Q Magazine, one of the UK’s biggest music magazines, has unveiled the nominations for the Q Awards in association with Absolute Radio.
The Q Awards, now in their 27th year, is one of the most prestigious and anticipated nights on the music calendar. For the first time in the awards’ history the public chose the shortlist from a longlist compiled by the Q editorial team and a record-breaking half a million votes were cast. Following the massive success of the awards’ new format in 2016, the Q Awards will again feature a very special intimate post-awards gig. This year, the gig sold out within 24 hours of Manic Street Preachers and Sleaford Mods being announced. This year’s ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 18 October at Camden’s Roundhouse.
Leading the nominations this year are global pop sensation Ed Sheeran, rock‘n’roll icon Liam Gallagher and grime superstar Stormzy, receiving his first ever Q Award nods. They receive three nominations each, including Best Solo Artist Presented by Help Musicians UK. Also nominated in this category is experimental rock hero St. Vincent and dreamy pop goddess Lana Del Rey.
Kiwi pop queen Lorde, punk-hop heroes Sleaford Mods and rap phenomenon Kendrick Lamar are up for two awards a-piece: this is the first time Kendrick has been nominated. Kendrick Lamar and Sleaford Mods feature in the prestigious Q Best Album category, Kendrick Lamar is up for his global smash DAMN and Sleaford Mods are nominated for their acclaimed English Tapas album. It will once again be a hotly contested award: the other nominees are Gorillaz for their first album in seven years, Humanz, Stormzy for his groundbreaking Gang Signs & Prayer and The xx for their UK Number One album, I See You.
Renowned for celebrating new and emerging artists, the Q Best Breakthrough Act Presented By Red Stripe category is bursting with incredible talent from a diverse spectrum of genres. This year’s list includes the likes of the volcanic-voiced Rag‘n’Bone Man, who was thrust into the limelight after a debut that became the fastest-selling in the past decade by a male artist; The Big Moon, who are one of the UK’s most exciting guitar bands; Stefflon Don, the rising rap star with a snarling attitude and some serious dancehall bangers under her belt already; musical minimalist Sampha who delivered a soulful and touching debut this year; indie rockers with a psychedelic twist, Pumarosa; Girl Ray, three teenage indie kids from North London who are fronted by the prodigiously talented songwriter Poppy Hankin.
The Q Best Live Act Presented by The Cavern Club features Stormzy, Lorde and Liam Gallagher against stadium heavyweights The Killers and Radiohead, whilst the coveted Q Best Act In The World Today Presented by Buster + Punch award will be fought out by Ed Sheeran, The 1975, Queens Of The Stone Age, Adele and Depeche Mode.
The Editor of Q Magazine, Ted Kessler, commented: “Some people say that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but I disagree. I say that the Q Awards is the most wonderful time of the year and that 2017 is already looking like it’s going to be the best we’ve ever held. The shortlists are certainly the Q Awards’ most robust and diverse – perhaps because we left their finessing to our astute readers. They’ve voted for the first time, and in enormous numbers, to reduce our longlists to these final berths. In doing so they’ve revealed an accurate map of the very best music of the last ten months or so, an era where the divide between alternative and mainstream is ever more blurred: the best music finds a path, whether that’s Ed Sheeran, Sleaford Mods or Stormzy. And that’s the space where Q Magazine resides.”
The public can cast their votes and choose the winners for the following categories over at www.Qthemusic.com – with voting closing on Friday, October 6.
Full list of nominees in voted categories as follows:
Q Breakthrough Act Presented by Red Stripe
Rag’n’Bone Man
HMLTD
Shame
Stefflon Don
The Big Moon
Pumarosa
Girl Ray
Formation
The Moonlandingz
Sampha
Q Best Track
Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
Lorde – Green Light
Kendrick Lamar – Humble
Kasabian – You’re In Love With A Psycho
Liam Gallagher – Wall Of Glass
Q Best Album
Gorillaz – Humanz
Kendrick Lamar – DAMN
Stormzy – Gang Signs & Prayer
Sleaford Mods – English Tapas
The xx – I See You
Q Best Live Act
Stormzy
The Killers
Radiohead
Lorde
Liam Gallagher
Q Best Solo Artist
Ed Sheeran
Lana Del Rey
Liam Gallagher
Stormzy
St. Vincent
Q Best Act In The World Today
Ed Sheeran
The 1975
Queens Of The Stone Age
Adele
Depeche Mode
Q Best Film Presented
Bunch Of Kunst (Sleaford Mods)
The Inertia Variations (The The)
Eagles Of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends)
The Rolling Stones – Havana Moon
American Valhalla (Iggy Pop & Josh Homme)
2016 winners:
Q Breakthrough Act presented by Red Stripe – Jack Garratt
Q Best Track presented by Jack Daniels – Bastille (Good Grief)
Q Best Video presented by Box Plus – Seamus Murphy (PJ Harvey, The Community of Hope)
Q Best Album presented by Absolute Radio – The 1975 (I Like It When You Sleep…)
Q Best Live – U2
Q Best Solo presented by Help Musicians UK – James Bay
Q Best Act In The World Today presented by The Cavern Club – Muse
Q Innovation In Sound Award – MIA
Q Hero – Meat Loaf
Q Maverick – Pete Doherty
Q Classic Songwriter – Ray Davies
Q Hall Of Fame – Madness
Q Classic Album – The Charlatans (Tellin’ Stories)
Q Gibson Les Paul Award – Edge
Q Outstanding Contribution To Music – Blondie
Q Icon/Merit – Coldplay
