Miiesha

Miiesha Elizabeth Rose Young, known mononymously as Miiesha, is an Australian singer-songwriter from the Aboriginal community of Woorabinda, Queensland. She was the recipient of New Talent of the Year at the 2020 National Indigenous Music Awards and won the ARIA Award for Best Soul/R&B Release at the 2020 ARIA Music Awards.

Miiesha
Birth name	Miiesha Elizabeth Rose Young
Born	Woorabinda, Queensland, Australia
Occupations	Singer songwriter
Years active	2019–present
Labels	EMI Music Australia
Website	miiesha.com

Early life and education

Miiesha Elizabeth Rose Young^{[citation needed]} is an Aṉangu/Torres Strait Islander woman from Woorabinda in Queensland.^[1]

Career

Miiesha is inspired by the sounds of RnB, gospel and soul, and the power of spoken word poetry.^[1]

Mieesha's career was launched after performing as one of the Kulgoodah dancers, who won the Dance Rites competition in Sydney in 2017. The competition had founded by head of Indigenous programming at the Sydney Opera House Rhoda Roberts a few years prior.^[2]

2019–2020: Nyaaringu

Miiesha made her debut single "Black Privilege" in June 2019. In May 2020, Miiesha released her debut album titled, Nyaaringu; a project of 9 songs tied together through the common themes of her life, her community and her people. Her late Grandmother's interludes provide a thread between the tracks, highlighting the passing down of knowledge from Elders through the generations.^[1] Triple J's Unearthed picked up album singles "Black Privilege" and "Drowning".^[3] The album peaked at number 28 on the ARIA Charts and won the ARIA Award for Best Soul/R&B Release at the 2020 ARIA Music Awards.

2021-present: Smoke & Mirrors

On 14 May 2021, Miiesha released "Damaged", which Miiesha said is her "most personal song yet".^[4] It won Song of the Year at the National Indigenous Music Awards 2021.^[5]

On 16 July 2021, Miiesha released "Made for Silence".^[6]

In September 2021, Miiesha announced a double-EP project titled Smoke & Mirrors, with the first part scheduled for release in November 2021.^[7] In a press release, the EPs explore "broken family dynamics, searching for love and healing from two perspectives", with the first centred around "survival" and the second on "looking back and understanding".^[7] The single "Still Dream" was released on 4 March 2022 from the forthcoming EP Mirrors.^[8] On 3 June 2022, Smoke & Mirrors was released on CD and LP, combining both EPs.^[9]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		AUS [10]
Nyaaringu	Released: 29 May 2020[11] Label: Miiesha Young (independent), EMI Australia Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming	28

Extended plays

List of EPs, with release date and label shown

Title	Details
Nyaaringu Remixes	Released: 28 August 2020[12] Label: Miiesha Young (independent), EMI Australia Format: Digital download, streaming
Smoke	Released: 19 November 2021[7] Label: Red Dirt Music Format: Digital download, streaming
Mirrors	Scheduled: 3 June 2022[7][8] Label: Red Dirt Music Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles, with year released and album name shown

Title	Year	Album
"Black Privilege"[13]	2019	Nyaaringu
"Drowning"[14]
"Twisting Words"	2020
"Hold Strong"[15]
"Neon Moon" (featuring the Woorabinda Singers)[16]		Deadly Hearts: Walking Together
"Damaged"[17]	2021	Smoke & Mirrors
"Made for Silence"[6]
"Price I Paid"[6]
"Still Dream"[8]	2022
"Everything"[18]
"War"[19]
"Eventually"[20]		TBA

As featured artist

List of singles, with year released and album name shown

Title	Year	Album
"Tjitji" (Ziggy Ramo featuring Miiesha)[21]	2020	Deadly Hearts: Walking Together
"Heaven of My Own" (Dallas Woods featuring Miiesha)[22]		Non-album single

Other appearances

List of other non-single song appearances

Title	Year	Album
"By the Boab Tree"	2023	Faraway Downs (Soundtrack)

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) to recognise composing and song writing skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2021	Miiesha Young p.k.a. Miiesha	Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year	Nominated	[23]
	"Twisting Words"	Most Performed R&B / Soul Work
2022	"Made for Silence"	Most Performed R&B / Soul Work	Nominated	[24]
2023	"Still Dream"	Most Performed R&B / Soul Work	Won	[25] [26]

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. As of 2020, Miiesha has received 5 nominations and Best Soul/R&B Release.^[27][28]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2020	Nyaaringu	Best Female Artist	Nominated	[28]
		Best Soul/R&B Release	Won
		Breakthrough Artist	Nominated
	IAMMXO (a.k.a Mohamed Komba) for Nyaaringu	Producer of the Year
		Engineer of the Year

Australian Music Prize

The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. They commenced in 2005.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2020	Nyaaringu	Album of the Year	Nominated	[29]

J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.^[30]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2020	Nyaaringu	Australian Album of the Year	Nominated	[31]

National Indigenous Music Awards

The National Indigenous Music Awards recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. They commenced in 2004.^[32][33]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2020	Herself	New Talent of the Year	Won	[33]
	Nyaaringu	Album of the Year	Nominated
	"Drowning"	Film Clip of the Year
2021	Herself	Artist of the Year	Nominated	[34][5]
	"Damaged"	Song of the Year	Won
2022	"Made for Silence"	Song of the Year	Nominated	[35][36]
2023	Smoke & Mirrors	Album of the Year	Nominated	[37]
	"Skin Deep"	Song of the Year	Nominated

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.^[38]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2020	Herself	Queensland Act Voice of the Year	Nominated	[38]

Queensland Music Awards

The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.^[39]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result (wins only)	Ref.
2021	"Twisting Words"	Indigenous Award	Won	[40]
		Soul / Funk / R&B Award	Won
		Remote Award	Won
2022	"Made for Silence"	Soul / Funk / R&B Award	Won	[41]
2023	"Still Dream"	Soul / Funk / R&B Award	Won	[42]

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.^[43]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2021	Miiesha	Best New Artist	Nominated	[44]

References

1. "About". miiesha. August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
2. Convery, Stephanie (14 March 2021). "'Australian institutions have quite a bit of work to do': Rhoda Roberts farewells the Sydney Opera House". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
3. Israel, Janine (25 May 2022). "'I didn't know I had it in me': soul singer Miiesha steps into the spotlight". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
4. Langford, Jackson (14 May 2021). "Miiesha makes her return with powerful new single "Damaged"". NME Australia. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
5. "The Kid LAROI, JK-47 lead National Indigenous Music Award winners". ABC. 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
6. "Watch Miiesha's Music Video for New Single "Made for Silence"". Music Feeds. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
7. Gallagher, Alex (17 September 2021). "Miiesha shares new single "Price I Paid", announces double-EP project". NME. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
8. Gallagher, Alex (3 March 2022). "Listen to Miiesha's new single "Still Dream"". NME Australia. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
9. "Smoke & Mirrors". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
10. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
11. "Nyaaringu by Miiesha on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
12. "Nyaaringu Remixes by Miiesha on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
13. "Black Privilege – Single by Miiesha on Apple Music". Apple Music. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
14. "Drowning – Single by Miiesha on Apple Music". Apple Music. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
15. Carr, Debbie (3 May 2020). "Miiesha releases new single "Hold Strong" ahead of debut collection". NME Australia. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
16. "Neon Moon (feat. The Woorabinda Singers) – Single by Miiesha on Apple Music". Apple Music. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
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20. "New Aus Music Playlist ADDITIONS – 19/08/2022". Music Feeds. 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
21. "Tjitji (featuring Miiesha) – Single by Ziggy Ramo on Apple Music". Apple Music. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
22. Gallagher, Alex (11 November 2020). "Listen to Dallas Woods' new single 'Heaven of My Own' featuring Miiesha". NME Australia. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
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27. "ARIA Awards 2020 Nominees". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 13 October 2020.
28. "And the 2020 ARIA Awards go to..." Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 25 November 2020.
29. "2020 Australian Music Prize finalists". Scenestr. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
30. "Here are your nominees for the 2020 J Awards!". Triple J. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
31. Triscari, Caleb (19 November 2020). "Lime Cordiale take home Australian Album of the Year at the 2020 J Awards". NME Australia. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
32. "Announcement: National Indigenous Music Awards finalists Unveiled". Noise11. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
33. "National Indigenous Music Awards 2020: Baker Boy wins second artist of the year title". Guardian Australia. 8 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
34. Cashmere, Paul (8 July 2021). "NIMA Nominees Revealed". noise11. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
35. "Nominees and Performers Announced For National Indigenous Music Awards 2022". Music Feeds. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
36. "2022 NIMAs: Baker Boy Wins Two Awards, Archie Roach and Gurrumul Honoured". The Music Network. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
37. Mary Varvaris (12 July 2023). "Budjerah & Wildfire Manwurrk Lead NIMA Finalist Nominations". The Music. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
38. "Nominees announced for 2020 National Live Music Awards". National Live Music Awards (NLMAs). 7 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
39. "About the Queensland Music Awards". Queensland Music Awards. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
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41. "2022 Queensland Music Awards Winners". Scenestr. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
42. "Thelma Plum, Ball Park Music win top gongs at 2023 Queensland Music Awards". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
43. Barnes, Amelia (5 December 2011). "Rolling Stone Magazine Australia announces 3rd annual awards event". The AU Review. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
44. "Tash Sultana, Tkay Maidza, and Tame Impala Lead Rolling Stone Australia Awards Winners". Rolling Stone Australia. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.