Talented Queensland singer-songwriter Sycco is a formidable musical force, winning both Song of The Year and Pop awards for My Ways at the 2022 Queensland Music Awards (QMAs).

It was an impressive encore performance for the Brisbane-based musician and producer who also took out both categories at the 2021 QMAs. She was among dozens of musicians honoured at the sold-out 2022 QMAs, held tonight under the glittering chandeliers of The Fortitude Music Hall.

Hosted by Katherine Feeney and Michael Tuahine, more than 500 guests applauded winners in 26 award categories and enjoyed surprise performances from The Jungle Giants, Troy and Jem Cassar-Daley, Sachem, Zheani, CLOE TERARE and Felivand. Also nabbing two awards was Capricornia’s Zheani with the fairy-electronica-screamo-rapper winning the Heavy category and the triple j Unearthed Emerging Artist of The Year award.

The Jungle Giants won the coveted Album of The Year award for their ARIA chart-topping LP Love Signs, celebrating with a performance of the album’s titular track. The other show-stopping performance of the night came from Troy Cassar-Daley and Jem Cassar-Daley, who received the Indigenous award for her debut single, Letting Go. The father-daughter duo covered Brisbane Blacks, an iconic protest song written by Mop and The Dropouts’ Dennis Conlon, who received the QMusic Lifetime Achievement Award for his important work in using music to draw attention to racism and oppression experienced by First Australians.

While a panel of expert industry judges decide most QMAs categories, the People’s Choice Awards hand the power to music’s diverse, enthusiastic and colourful community of fans. The trio of popular vote awards identify organisers, events and venues that have gone above and beyond to deliver an exceptional experience to patrons. Both Metropolitan Venue of The Year and Regional Venue of The Year were awarded to the 2021 defending champions – The Tivoli and NightQuarter on the Sunshine Coast, respectively.