60 years of Tūī: Presenting the finalists for the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards

Recorded Music NZ, producer of the Aotearoa Music Awards, is today announcing an exceptional group of 2025 Tūī finalists, who will be celebrated on Thursday 29 May at the Viaduct Events Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau – closing out Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa | New Zealand Music Month in style. The event will also mark 60 years of the Music Awards in Aotearoa.

Two artists lead the way this year with five nominations each, Persian-New Zealand talent CHAII and inaugural (2024) Te Manu Mātārae recipient, Stan Walker.

Following the release of her first full-length album Safar, CHAII is up for NZ On Air Te Tino Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of The Year, Spotify Te Tino Waiata o te Tau | Single of the Year for We Be Killing It, and Te Manu Taki Tāhiko o te Tau | Best Electronic Artist. The multi-hyphenate powerhouse is also a finalist for NZ On Air Te Taumata o te Ataata | Best Video Content for the self-directed Night Like This, and Te Taumata o te Kaiwhakaputa | Best Producer alongside Frank Keys for the pair’s work on Safar. Three-time Tūī winner Simon Gooding also receives a nomination for his contribution to the record, in the Te Taumata o te Pūkenga Oro | Best Engineer category.

Stan Walker’s nominations include Single of the Year, for Māori Ki Te Ao, which held the #1 spot on the Te Reo Chart for 55+ weeks. Walker is also up for Spotify Te Tino Reo o te Tau | Best Solo Artist, Te Manu Taki Manako o te Tau | Best Soul/RnB Artist, Te Māngai Pāho Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori Artist, and Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo, which recognises albums or singles with at least 50% te reo Māori content. Anna Coddington, Corrella, Jordyn with a Why, MOHI, and the award’s 2024 winner TAWAZ are all also up for Best Māori Artist.

2024 Te Manu Taki Tuawhenua o te Tau | Best Country Music Artist winner and inaugural Te Manu Mātārae recipient alongside Walker, Kaylee Bell this year secures four finalist nods – for Album of the Year, Best Solo Artist and Best Country Music Artist for Nights Like This, and Single of the Year for Cowboy Up. Bell is joined in the category by Barry Saunders and Delaney Davidson for their collaborative album Happiness is Near, as well as genre icon Tami Neilson for Neilson Sings Nelson, who is also up for Album of the Year and Te Taumata o te Toi | Best Album Artwork (Matt Sinclair).

2024 Te Manu Taki Arotini o te Tau | Best Pop Artist and 2022 AMA Breakthrough Artist of the Year Georgia Lines also returns; in 2025 the performer is up for Album of the Year, Best Solo Artist and Best Pop Artist – alongside Cassie Henderson and Frankie Venter – for her debut album The Rose of Jericho, as well as Single of the Year for The Letter from that same LP. The Rose of Jericho is also up for Best Engineer (Nic Manders), and Best Producer (Nic Manders). Five AM founder and Grammy nominee Rory Noble is the remaining contender for Best Producer.

Mokotron, the artist persona of Tiopira McDowell, Head of School of Māori and Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland, is up for Best Electronic Artist with his breakout album Waerea. The Sun Return release also sees the artist nominated for Album of the Year and Best Solo Artist. Lee Mvtthews closes out Best Electronic, receiving a nomination for their record Exit.

Lorde joins CHAII, Georgia Lines, Kaylee Bell and Stan Walker in the running for Single of the Year, for her Charli XCX collab Girl, So Confusing Featuring Lorde. Best Pop finalist Cassie Henderson is also up for the Tūī for Seconds To Midnight (11.59); Fazerdaze for Cherry Pie; JessB for Power Feat. Sister Nancy & Sampa the Great; Mokomokai for Kupe feat. Melodownz; Reb Fountain for Come Down; Theia for BaldH3ad!; and Troy Kingi for Silicone Booby Trap.

2024 Te Manu Taki Manako o te Tau | Best Soul/RnB winner Aaradhna is back in full force; her first album in eight years, Sweet Surrender sees the artist up for Album of the Year and Best Solo Artist, as well as Best Soul/RnB again, alongside fellow 2024 Best Soul/RnB finalist Sam V, and Stan Walker.

