By: Nick Gambino
Just last week, I wrote about the Spotify Awards being held in Mexico City in 2020. Beating them to the punch with their very own awards show is their competitor, Apple.
The Apple Music Awards are being held this Wednesday, December 4, as a way to remind us that the Apple Music streaming service is still very much a thing.
“Introducing the Apple Music Awards, a celebration of the best and boldest musicians of 2019 and the enormous impact they have had on global culture this year,” an Apple press release says. The ceremony is intended to acknowledge those making impactful music (and high streaming numbers).
What’s particularly odd about the newest music awards is the fact that we already know who’s winning what awards, making the actual ceremony mere eye candy or masturbatory at best. Speaking of the awards, they are only handing out 5 statues – Songwriter of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Global Artist of the Year. So there’s less of a chance of this being some long, drawn-out event.
Here are the winners:
Artist of the Year – Billie Eilish
Breakthrough Artist of the Year – Lizzo
Song of the Year – Old Town Road by Lil Nas X
Album of the Year – WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? by Billie Eilish
Songwriter of the Year – Billie Eilish and FINNEAS
“The winners for Global Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Breakthrough Artist of the Year were hand-selected by Apple Music’s global editorial team of experts and tastemakers and given to artists who have true passion for their craft, who boldly defy conventions in the category and who embody a sense of humanity, where listeners are drawn as much to who they are as to their music,” the press release continues.
While the artist awards might be curated, Song of the Year and Album of the Year are selected based on streaming data and who’s got the most listens.
As for the statue itself? The five awards each feature “Apple’s custom silicon wafer suspended between a polished sheet of glass and a machined and anodized aluminum body.”
The inaugural Apple Music Awards kicks off at 6:30pm PST, December 4 with a live-streamed performance by Billie Eilish, undoubtedly performing something off her smash-hit album WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
