ARIA Confirms Miss Kaninna As First Independent Aboriginal Woman Nominated For A Debut Single
“It's not only a win for myself and my mob but for all First Nations people all over the globe," Miss Kaninna said.
Miss Kaninna (Stefan Edouard)
The Australian Recording Industry Association have revealed that proud Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirendali sovereign woman Miss Kaninna is the first Independent Aboriginal woman to ever be nominated for a debut single at the ARIA Awards.
Announced today as part of their lead-up to the ARIA Awards being held in Sydney on Wednesday, November 20th, ARIA recognised the historic achievement by Miss Kaninna, whose 2023 single Blak Britney scored three nominations for this year’s ceremony.
“I'm so honoured to finally be able to announce that I'm the first ever Aboriginal woman to be nominated for an ARIA for her debut single,” Miss Kaninna said in a video shared online.
“Blak Britney has changed my life so much over the past year and I'm so grateful for all the love and support,” she added. “It's not only a win for myself and my mob but for all First Nations people all over the globe.”
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The track, released in May of 2023 and included on her debut EP, KANINNA, in September, has received widespread acclaim since its release, and is up for both Best Independent Release and Best Soul/R&B Release at this year’s ARIA Awards. A Will Hamilton-Coates-directed video shot at The Grove is also up for Best Video in the public-voted category.
Alongside news of the achievement, Miss Kaninna also recognised the contributions of Torres Strait Islander musician Christine Anu, who received an ARIA nomination in 1994 for her debut single, Last Train, a duet with Paul Kelly. As per a press release, recognition of Miss Kaninna’s achievement also points out “the important distinction between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander”.
Speaking to TheMusic in September, Miss Kaninna spoke about how the succss of tracks like Blak Britney saw her regarded as a hip hop artist despite her musical dexterity.
“I've never really associated myself as being a hip hop artist,” she admitted. “I feel like I’m a guest in hip hop when I do jump into those genres.
“I just see myself as an artist, but for other people… I mean, racism comes into it as well – people look at me and they see an Indigenous girl and they're like, ‘Oh, put her in the hip hop box’. Hip hop is such an umbrella of music and has paved the way for so many, so I appreciate that.
“I feel like people are now kind of catching on that I don't want to be boxed in and that just labelling me as a hip hop artist doesn't really fit,” she added. “It's been nice to be recognised the way that I've been seeing myself.”
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
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