It’s that time of year again.

Every November we celebrate Ausmusic Month by tipping our hats to the best in the biz for that year.

Spread across five categories, the J Awards are a snapshot of the sheer excellence we witness growing in our backyard every day. A panel of judges – comprised of the music teams and presenters of triple j, Double J, and triple j Unearthed – choose nominees based on their creativity, originality, technical excellence and contribution to Australian music.

Each of the artist nominees fall into one of five categories: Australian Album of the Year, Unearthed Artist of the Year, Double J Artist of the Year, Australian Music Video of the Year and the You Done Good Award.

This time round sees the return of a few members of the J Award alumni, like Flume (Australian Album of the Year ’13) and Stella Donnelly (Unearthed Artist of the Year ’17).

Sampa The Great is up for Double J Artist and Aus Music Video of the Year, both for another consecutive year; G Flip has shifted from Unearthed Artist nominee to Aus Album of the Year nominee in the space of 12 months; and 2019 sees Hilltop Hoods copping their fifth nom over the awards’ 15 year history. 

We’re also introducing a brand spankin’ new category this year, the You Done Good Award. This tasty title recognises people who have made a significant contribution to the Australian music industry in one way or another, who may not necessarily be a muso themselves.

You Done Good celebrates everything from individuals who’ve made altruistic social changes, like Dylan Alcott’s mission to make music accessible and Boy & Bear’s “poo roadie,” to people fighting for a good cause, such as the work of environmental activist Heidi Lenffer and the National Indigenous Music Awards, and simply musical excellence across the board, like Sarah Aarons.

Soak up all the nominees below!

triple j Australian Album of the Year

• G Flip – About You

• Hatchie – Keepsake

• Hayden James – Between Us

• Hilltop Hoods – The Great Expanse

• Holy Holy – My Own Pool Of Light

• Matt Corby – Rainbow Valley

• Northlane – Alien

• Sampa The Great – The Return

• Stella Donnelly – Beware Of The Dogs

• Thelma Plum – Better In Blak

Read more about each of the albums and why they’re so special here.

Unearthed Artist of the Year

• Adrian Eagle

• The Chats

• George Alice

• Spacey Jane

• Tones And I

Sus the best newcomers of the year over here.

Double J Artist of the Year

• Nick Cave

• Julia Jacklin

• King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

• Sampa The Great

• The Teskey Brothers

Find out more about each artist here.

triple j and Rage Australian Music Video of the Year

• Briggs {feat. Greg Holden} – ‘Life Is Incredible’ [Directed by Dylan River]

• Flume – ‘Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape)’ [Directed by Jonathan Zawada]

• The Chats – ‘Identity Theft’ [Directed by Matt Weston]

• Thelma Plum – ‘Better In Blak’ [Directed by Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore]

• Sampa The Great – ‘Final Form’ [Directed by Sanjay De Silva]

Watch all five videos right here.

You Done Good Award

• Dylan Alcott

• Heidi Lenffer

• NIMA’s

• Harry the Poo Roadie

• Sarah Aarons

See their bios here.

The J Awards kicked off in 2005 with one single category: Australian Album of the Year. It was taken out by none other than Wolfmother for their self-titled debut. The awards went on to expand in 2008 with the addition of Australian Music Video of the Year, Unearthed Artist of the Year and Australian Music Video of the Year. Double J Artist of the Year was added in 2014.

The winners of each category will be announced at a special J Awards ceremony and live on air, on Thursday 21 November.