2024 APRA Silver Scroll Award | Kaitito Kaiaka winner Anna Coddington is also up for Album of the Year for her first bilingual LP Te Whakamiha, as well as Mana Reo and Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau. Amelia Murray AKA Fazerdaze is also a finalist in the Album of the Year category, and Best Solo Artist for her celebrated full-length return Soft Power, which has seen the artist receive international attention. Murray and her collaborator Emily Wheatcroft-Snape are up for Best Engineer for the second year in a row for the release, following their 2024 nomination for the Break! EP.

Four-time Tūī winner Troy Kingi is also in the running for Album of the Year, for Leatherman And The Mojave Green, the eighth record in his 10-album project. The record also earns the musical chameleon a nomination for Te Manu Taki Rakapioi o te Tau | Best Rock Artist.

AMA heavyweights L.A.B land in the Te Tino Kāhui Manu Taki o te Tau | Best Group cohort once again, and are also up for Album of the Year for L.A.B VI – alongside remaining Best Album candidates Jordan Rakei for The Loop and 2020 Te Manu Taki Ahurea o te Tau | Best Folk Artist winner Mel Parsons for Sabotage. This record also earns Parsons a 2025 nomination for Best Folk Artist – and Best Album Artwork (Emma Hercus), alongside Matt Sinclair, and Natalie King and Chris Schmelz for Uneven Ground by Death and the Maiden.

Both Parsons and fellow Best Folk finalist Holly Arrowsmith won the top accolades at the 2024 Country Music Honours Awards – Arrowsmith took APRA Best Country Music Song Award and Parsons won the MLT Songwriting Award. For AMA 2025, Arrowsmith is nominated for her compelling Americana record Blue Dreams, while Kerryn Fields keeps Arrowsmith and Parsons’ good company with a nomination for The Folk Singer.

2024 Taite Music Prize recipient and 2022 Te Manu Taki Whanokē o te Tau | Best Alternative Artist winner Vera Ellen is back in the category, this time for her Heartbreak For Jetlag EP. Ellen is nominated alongside Louisa Nicklin for her Shayne Carter-produced album The Big Sulk, and Jim Nothing’s homage to inner city Auckland, Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn.

Hitmaker David Dallas makes a comeback, securing a finalist nod for Te Manu Taki Ātete o te Tau | Best Hip Hop Artist for Vita. He reps alongside impressive newcomer RNZŌ, and the enigmatic Jujulipps for her Superstar EP which features the anthemic single Nightshift, nominated for Best Video Content (Night Watch) alongside CHAII’s Night Like This and the DARTZ track Paradise (Oscar Keys, Ezra Simons, Kristin Li).

2024 Best Pop finalists Foley are up for Best Group alongside Corrella who are back on the books after claiming both Te Tino Waiata ā-Iti Rearea o te Tau | Breakthrough Single of the Year and Taki Taketake o te Tau | Best Roots Artist at AMA 2024. The eight-piece are again in the running for Best Roots Artist for their latest album Skeletons, as well as Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori artist.

SKILAA, Earth Tongue and DARTZ are the remaining contenders for Best Group, with the latter also securing a Best Rock Artist nomination for their chart-topping Dangerous Day To Be A Cold One. The record debuted at #1 on both the Official Top 40 Albums Chart and Top 20 Aotearoa Albums Chart, a feat also achieved in 2024 by only one other act, L.A.B with L.A.B VI. As well as DARTZ and Troy Kingi, Kirikiriroa mainstays and 2017 Best Rock winners Devilskin are also up for Best Rock Artist for their epic record Surfacing.

Pasifika roots reggae phenomenon Lomez Brown and 2024 Te Taumata o te Kaiwhakaputa | Best Producer Christoph El Truento are also up for Best Roots Artist – Truento for Dubs From The Neighbourhood.

