The Five Best New Zealand Songs from the Past Year Have Been Announced

For the first time in the history of the APRA Silver Scroll Awards the top five finalists are female.

The Silver Scroll is New Zealand's most prestigious songwriting award, recognising creative excellence in the craft of songwriting, regardless of sales figures and chart success. Since its inception in 1965, the Scroll has passed through the hands of the country's songwriting elite: Ray Columbus, Dave Dobbyn, Bic Runga, Don McGlashan, Neil Finn, Chris Knox, and many more.

This year's finalists for the APRA Silver Scroll Award are:

CLOSE YOUR EYES BY BIC RUNGA

Written by Bic Runga and Kody Nielson

Having won the Silver Scroll Award in 1997 with 'Sway', Bic Runga is once again a finalist 20 years later — this time for a song about going your own way, finding joy in the little things, and love enduring through time.

GREEN LIGHT BY LORDE

Written by Ella Yelich O'Connor, Jack Antonoff, and Joel Little

Another past scroll winner ('Royals' in 2013), Ella Yelich O'Connor and Joel Little are nominated once again for the single 'Green Light' — a cutting indictment of a past lover, which captures the chaos of post-break-up feelings, and the push and pull between the old and the new.

HORIZON BY ALDOUS HARDING

Written by Hannah Topp

Aldous Harding has become an international sensation in 2017, capturing imaginations with her singular songs which cut through like a lightning bolt, and she is a welcome first-time finalist for her song 'Horizon'. A spare, vulnerable track which finds impressive power in its simplicity, 'Horizon' finds a way to spin gut-punching love into a song that feels brand new.

LIFE OF THE PARTY BY CHELSEA JADE

Written by Chelsea Jade Metcalf and Leroy Clampitt

Also a first-time finalist, Chelsea Jade is nominated for her hypnotic, subversive, delicate pop piece 'Life of the Party'. The LA-based artist manages to encapsulate the contradicting feelings of awkwardness and confidence in an intoxicating, joyful, yet low-key production.

RICHARD BY NADIA REID

Written by Nadia Reid

A fellow newcomer is Nadia Reid, with her fierce, haunting song 'Richard'. The Port Chalmers native has also found herself in demand across the globe with the release of her second album Preservation, and 'Richard' is a standout folk-rock gem with its wonderfully direct delivery, charting heartbreak and dissolution, through striking imagery.

The top five was whittled down from a long list by the country's 10,000-odd APRA members. The winner will be announced in Dunedin on Thursday 28 September, 2017. Other awards presented include the Maioha Award — celebrating exceptional waiata featuring te reo, the Contemporary Award — celebrating excellence in contemporary composition, Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award, Best Original Music in a Series Award, and an induction into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.