INTERVIEW: Emily Wurramara, Miss Kaninna and Jem Cassar-Daley speak on their nomination for Emerging Songwriter of the Year at the 2025 APRA Music Awards

L-R: Emily Wurramara, Jem Cassar-Daley, Miss Kaninna
Published: 28 April 2025

Emily Wurramara, Miss Kaninna and Jem Cassar-Daley are already three of the brightest young talents in the Australian music industry, and this has been confirmed with their nomination for Emerging Songwriter of the Year at the 2025 APRA Music Awards, which will be held this Wednesday, 30 April.

The APRA Music Awards honours songwriters and publishers who have achieved artistic excellence and outstanding success in their fields. This is where the artists behind the glamour and glitz of pop music are recognised for the irreplaceable and often under appreciated contribution they make to the songs that shape our lives.

Warnindhilyagwa woman Emily Wurramara has been performing since she was a young child and her music has been critically acclaimed almost from the very beginning. Her debut EP Black Smoke, released independently in 2016, won a Queensland Music Award, and her debut album, 2018’s Milyakburra, earned her her first ARIA Award nomination.

Her second album Nara, released last year, saw her win the ARIA Award for Best Contemporary Album, in the process becoming the first Indigenous woman to ever win this category.

With a soundscape that covers Indigenous, blues, roots, rock and pop, Wurramara is a magnetic performer and songwriter and her APRA Music Award nomination is the latest step in a career that is seeing Wurramara become one of Australia’s greatest performers.

Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirendali woman Miss Kaninna creates powerful music that crosses hip-hop, R&B, rap and pop with elevated production that puts her music at a level alongside that of global superstars.

Like Wurramara, Miss Kaninna is breaking the glass ceiling for Indigenous artists and is already becoming a strong role model for the next generation. At the 2024 ARIA Awards, she received three nominations, including Best Independent Release and Best Soul/R&B Release for her debut single ‘Blak Britney’, making her the first ever Indigenous woman to receive a nomination for her debut single in ARIA Awards history.

Last year, she released her debut EP KANINNA and alongside critical acclaim, global superstars Kelis and Amyl and the Sniffers voiced their support for the young artist.

Only two years into her music career, Miss Kaninna is already proving she has everything it takes to be a major star, and there is little doubt this APRA Music award nomination is just the first of many.

Jem Cassar-Daley released her first single ‘Letting Go’ in 2021, with her debut EP I Don’t Know Who To Call dropping the following year. Her gorgeously warm indiepop explores relationships, heartbreak and growing up and has already been recognised by her peers, winning three Queensland Music Awards in the last two years and New Talent of the Year at the 2022 National Indigenous Music Awards.

With 10 million global streams to her name and performances at major festivals including the UK’s The Great Escape and Tasmania’s Party in the Paddock, Cassar-Daley is a young artist you should keep a very close eye on as it surely won’t be long until she is an international star.

We recently caught up with all three women to chat about their APRA Music Award nominations and the importance of recognising the craft of songwriting.

I want to start off by saying a big congratulations to you all on being nominated in the 2025 APRA Music Awards. How are you feeling?
Emily Wurramara: Thank you very much! I’m so stoked about being nominated. It’s a really cool thing, considering songwriting is such a big deal for me when it comes to the music and writing process.
Miss Kaninna: Being nominated for an APRA award is such an honour. I love APRA and all the work they do. They truly care about musicians and our rights as songwriters. To be nominated for best emerging songwriter honestly feels like a dream. I put a lot of time and energy into my songwriting and it has taken a long time finding my voice, so to be recognised for this work makes me feel so seen and appreciate.
Jem Cassar-Daley: I am absolutely pinching myself! I adore all of the nominees in this category and the awesome music they’re putting out, so to be alongside them is a huge honour

