion, a special In Memoriam performance by Stan Walker and a tribute performance by Che Fu and The Kratez for the 2018 Legacy Award recipient Upper Hutt Posse.

Full list of winners: 

Te Pukaemi o te Tau/Hallensteins Album of the Year

• Winner: Marlon Williams – Make Way For Love
• Alien Weaponry – Tū
• Julia Deans – We Light Fire
• Six60 – Six60
• Tami Neilson – Sassafrass!
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Sex & Food

Te Waiata Tōtahi o te Tau/Vodafone Single of the Year

• Winner: Drax Project – ‘Woke Up Late’
• Mitch James – ‘21’
• Robinson – ‘Nothing To Regret’
• Six60 – ‘Don't Give It Up’
• Sons Of Zion – ‘Drift Away’
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra – ‘Hunnybee’

Te Roopu Toa/THREE Best Group

• Winner: Six60 – Six60
• Alien Weaponry – Tū
• Drax Project – Noon
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Sex & Food

Te Kaipuoro Takitahi Toa/Best Solo Artist

• Winner: Marlon Williams – Make Way For Love
• Julia Deans – We Light Fire
• Kimbra – Primal Heart
• Tami Neilson – Sassafrass!

Te Kaituhura Puoro Toa o te Tau/Jaguar Breakthrough Artist of the Year

• Winner: Drax Project
• JessB
• L.A.B
• Robinson

Te Kaipuoro Māori Toa/Te Māngai Pāho Best Māori Artist

• Winner: Troy Kingi
• Alien Weaponry
• Katchafire

Te Kaipuoro Arotini Toa/The Edge Best Pop Artist

• Winner: Kimbra
• Drax Project
• Six60

Te Kaipuoro Manohi Toa/Best Alternative Artist

• Winner: Unknown Mortal Orchestra
• Marlon Williams
• Wax Chattels

Te Kaipuoro Awe Toa/Best Soul/RnB Artist

• Winner: Troy Kingi
• Israel Starr
• Vince Harder

Te Kaipuoro Hipihope Toa/Best Hip Hop Artist

• Winner: SWIDT
• JessB
• Kings

Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa/Best Roots Artist

• Winner: Sons of Zion
• Katchafire
• Tomorrow People

Te Kaipuoro Tāhiko Toa/Best Electronic Artist

• Winner: Chores
• Arma Del Amor
• Boycrush

Te Kaipuoro Rakapioi Toa/Best Rock Artist

• Winner: Alien Weaponry
• Cairo Knife Fight
• Skinny Hobos

Te Kaipuoro Kairangi Toa/Best Worship Artist

• Winner: Equippers Revolution
• EFKS Te Atatu Junior Youth
• Kane Adams

Te Kaipuoro Inamata Toa/Best Classical Artist

• Winner: Eve de Castro Robinson
• Henry Wong Doe
• Michael Houstoun

Te Kōwhiri o te Nuinga/Vodafone People’s Choice Award

Six60

Tohu Whakareretanga/Legacy Award

Upper Hutt Posse

Te Tōtahi Hoko Teitei/Vodafone Highest Selling Single

Six60 – ‘Don't Give It Up’

Te Pukaemi Hoko Teitei/Highest Selling Album

Six60 – Six60

Te Rikoata Marakerake o te Tau/NZ On Air Radio Airplay Record of the Year

Six60 – ‘Don't Give It Up’

Tohu Tutuki o te Ao/International Achievement

Brooke Fraser

Artisan Awards

Te Puoro Ataata Toa/NZ On Air Best Music Video

• Winner: Marlon Williams – ‘Vampire Again’ (Marlon Williams)
• Chris Graham – ‘Black Crow’ (Louis Baker)
• Shae Sterling – ‘Bloodlines’ (The Adults ft. JessB & Estère)

Te Kōpaki Pukaemi Toa/Best Album Cover

• Winner: Jaime Robertson & Matthias Heiderich – In Spaces EP (Sola Rosa)
• Barny Bewick – Seven (Cairo Knife Fight)
• Tami Neilson, Ashley Church, Xoe Hall & Jules Koblun – Sassafrass! (Tami Neilson)

Te Kaiwhakaputa Toa/Massey University Best Producer

• Winner: Simon Gooding, Tom Larkin & Hammerhead – Tū (Alien Weaponry)
• Estère – My Design, On Others’ Lives (Estère)
• Neil & Liam Finn – Out Of Silence (Neil Finn)

Te Kaipukaha Toa/Best Engineer

• Winner: Jordan Stone & Simon Gooding – Out Of Silence (Neil Finn)
• Chris Chetland – Rangatira (REI)
• Simon Gooding – Tū (Alien Weaponry)

Kaiārahi Puoro o te Tau/Music Teacher of the Year

• Winner: Elizabeth Sneyd – Virtuoso Strings Charitable Trust, Porirua
• Jane Egan – Gisborne Girls High School, Gisborne
• Judith Bell – Chisnallwood Intermediate, Christchurch

Additional Tuis presented in 2018

Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa/Best Folk Artist

• Winner: Albi & The Wolves – One Eye Open
• Reb Fountain – Little Arrows
• Candice Milner – Evergreen

Te Pukaemi Toa o Te Moana Nui a Kiwa/Best Pacific Music Album

• Winner: Ladi 6 – Royal Blue 3000 EP EFKS Te Atatu Junior Youth – Fa'afetai Le Atua
• Noah Slee – Otherland
• Sol3 Mio – A Very Merry Christmas
• SWIDT – Stoneyhunga

Te Kaipuoro Tuawhenua Toa/Best Country Artist

• Winner: Reb Fountain – Hopeful and Hopeless
• Lana Doublet – Beautiful Human
• Phil Doublet – Strength, Love, Music & Light

Te Kaipuoro Tautito Toa/Best Jazz Artist

• Winner: Umar Zakaria – Fearless Music
• Hayden Chisholm, Norman Meehan and Paul Dyne – Unwind
• Lucien Johnson – West of the Sun

Te Kaipuoro Waiata Tamariki Toa/Best Children’s Artist

• Winner: Levity Beet – My Best Friend Jake Is A Cyborg
• Chanelle & Friends – The Little Green Turtle And Other Songs For Kids
• Moe & Friends – The Moe Album

Related:

NZ Music Awards 2018 Artisan Award winners announced

NZ Music Awards 2018: finalists announced