APRA Song Of The Year Shortlist Announced

This year's APRA Song Of The Year award could be the tightest contest yet as an incredibly strong shortlist of 30 songs has been unveiled this morning.

You usual big hitters are in there; last year's winner Gotye has two more in the top 30 with Easy Way Out and Save Me, 2011 winners Angus and Julia Stone are represented through Angus' Bird On The Buffalo and 2010 winners The Temper Trap are in the running again, this year their Trembling Hands is up for the award.

2008 winner Julian Hamilton (he won for his work on silverchair's Straight Lines), has a chance of winning again with his electro duo The Presets; their Youth In Trouble track in with a shot this year.

Missy Higgins' return to music last year could get her a place on the podium since she won in 2005 with Scar, her songs Everyone's Waiting and Set Me On Fire are up this year, and Kasey Chambers could get her first win since 2003, she has two nominations alongside her husband Shane Nicholson for their songs Adam And Eve and The Quiet Life.

Pop stars are represented pretty strongly, Rihanna's Diamonds might score the trophy thanks to Sia Furler, the song's writer, being an Aussie. Guy Sebastian's Get Along and Delta Goodrem's Wish You Were Here have also made the shortlist, though the award has a tendency to lean towards slightly less mainstream artists.

The hottest names in Australian music at the moment should have a very good chance this year, though. 360's Child, The Rubens' My Gun and Flume's Holding On certainly in with a good chance, though they'll have to fight hard to beat Kevin Parker with his all-conquering Tame Impala songs Elephant and Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.

A few dark horses could upset the field this year, however. Courtney Barnett's brilliant History Eraser, Mia Dyson's When The Moment Comes and songs from Stonefield, Saskwatch and country singer Lyn Bowtell would be real upsets should they win.

Voting is open to APRA Members (both writers and publishers) right now.

The full list is as follows:

Adam And Eve (Written and performed by Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson)
Bad Reality (Written by Amy, Hannah, Sarah and Holly Findlay. Performed by Stonefield)
Beautiful Liar (Written and performed by Lyn Bowtell)
Bird On the Buffalo (Written and performed by Angus Stone)
Child (Written by Matthew Colwell and Kaelyn Behr. Performed by 360)
Clair de Lune (Written by Hugo Gruzman and James Lyell. Performed by Flight Facilities)
Diamonds (Written by Sia Furler, Benjamin Levin, Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen. Performed by Rihanna)
Drover's Wife (Written by Luke O'Shea and Peter Gabrielides. Performed by Luke O'Shea)
Easy Way Out (Written by Wally De Backer. Performed by Gotye)
Elephant (Written by Kevin Parker and Jay Watson. Performed by Tame Impala)
Everyone's Waiting (Written by Missy Higgins and Daniel Wilson. Performed by Missy Higgins)
Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (Written by Kevin Parker. Performed by Tame Impala)
Follow the Sun (Written and performed by Xavier Rudd)
Get Along (Written by Guy Sebastian and Ian Barter. Performed by Guy Sebastian)
History Eraser (Written and performed by Courtney Barnett)
Holding On (Written by Flume and O. Redding. Performed by Flume)
Home (Written and performed by Troy Cassar-Daley)
I Got Burned (Written by Lance Ferguson. Performed by The Bamboos)
My Gun (Written by Scott Baldwin, Izaac, Samuel and Elliott Margin and David Kahne. Performed by The Rubens)
Passerby (Written by Patrick Davern and Phil Jamieson. Performed by Grinspoon)
Save Me (Written by Wally De Backer. Performed by Gotye)
Set Me On Fire (Written by Missy Higgins, Butterfly Boucher and Daniel Wilson Performed by Missy Higgins)
The Quiet Life (Written and performed by Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson)
This Fire (Written by Adam Spark, Adam Weston, Ian Kenny, Glenn Sarangapany and Ian Berney. Performed by Birds of Tokyo)
Trembling Hands (Written by Tobias Dundas, Joseph Greer, Abby Mandagi and Lorenzo Sillitto. Performed by Temper Trap)
When The Moment Comes (Written by Mia Dyson, Erin Sidney and Patrick Cupples. Performed by Mia Dyson)
Wish You Were Here (Written by Delta Goodrem and Gary Clark. Performed by Delta Goodrem)
You Make Me Happy (Written by Clare Bowditch and Eddie Perfect. Performed by Clare Bowditch featuring Eddie Perfect)
Your Love (Written by Daniel McGorry. Performed by Saskwatch)
Youth in Trouble (Written by Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes. Performed by The Presets)