Best Pop Artist () is an Aotearoa Music Award that honours New Zealand artists for outstanding pop recordings.
The inaugural award was presented as Best Pop Album in 2010 to Gin Wigmore for her album Holy Smoke. In 2017, the award was changed to Best Pop Artist. The change was made to all the genre-specific awards, and was to reflect the changing release climate in which full albums had become less common. Under the new rules, an artist who has released "an album OR a minimum of five tracks" can be nominated.
Benee has the most awards with four wins, followed by Lorde, Kimbra, and Broods who have all won it twice each.
Recipients
Best Pop Album (2010 - 2016) Year Winner Album Other finalists 2010 Gin Wigmore Holy Smoke Anika Moa – Love in Motion Dane Rumble – The Experiment 2011Brooke FraserFlags Kids of 88 – Sugarpills Julia Deans – Modern Fables 2012KimbraVows Bic Runga – Belle Gin Wigmore – Gravel & Wine 2013Jamie McDellSix Strings & A SaliboatAnikaBoh&Hollie – Peace of Mind Kids of 88 – Modern Love 2014LordePure Heroine Benny Tipene – Toulouse Stan Walker – Inventing Myself 2015BroodsEvergreen Benny Tipene – Bricks Six60 – Six60 2016BroodsConscious Avalanche City – We Are for the Wild Places MAALA – Composure
Best Pop Artist (2017 - present) Year Winner Other finalists 2017Lorde – Melodrama Theia – Theia Mitch James 2018 Kimbra Drax Project Six60 2019Benee – Fire on Marzz Broods – Don't Feed the Pop Monster Mitch James – Mitch James 2020Benee – Stella & Steve Paige – Always Growing Six60 – Six60 2021Benee Foley LA Women 2022Benee – Lychee Georgia Lines – Human Lorde – Solar Power 2023 colspan="3" 2024Georgia Lines Foley Paige 2025Cassie Henderson – The Yellow Chapter Frankie Venter Georgia Lines – The Rose of Jericho
References
External links
Official Aotearoa Music Awards website