ARIA Awards 2006

Let’s check the nominations for this year’s ARIA Awards. Personally I never watch but the selection for Best Urban Release looks interesting this year.

Let’s check the nominations for this year’s ARIA Awards. Personally I never watch but the selection for Best Urban Release looks interesting this year.

It’s interesting that this category has only existed for the last few years, being that ARIA defines the genre as r’n’b, hip-hop, soul, funk, reggae and dancehall.

As a result, ‘Soul singer’ Jade MacRae is nominated for Best Urban Release again with Hilltop Hoods, Phrase, Bliss n Eso and WeaponX & Ken Hell. Is she the only RnB/urban/soul singer in Australia? Her records don’t sell like she is.

There is a good chance, however, she takes out the hiphop-heavy category, being the only singer amongst the nominees. Last year Merriweather beat both Jade and X & Hell for Best Urban Release.

Hilltop is also nominated for Best Independent Release and Breakthrough Artist [Album and Single] categories, so they should come up with something.

Good luck to X and Hell [who are nominated for Sneakerpimpin Ain't Easy], repeat supporters of GroundUp Mixtapes.
And what’s with The Cat Empire starting out in the Urban section, then moving to Best Rock last year and now lumped into the Best World Music Album category? Is urban music that confusing?

Watch the show at 7:30pm, October 29th on Channel Ten. ARIA website.