Pacific Music Awards 2015 Winners Announced

The Herbs have been honoured for the second time this year, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Pacific Music Awards ceremony on Saturday night. The multi-cultural reggae group was handed the award to acknowledge their success and influence on the New Zealand music landscape over the past 36 years in the wake of their early releases Whats’ Be Happen? (1981) and Light of the Pacific (1982), both of which provided a confronting commentary on the political landscape at the time, particularly surrounding the polarising 1981 Springbok Tour. The group was also recognised earlier this year at the Taite Music Prize ceremony where they received the Independent Music NZ Classic Record Award.

Other big winners on the night were Auckland duo Cyde, who took home three awards, and Smashproof who took home two awards.

Here is the full list of winners by category:

Virgin Australia Best Pacific Female Artist - Erakah
NZ Music Commission Best Pacific Male Artist - TJ Taotua
Niu Fm Best Pacific Urban Artist - Cydel
Radio 531pi Best Pacific Group - Cydel
NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video - Smashproof
Apra Best Pacific Song - Smashproof
Tagata Pasifika Best Pacific Language - Word Of Life South Auckland Choir
Best Pacific Gospel Artist -TJ Taotua
Flava Best International Pacific Artist - Maryanne Ito
NZ On Air Radio Airplay Award - Brooke Fraser
Vodafone People’s Choice Award: Best Pacific Artist - Three Houses Down
Phillip Fuemana Award: Most Promising Pacific Artist - Donell Lewis
Manukau Institute Of Technology Lifetime Achievement Award - Herbs
Recorded Music Nz Best Pacific Music Album - Cydel
Special Recognition Award - Sol3 Mio

The annual Pacific Media Awards, which were launched to acknowledge the success of Pacific artists, marked its 11th anniversary this year. The event was held at the Vodafone Events Centre in Auckland. You can view the list of nominees over here .