The APRA Music Awards are so important because they first and foremost celebrate the person who wrote the song, and the artistry of songwriting, regardless of the glitz and glamour that may go into the presentation of the song. In a world of streaming and ‘free’ music, what more do you think we need to do to elevate songwriters?
Emily Wurramara: I think showing up for our local artists and by that I mean, buying merch, downloading straight from Bandcamp, going to shows and physically showing up is important too. It’s always cool to walk in a place and discover an up and coming artist, having a strong community is where it’s at.
Miss Kaninna: I believe as a society we must try harder to push the boundaries of music and elevate those who seek the truths or those who empower others. We live in a world of quick dopamine hits and fast content engagement and music is becoming very quickly digested and spat back out. I think a good way to support songwriters is turning up to live gigs when you can and supporting live music. That’s how I make my living as an independent artist, live music. it’s really hard to save up enough money to make music videos, photoshoots, press runs and all the rest so I rely on live music. I love engaging with people and seeing their faces and how they interpret the music. It feels like we are all apart of something together. Experiencing this music together.
Jem Cassar-Daley: Due to the ever changing landscape of the music industry, I think it’s more important than ever to support live music. Festivals have been taking a hit lately and it’s becoming difficult for artists to continue creating. As it’s increasingly hard to make money through streaming, going to gigs and grabbing some merch is a great way to keep songwriters doing what they do best!

What was the impetus behind you becoming a songwriter? Was it something you have always done since a young age, or did it happen through circumstance?
Emily Wurramara: I think I’ve always been a songwriter, it’s in my blood and it’s in my spirit. Story telling is something my people have practiced for thousands of years. The earliest song I wrote I was six and a half years old and it was a song about mermaids, dolphins and dugongs. I write what reflects what’s happening in the time.
Miss Kaninna: I started writing poems. My Nan and Pop love poems so I would write really long poems that didn’t even really make sense but I would always use massive words that I didn’t even really know the meaning of because I like the way they sounded together. My mum always said they were so profound but I reckon she was just trying to encourage me because I’ve got dyslexia pretty bad and I was always ashamed of my vocabulary and ability to read and write. Poems made me feel like I was a big flash scholar or something. Eventually I tried writing songs when I was like 13 but they were never that good. As I got older I would write more poems but I would wing them instead which eventually lead to writing full songs.
Jem Cassar-Daley: Songwriting is something that has been ingrained in me for the longest time. When we were seven, my best friend and I (we’re still best friends to this day) would sit on top of our water tank and write songs in our journals for hours together. Mum and Dad loved it when my brother and I would write and Dad would often set up a microphone after school and let us improvise lyrics. It has always been my favourite way to express myself!

What is your advice for any young creative, particularly women, that want to pursue a career in songwriting?
Emily Wurramara: You know that little phrase “You’re too much”? I think that applies to music as well, you can never ever be too much. You are and always will be enough.
Miss Kaninna: Just give it a go, music and songs don’t have me be one particular way. That’s the beauty in music, it is whatever you say it is. The greatest musicians of all time made some of the best music of all time just by giving it a go and seeing what sounds good. Not everyone will like it but that doesn’t matter. It’s whether you like it and you’re proud of it. There are no rules. Look at Queen. When they made ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ everyone thought it was stupid and too long of a song - and now it’s one of the most famous songs of modern pop music.
Jem Cassar-Daley: If I had a piece of advice for writing songs, it would be not to shy away from honesty in your lyrics, as you will be surprised as to how many people relate to your story!

The APRA Music Awards nomination is already a major event for the year, but what else do you have planned for 2025?
Emily Wurramara: More music! More gigs and hopefully some collaborations along the way.
Miss Kaninna: 2025 is a big year of me. I have so many plans. I am travelling to the UK for the first time to present my music and story. This alone is a massive achievement for me. I want to go to the place that is responsible for my peoples’ suffering and let them know we are still HERE and we as Aboriginal people aren’t going anywhere and we demand justice. I have so much new music planned as well. And maybe even my first music video! This year for me is about learning and growing.
Jem Cassar-Daley: 2025 is jam packed with a lot of fun things that I’m so excited for! I’ve been sitting on so much new music that I’m keen to share, as well as some very fun festivals coming up, including Winter Wine Festival in Gerringong and a very exciting headline tour throughout May and June! I am absolutely buzzing.

The APRA Music Awards will be held on Wednesday 30 April. For more information see here.
Follow Emily Wurramara on Instagram.
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Follow Jem Cassar-Daley on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok