ARIA-Award winner Flume is in the running for the APRA Song of the Year alongside 18 other Australian artists, including Tim Minchin with his controversial protest song about Cardinal Pell.

Electronic producer Flume, who took home eight ARIA Awards last year, is nominated twice for the prestigious award with his songs Never Be Like You and Say It.

Flume is in good company as hip hop group A.B. Original have also been nominated twice, for their tracks 2 Black 2 Strong and for January 26 – the song calling to change the date of Australia Day.

It’s been a big week for A.B. Original whose album Reclaim Australia was also announced as one of the nine finalists for Australia’s richest music prize, the AMP (Australian Music Prize).

Psych rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, avant-garde artist D.D Dumbo and veterans Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds also made it on to both music lists for their songs and their albums.

The winner of the AMP can often be an indicator of how well an artist does at the APRA Awards.

Last year, Courtney Barnett won the AMP for her album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit and then walked away with the Songwriter Of The Year gong at the APRA Awards one month later.

However, the APRA Song of the Year award went to Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker for the track Let It Happen.

This year’s APRA nominees for Song of the Year also includes several artists who have won the award before in its 25-year history.

Sia, Missy Higgins, Daniel Johns (who is nominated here for collaborating with Flume on the track Say It) and Julian Hamilton (who appears on the same Flume track) have all won the award before and are in the running again this year.

There are also several first-time nominees on the list this year, including Amy Shark, Tash Sultana, D.D Dumbo and Julia Jacklin.

Also for the first time this year, a voting academy made up of previous nominees of the award including The Preatures’ Isabella Manfredi and Jack Moffitt, Katie Noonan, Troy Cassar-Daley and Paul Mac will determine the winner from the top 20.

The 2017 APRA Music Awards will be held on April 3 in Sydney.

Top 20 contenders for 2017 APRA song of the year:

1955 – Hilltop Hoods feat. Montaigne and Tom Thum
2 Black 2 Strong – A.B. Original
Adore – Amy Shark
Cheap Thrills – Sia
Come Home Cardinal Pell – Tim Minchin
Gamma Knife – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
It’s Not Too Late – Archie Roach
January 26 – A.B. Original
Jungle – Tash Sultana
Never Be Like You – Flume
Oh Canada – Missy Higgins
Pool Party – Julia Jacklin
Satan – D.D Dumbo
Say It – Flume
Set In Stone – Guy Sebastian
Skeleton Tree – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Sooth Lady Wine – Matt Corby
Sound Of Silence – Dami Im
To Think That I Once Loved You – The Drones
Viceroy – Violent Soho

– AAP