SHARK GETS SECOND BITE AT TOP AWARD
AMY Shark has proved she’s no one-hit wonder as she prepares to play live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in the US this week.
The ARIA-winning Gold Coast singer and songwriter has made the finals of the hotly contested Song of the Year category at the 2018 APRA Music Awards for the second year in a row.
Shark, nominated for her song Weekends, is up against Paul Kelly and co-writer Billy Miller for Firewood and Candles, Gang of Youths frontman David Le’aupepe’s song What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out? and Ainslie Wills and Lawrence Folvig’s track Running Second.
“There’s two moments that you think ‘I could be a songwriter’,” Shark said.
“There’s the moment when you’re like, I enjoy songwriting and I’m gonna do it.
“But then the moment I thought I could be a songwriter wasn’t until I’d completely signed to a record label, management, everything else. I wasn’t sold until everything was sort of happening because you have your doubts.”
Shark isn’t the only local in the mix – her Gold Coast Grammy-award-winning songwriter and producer MPhazes, leads the field with four nominations for his songwriting collaborations with Shark and Illy.
He and Shark are up for the most played Australian work award for Shark’s ARIAwinning hit Adore, which they co-wrote. M-Phazes, who won a Grammy for his work with Eminem, is currently in Los Angeles working on his own material and with Ruel.
“Being nominated for an award at the APRA’s is always a huge deal,” M-Phazes said.
“A lot of the time the people behind the music don’t get the recognition they deserve. APRA have always strived to recognise, nurture and help songwriters and producers in Australia and it’s an honour to be nominated.”
The awards will be handed out in Sydney on April 10.