2024 Mana Reo and Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau winner Tawaz returns as a finalist in both categories in 2025. His Mana Reo nominated single Tātarakihi features MOHI, who is also a finalist for Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau. Jordyn with a Why returns as a finalist in both categories, this time for her debut album Hibiscus Moon, Love & Justice (Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau) and its lead single Reia (Mana Reo).

Haami Tuari is up for Mana Reo both as a solo artist, for Taku Kaenga, and with his brothers as AMA 2024 finalist three-piece Tuari Brothers for their hit Higher.

2024 Te Manu Taki Tautito o te Tau | Best Jazz Artist and 2024 APRA Best Jazz Composition Award winner Lucien Johnson is again nominated in the category, for Ancient Relics, alongside AMA newcomer Thabani Gapara for Dzinda and 2018 category finalist Umar Zakaria for Family Music.

Renowned concert pianist Jian Liu (Where Fairburn Walked), 2021 category finalist Justin DeHart (Towards Midnight: NZ Percussion Vol 2) and Michael Houstoun (The Well-Tempered Clavier), who won the first of his five Best Classical Tūī in 1996, are all finalists for Te Manu Taki Tuauki o te Tau | Best Classical Artist.

“A huge congratulations to all the finalists for the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards,” says Recorded Music NZ CEO Jo Oliver. “The finalists illustrate the breadth and depth of musical talent we have here in Aotearoa, and the impact these artists and music are having both at home and beyond.

“In addition to celebrating the 2025 finalists and winners, it’s also our privilege this year to be marking an incredible 60 years of the Music Awards in Aotearoa. The Awards is a key part of our musical heritage and has evolved over the years to reflect our unique cultural identity. AMA 2025 will recognise special artists and waiata of the past and present; and create new moments to inspire the next generation of artists.”

The 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards will take place on Thursday 29 May at the Viaduct Events Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau and will be streamed live via Official Media Partner RNZ. Viewers who don’t catch the live broadcast will be able to stream the Awards on TVNZ+ from Friday 30 May.

Te Taumata o te Hokona | Highest Selling Artist and NZ On Air Te Taumata o te Horapa | Radio Airplay Record of the Year are decided based on data provided by the Official Aotearoa Music Charts and will be announced and awarded on the night. Further information will be released about the Tā te Iwi | People’s Choice, Te Iti Rearea o te Tau | Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Te Manu Mātārae categories ahead of the ceremony.

Aotearoa Music Awards 2025 Finalists

NZ On Air Te Tino Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year

Aaradhna – Sweet Surrender

Anna Coddington – Te Whakamiha

CHAII – Safar

Fazerdaze – Soft Power

Georgia Lines – The Rose Of Jericho

Jordan Rakei – The Loop

Kaylee Bell – Nights Like This

L.A.B – L.A.B VI

Mel Parsons – Sabotage

Mokotron – Waerea

Tami Neilson – Neilson Sings Nelson

Troy Kingi – Leatherman And The Mojave Green

Spotify Te Tino Waiata o te Tau | Single of the Year

Cassie Henderson – Seconds To Midnight (11.59)

CHAII – We Be Killing It

Fazerdaze – Cherry Pie

Georgia Lines – The Letter

JessB – Power Feat. Sister Nancy & Sampa the Great

Kaylee Bell – Cowboy Up

Lorde – Girl, So Confusing Feat. Lorde (Charli XCX, Lorde)

Mokomokai – Kupe Feat. Melodownz

Reb Fountain – Come Down

Stan Walker – Māori Ki Te Ao

Theia – BaldH3ad!

Troy Kingi – Silicone Booby Trap

Te Tino Kāhui Manu Taki o te Tau | Best Group

Corrella – Skeletons

DARTZ – Dangerous Day To Be A Cold One

Earth Tongue – Great Haunting

Foley

L.A.B – L.A.B VI

SKILAA – Tiger In The River

Spotify Te Tino Reo o te Tau | Best Solo Artist

Aaradhna – Sweet Surrender

Fazerdaze – Soft Power

Georgia Lines – The Rose Of Jericho

Kaylee Bell – Nights Like This

Mokotron – Waerea

Stan Walker

Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo

Anna Coddington – Te Whakamiha

Haami Tuari – Taku Kaenga

Jordyn With a Why – Reia

Stan Walker – Māori Ki Te Ao

Tawaz – Tātarakihi Feat. MOHI

Tuari Brothers – Higher

Te Māngai Pāho Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori Artist

Anna Coddington – Te Whakamiha

Corrella – Skeletons

Jordyn with a Why – Hibiscus Moon, Love & Justice

MOHI

Stan Walker

TAWAZ

Te Manu Taki Whanokē o te Tau | Best Alternative Artist

Jim Nothing – Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn

Louisa Nicklin – The Big Sulk

Vera Ellen – Heartbreak For Jetlag

Te Manu Taki Tuauki o te Tau | Best Classical Artist

Jian Liu – Where Fairburn Walked

Justin DeHart – Towards Midnight: NZ Percussion Vol 2

Michael Houstoun – The Well-Tempered Clavier

 Te Manu Taki Tuawhenua o te Tau | Best Country Music Artist

Barry Saunders and Delaney Davidson – Happiness Is Near

Kaylee Bell – Nights Like This

Tami Neilson – Neilson Sings Nelson

 Te Manu Taki Tāhiko o te Tau | Best Electronic Artist

CHAII – Safar

Lee Mvtthews – Exit

Mokotron – Waerea

Te Manu Taki Ahurea o te Tau | Best Folk Artist

Holly Arrowsmith – Blue Dreams

Kerryn Fields – The Folk Singer

Mel Parsons – Sabotage

Te Manu Taki Ātete o te Tau | Best Hip Hop Artist

David Dallas – Vita

Jujulipps – Superstar

RNZŌ

Te Manu Taki Tautito o te Tau | Best Jazz Artist

Lucien Johnson – Ancient Relics

Thabani Gapara – Dzindza

Umar Zakaria – Family Music

Te Manu Taki Arotini o te Tau | Best Pop Artist

Cassie Henderson – The Yellow Chapter

Frankie Venter

Georgia Lines – The Rose Of Jericho

Te Manu Taki Rakapioi o te Tau | Best Rock Artist

DARTZ – Dangerous Day To Be A Cold One

Devilskin – Surfacing

Troy Kingi – Leatherman And The Mojave Green

Te Manu Taki Taketake o te Tau | Best Roots Artist

Christoph El Truento – Dubs From The Neighbourhood

Corrella – Skeletons

Lomez Brown

Te Manu Taki Manako o te Tau | Best Soul/RnB Artist

Aaradhna – Sweet Surrender

Sam V

Stan Walker

ARTISAN AWARDS

Te Taumata o te Toi | Best Album Artwork

Emma Hercus – Sabotage (Mel Parsons)

Matt Sinclair – Neilson Sings Nelson (Tami Neilson)

Natalie King, Chris Schmelz – Uneven Ground (Death and the Maiden)

Te Taumata o te Pūkenga Oro | Best Engineer

Emily Wheatcroft-Snape, Amelia Murray – Soft Power (Fazerdaze)

Nic Manders – The Rose Of Jericho (Georgia Lines)

Simon Gooding – Safar (CHAII)

NZ On Air Te Taumata o te Ataata | Best Music Video Content

CHAII – Night Like This (CHAII)

Night Watch – Nightshift (Jujulipps)

Oscar Keys, Ezra Simons, Kristin Li – Paradise (DARTZ)

Te Taumata o te Kaiwhakaputa | Best Producer

CHAII, Frank Keys – Safar (CHAII)

Nic Manders – The Rose Of Jericho (Georgia Lines)

Rory Noble

Finalists and recipients in the following categories are still to be announced:

Te Iti Rearea o te Tau | Breakthrough Artist of the Year (TBA in May)

Tā te Iwi | People’s Choice (winner TBA at AMA 2025)

Te Taumata o te Hokona | Highest Selling Artist (winner TBA at AMA 2025)

NZ On Air Te Taumata o te Horapa | Radio Airplay Record of the Year (winner TBA at AMA 2025)

Te Manu Mātārae (recipients TBA at AMA 2025)