Aotearoa Music Award for Best Pop Artist
Annual New Zealand music award
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Best Pop Artist (Māori: Te Manu Taki Arotini o te Tau) is an Aotearoa Music Award that honours New Zealand artists for outstanding pop recordings.
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Awarded forExcellence in New Zealand Music
Presented byRecorded Music NZ
First award2010
Currently held byCassie Henderson – The Yellow Chapter
| Te Manu Taki Arotini o te Tau Best Pop Artist | |
|---|---|
| Previous: 2025 AMAs | |
Benee has won the award four times. | |
| Awarded for | Excellence in New Zealand Music |
| Presented by | Recorded Music NZ |
| First award | 2010 |
| Currently held by | Cassie Henderson – The Yellow Chapter |
| Most wins | Benee (4) |
| Most nominations | Benee (4) |
The inaugural award was presented as Best Pop Album in 2010 to Gin Wigmore for her album Holy Smoke. In 2017, the award was changed to Best Pop Artist. The change was made to all the genre-specific awards, and was to reflect the changing release climate in which full albums had become less common. Under the new rules, an artist who has released "an album OR a minimum of five tracks" can be nominated.[1]
Benee has the most awards with four wins, followed by Lorde, Kimbra, and Broods who have all won it twice each.
Recipients
Best Pop Album (2010 - 2016)
| Year | Winner | Album | Other finalists | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Gin Wigmore | Holy Smoke | [2] | |
| 2011 | Brooke Fraser | Flags | [3] | |
| 2012 | Kimbra | Vows | [4] | |
| 2013 | Jamie McDell | Six Strings & A Saliboat |
|
[5] |
| 2014 | Lorde | Pure Heroine | [6] | |
| 2015 | Broods | Evergreen |
|
[7] |
| 2016 | Broods | Conscious |
|
[5] |
- Collaboration between Anika Moa, Boh Runga, and Hollie Smith.
Best Pop Artist (2017 - present)
| Year | Winner | Other finalists | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Lorde – Melodrama |
|
[8] |
| 2018 | Kimbra | [9] | |
| 2019 | Benee – Fire on Marzz | [10] | |
| 2020 | Benee – Stella & Steve | [11] | |
| 2021 | Benee |
|
[12] |
| 2022 | Benee – Lychee |
|
[13] |
| 2023 | No awards held | ||
| 2024 | Georgia Lines |
|
[14] |
| 2025 | Cassie Henderson – The Yellow Chapter |
|
[15] |