Brisbane singer-songwriter Sycco has become the first person to win Song of the Year and the Pop Award back-to-back at the state's revered Queensland Music Awards.
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article may contain images of people who have died.
Sycco, whose real name is Sasha McLeod, received the accolades for her hit single My Ways at the awards held at The Fortitude Music Hall last night, the same two awards she won in 2021.
Upon winning Song of the Year, Sycco said she couldn't believe it saying she didn't think it was a song that people listened to.
The last artist to win the Pop Award and Song of The Year was Amy Shark in 2017, while Shark also won the Pop Award consecutively in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
This year, homegrown star Amy Shark took out Highest Selling Album for Cry Forever.
Brisbane indie rock band The Jungle Giants won the coveted Album of the Year for their new album Love Signs.
With the music industry still reeling from the gruelling impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the best of the state's music scene celebrated the industry's finest at the sold-out ceremony.
The awards took place on the birthday of late Australian rock musician great Billy Thorpe, with the $10,000 scholarship in his honour awarded to emerging talent Cloe Terare.
First Nations singer-songwriter Cloe Terare, from Toowoomba, who was also last year's Regional Award winner said she wanted to use the scholarship to honour Billy Thorpe.
"In that spirit, I also would just like to take a moment to honour my late grandfather as well who is an Indigenous man and he taught me all about my culture and he instilled this love of music in me as well," Terare said.
Lifetime contribution honoured
In celebrating the legacy of Mop & the Dropouts, father-daughter duo Jem and Troy Cassar-Daley performed a rendition of the band's song Brisbane Blacks, which drew a standing ovation from the crowd.
Dennis 'Mop' Conlon wrote Brisbane Blacks — an honest and moving depiction of life as an Aboriginal person in Queensland 40 years ago, after watching the protests for Aboriginal rights across Brisbane while the city gained worldwide attention as it hosted the Commonwealth Games.
The once-little-known band from Cherbourg had cemented its place in Australian history and influenced the next generation of Indigenous musicians and songwriters. 'Mop' Conlon's son, also named Dennis Conlon, accepted the QMusic Lifetime Achievement Award last night on the band's behalf.
Conlon said for his dad, 'the original Mop', it was never about money or fame but bringing together Aboriginal people.
"They wanted to build the identity of Aboriginal people … so they went ahead and wrote those songs, they didn't want to be political but that's how it came out … they wrote about what they knew," he said.
This year the awards had the most Indigenous nominees across the board, with Jem Cassar-Daley winning the Indigenous Music Award for her hit Letting Go.
Auslan interpreter Mikey Webb was a crowd favourite at the awards, signing for live performances.
Indigenous artist Miiesha won the Soul/Funk/ R&B Award for the second consecutive year.
For his song God Took His Time on You, country rock singer-songwriter Casey Barnes took out the award for Country Music.
The hit One Too Many by Keith Urban and P!nk was the Highest Selling Single.
Screamer-rapper Zheani was honoured as Emerging Artist of the Year and won the Heavy Award.
Full list of winners
Pop: Sycco — My Ways
Folk: Asha Jefferies — Crybaby
Hip Hop: iiiConic — Okay
Children's Music: The Mini Moshers — New Shoes
Jazz: IMPULSE Orchestra — Sonorous Figurine
Soul/Funk/RNB: Miiesha — Made for Silence
Rock: Waax — MOST HATED Girl
Blues & Roots: Sue Ray — Take Me Away
Heavy: Zheani — F*** the Hollywood Cult
Billy Thorpe Scholarship — Cloe Terare
Electronic: Natt Dunn, Hayden James, Gorgon City — Foolproof
World: Matt Hsu's Obscure Orchestra — Welcome To The Neighbourhood: Taiwan (就當家裡)
Contemporary Classical: Corrina Bonshek — Dreams Of the Earth
Youth: Paulina — Parasite
Emerging Artist of the year: Zheani
Country: Casey Barnes — God Took His Time On You
Indigenous: Jem Cassar-Daley — Letting Go
Regional/ Remote: Nat Dunn, Hayden James, Gorgon City — Foolproof
Video: Marcario De Souza, Allan Hardy, Dayna Yates, Cam Pianta, Tyson Lloyd, Kelly Holden — Every Single Time — Example ft. What So Not & Lucy Lucy
Song of the Year: Sycco — My Ways
Album of the Year: The Jungle Giants — Love Signs
Highest selling single: Keith Urban w/P!nk — One Too Many
Highest selling Album: Amy Shark — Cry Forever
QMusic Lifetime Achievement Award: Mop & The Dropouts
Innovation Award: 4ZZZ
