2016 Scene Awards - Man of the Year

One guy from Australia still at the start of his incredible musical journey and one guy from England whose journey was so much more than music, it was everything. This is Man of the Year.

MAN OF THE YEAR

Runner-up: Remi

Australia's premiere MC of the male variety knocked it out of the park yet again in 2016 with his sophomore LP, Divas and Demons. Yep, Remi Kolawole has fast become the most fascinating male artist in the country today. With every new song released the appreciation grows, as does the depth of his writing. Team-ups with the likes of Sampa The Great and Jordan Rakei show excellent judgment in choosing collaborative partners that will bring out the best in both artists. And at the end of the day, we love Remi because he's really good at providing music to us that puts a bounce in our step when we need it the most. He can't get back to us with LP3 soon enough. (Matt Bond)

Winner: David Bowie



 

I mentioned to someone the concept of making David Bowie our Man of the Year and they responded in a way I know some people may; "Because he died? Or did you actually like that last album?" and my response is simple. I don't know if I would have liked Blackstar any more or any less had I not known he had passed when I listened to it in full for the first time. I don't know how I would have felt had I known it was his final goodbye in music form. I don't know how I would have felt if the first time I watched that dark clip I would know that he would be gone in a matter of days and that it was so much darker and somehow so much lighter than I could ever have imagined, let alone understood.

But within that, there is also this.

I don't know if I would have become a Bowie fan all those years ago had I been one of the popular kids in school. I don't know if I would have related quite as well to those words about planet earth on 'Life On Mars' had I ever felt like I belong. I don't know if I would ever have needed those keys in 'Changes' as much if I'd thought I was one of the pretty girls. I don't know if I would have heard the meaning in 'Under Pressure' if I hadn't had my heart torn to pieces. I don't know any of these things but one of the things the music of David Bowie has taught me is that I don't want to know. I don't need to know if I would have acted differently, felt differently, cried differently when he passed, because the life I'm leading is mine. With all of it's sublime heights and all of it's glorious lows, every bit is me and it's artists like Bowie who help me realise along the way, that me is perfectly ok. When there is doubt and when there is wonder, when there is love and when there is fear, the one constant companion has always been music. And how lucky am I to have lived in a world where a simply, perfectly complex set of notes and words have meant the difference between a day beginning and a day ending? He is Man of the Year, because of his talent, because of his inspiration, because of his legacy, but most importantly, because it is David Bowie who helped me realise that with every insecurity and every blustering confidence, I can do this, minute by minute. I need not worry about anything other than now, because every single day is exactly that, just one day. 

"We can be heroes...just for one day" 

(Jo Michelmore)

2015 Winner
Jack Colwell
Runner-up: Jeremy Neale

2014 Winner
Jack White
Runner-up: Harts

2013 Winner
Eminem
Runner-up: Pharrell Williams

2012 Winner
Jack White
Runner-up: Frank Ocean

2010 Winner
Kanye West