Country Music Awards of Australia 2012

CMAA 2012

Winners of the 40th Country Music Awards of Australia

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40th Jayco CMAA LOGO



Adam Harvey and Shane Nicholson dominated the nominations list for the 40th Jayco CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia .

Singer Adam Harvey was chosen for eight Golden Guitars, Shane Nicholson received seven nominations, Graeme Connors, James Blundell and Keith Urban were also in the chosen for ‘Male Artist of the Year’; while musicians such as Jasmine Rae, Kirsty Akers and Beccy Cole battled for ‘Best Female Artist’ award.

The winners of the 40th Country Music Awards of Australia were announced on Saturday Jan. 28, 2012 at the Tamworth Entertainment Centre.

THE WINNERS

The evening was hosted by Ray Hadley OAM and Tamworth’s own Felicity Urquhart (photo), featured a range of special surprises and performances but none were surpassed by Anne Kirkpatrick closing the show with a moving tribute of ‘Looking Forward, Looking Back’, the song made famous by her late father Slim Dusty, who died Sept 2003.

Performers on the night included Troy Cassar-Daley, Jetty Road, Gunnedah’s “home-grown songbird” Katrina Burgoyne (photo), , , Melinda-Schneider (photo), Graeme Connors with Aleyce Simmonds and Jasmine Rae (photo). This year the CMAA made it the people’s awards and the festival celebrated looking forward and looking back, more than 500 Golden Guitars (photo) have been presented since 1973 with legend Slim Dusty garnering the most, winning 37. Celebrating family history, Claudia Byrnes (photo) was the 2012 Golden Guitar trophy hostess, following in her mother Cheryl Byrnes’s shoes, who was the hostess throughout the 1980s.

 

Big Golden Guitar-Tamworth



Keith Urban and Beccy Cole led the winner’s tally (photo) at the 40th Jayco CMAA, collecting two Golden Guitars respectively.

Keith won  ‘Male Artist of the Year’ and ‘Sanity Top Selling Album of the Year’ for his album GET CLOSER.

Beccy won a Golden Guitar for ‘Female Artist of the Year’ for Songs & Pictures, as well as Vocal Collaboration of the Year with Kasey Chambers for their duet ‘Millionaires’. (winners photo)

Adam Harvey secured the night’s most prestigious award – ‘Album of the Year’ for Falling Into Place, produced by Rod McCormack.

Melbourne foursome Jetty Road took out ‘Group or Duo of the Year’, while country music’s sweetheart Catherine Britt, scored a win for ‘Single of the Year’ for her song ‘Sweet Emmylou’.

Although the 44-year-old Keith Urban couldn't be there, he sent two pre-recorded acceptance speeches for his wins in Sanity Top Selling Album of the Year and Male Artist of the Year, thanking the fans and promising to be back 'home' again this year. He said his April 12 show in Tamworth was a highlight of the Get Closer tour. We would hope that meant the Country Music Capital would be included in future Urban tours.

Thrilled with their win, Jetty Road thanked family, friends and their fans for their dedication and support before taking to the stage shortly after to perform their #1 chart topping radio hit I'm A Dreamer.

"Winning our first Golden Guitar Award in 2010 was so exciting" said lead singer Paula Bowman "but this second one is extra special; our Far Away Places album producer Paul Shatto flew out from Canada to attend the Awards.  He's not only delighted with the result, but has been totally captivated by Australia too”

Adam Harvey, Shane Nicholson and Beccy Cole each picked up gongs at Australian country music's night of nights, which capped off the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival.

"It's really special," Cole, told The Sunday Telegraph, picking up female artist of the year for her album Songs & Pictures, and vocal collaboration of the year with Kasey Chambers for their duet Millionaires.

"It is hard to talk about without sounding really cheesy, but this is 20 years since I first busked in the street with Kasey (Chambers) so it is a bit of a reunion and an anniversary for me."



Beccy Cole
Female Artist of the Year Award
CMAA 28 Jan 2012



“It's an absolute honour to receive an award with my best friend," Beccy said. "I'm so incredibly proud of Kase's achievments as a friend and as member of this industry."

Kasey told Beccy that she loved her guts off.

Beccy said it was a shock to get Female Artist.

"Having my band on this record was a thrill for me," she said. "It's a wonderful industry to be part of and I can't believe it was so long ago I was busking."

Five of the six nominations were for Beccy’s seventh studio album SONGS & PICTURES, released on 30th September, 2011.
“I am so proud of this album, this is me with all cards on the table, and my heart on my sleeve. It’s been almost 4 years since I have recorded new and original material and now I know why, I had to wait until Songs & Pictures came to me”, says Beccy.

Adam Harvey took home album of the year for Falling Into Place, while Nicholson won APRA Song of the Year for his track “Bad Machines”.

Shane Nicholson's win brings his total number of Golden Guitars to six; he had five at home he shared with wife Kasey Chambers from their album Rattlin' Bones.

"Kasey is quite happy to talk and be the centre of attention - and then I get to kind of skulk away, and I like that," he said.

"She's the extrovert and I'm the introvert, and I guess that's why it works."

Also securing awards at Tamworth were O'Shea (new talent) and The Bushwackers (heritage song for I Am Australian).

Merv Maltman who won the prestigious award in the Best Bush Ballad category and said he still could not believe it - "It's still sinking in that I actually won a Golden Guitar," he said. "It's the highest accolade to win in the country music industry in Australia."

Maltman said his song was nominated by Perrett and Kernaghan who begged him to let them take on the song as a duet.

He said it was written about an ex-ringer who wanted to return to the channel country ground.

"I wrote it just before the floods happened about the channel country ground and how it was full of water, then the floods came - it was almost like a premonition," Maltman said.

He spent seven years on the road, touring with other musicians as a support act, and in 1982 became the first Australian songwriter to complete an album of songs recorded by someone other than himself.

"Then I left the music industry for 22 years and only got back into it four years ago," Maltman said.

List of 40th Jayco CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia Nominations, Winners & Links 

Album of the Year
At The Speed of Life - Graeme Connors produced by Matt Fell
Bad Machines - Shane Nicholson produced by Shane Nicholson
Falling Into Place - Adam Harvey, produced by Rod McCormack WINNER  - AWARD PHOTO - Press Release & Photo
Get Closer - Keith Urban, produced by Dann Huff & Keith Urban
Songs & Pictures - Beccy Cole, produced by Shane Nicholson

Sanity Top Selling Album of the Year
Best So Far - Adam Harvey
Falling Into Place - Adam Harvey
Get Closer - Keith Urban  WINNER
In Symphony - John Williamson
Little Bird - Kasey Chambers

Male Artist of the Year
James Blundell - Move Into The City
Graeme Connors - The Mouth Of The River
Adam Harvey - You Don't Know My Love
Shane Nicholson - Bad Machines
Keith Urban - Long Hot Summer   WINNER

Female Artist of the Year
Kirsty Akers - Sweet Ol Jackson
Katrina Burgoyne - White Flag
Beccy Cole – Waitress  WINNER -  AWARD PHOTO - AWARD PHOTO
Jasmine Rae - I Faked It
Aleyce Simmonds - The Healing Hands Of Time

Group or Duo of the Year
The Bobkatz - In the Coals
Carter & Carter - Dance In The Rain
Davidson Brothers - Write Me A Letter
Jetty Road - Serves You Right  WINNER  - AWARD PHOTO - YOUTUBE
O'Shea - Smash

Vocal Collaboration of the Year
A Good Woman Can - Adam Harvey & Beccy Cole
An Affair of the Heart - Sara Storer and Graham Rodger
In Spite Of Ourselves - Kirsty Akers & Bob Evans
Millionaires - Beccy Cole & Kasey Chambers   WINNER  - AWARD PHOTO
Whistling Cannonballs - Shane Nicholson with Paul Kelly

Telstra New Talent of the Year
Katrina Burgoyne - Ghost
Luke Dickens - True Love Never Dies
Jason Lee - Ordinary Guy
O'Shea – Smash  WINNER  - AWARD PHOTO

Aleyce Simmonds - The Healing Hands Of Time

APRA Song of the Year
Bad Machines - written and recorded by Shane Nicholson  WINNER  - YOUTUBE - AWARD PHOTO
Butterfly - written and recorded by Tamara Stewart
Falling Into Place - written by Adam Harvey & Troy Cassar-Daley, recorded by Adam Harvey
The Mouth Of The River - written and recorded by Graeme Connors
Waitress - written and recorded by Beccy Cole

Video Clip of the Year
Children Of The Gurindji - Sara Storer & Kev Carmody, directed by Duncan Toombs  WINNER – AWARD PHOTO -  AWARD PHOTO -  YOUTUBE
Dirt - Lee Kernaghan, directed by Rusty Gate Films
Famous Last Words - Shane Nicholson directed by Duncan Toombs
In Spite Of Ourselves - Kirsty Akers & Bob Evans, directed by Jason Millhouse
You Don't Know My Love - Adam Harvey, directed by Duncan Toombs

Single of the year
Bad Machines - Shane Nicholson
Dirt - Lee Kernaghan
Long Hot Summer - Keith Urban
Sweet Emmylou - Catherine Britt  WINNER - YOUTUBE - PHOTO
You Don't Know My Love - Adam Harvey

Toyota Heritage Song of the Year
Australian Woman - written by Beccy Cole & Luke Austen, recorded by Beccy Cole
Bondwood Boat - written by Aleyce Simmonds & Graeme Connors, recorded by Aleyce Simmonds
I am Australian - written by Dobe Newton/ Bruce Woodley, recorded by The Bushwackers  WINNER – PHOTO - AWARD PHOTO
The Mouth Of The River - written & recorded by Graeme Connors
The Old HR - written by Garry Koehler, recorded by The Bobkatz

Fender Instrumental of the Year
Arkansas Traveller - Mike Kerin, Ian Simpson & John Kane
Demolition Derby - Michael Fix with Brendan Radford
Locomotivation - Tommy Emmanuel
OMFG - Davidson Brothers   WINNER – AWARD PHOTO
The Waves of Bondi - The Bushwackers

Bush Ballad of the Year
A Fencer From The Outback - written & recorded by Rod Williams
Channel Country Ground - written by Merv Maltman, recorded by Dean Perrett and Lee Kernaghan  WINNER - AWARD PHOTO – AWARD PHOTO
Gentleman Joe - written by Dianne Lindsay & Peter Simpson, recorded by Dianne Lindsay
Kiandra Gold - written by Ben Jacobs & Shaza Leigh, recorded by Brian Letton
Son of The Red Dirt Country – written and recorded by Graham Rodger

Producer Of The Year - Matt Fell (At The Speed of Life - Graeme Connors) - AWARD PHOTO

Musician of the Year - Mark Punch – AWARD PHOTO

LISTEN - ABC Local Radio’s Scott Lamond hosts Saturday Night Country taking the show to the 40th Tamworth Country Music Festival. He talks with Golden Guitar Winners Dean Perrett and Lee Kernaghan who co-wrote The Bush Ballad of the Year and The Bushwackers join Scott in the studio who recorded the Bush Ballad of the Year “Channel Country Ground”  

Open Link in WMP or Realplayer - http://www.abc.net.au/local/global_includes/programs/mod/snc4.asx (Available till 4 Feb, 2012)

SOURCES – Country.com.au, Daily Telegraph.com.au, Tamworth City News, AustralianCountryMusic