Tonight, we celebrated the inaugural PEZZYS, an awards night you should know about already.
Oh, you don’t? WELL… allow me to explain. Together with our pals at Swarovski, we doled out awards to all the Aussies smashing it in the pop culture-verse – the foodies, the musos, the stars on our (and the world’s) screens, the memelords, the young entrepreneurs, the sporting pros, and our ‘Strayan of the year.
It was a y’huuuuge night, us basking in the nominees’ extra-talented glow, them, pretty darn chuffed to be taking home the first-ever PEZZY in their category. There were a few matching outfit moments too (what can we say, we’ve got style):
There were eight in all (each with five nominees) that shared the spotlight during the evening which, when viewed collectively, form quite the comprehensive cross-section of the happenings in Australian pop culture not too long ago.
Without further ado, here are the categories, nominees and WIN-WIN-WINNERS:
FOOD (GET FORKED)
- OAK’s Legendairy Frozen Choccy Milk Went Nationwide
- Lockout Be Damned, Sydney’s Iconic Lansdowne Hotel Reopened For Business
- Melb Meat Merchants Huxtaburger Launched A Hangover-Saving Brekkie Menu
- Domino’s Introduced Vegan Cheese & We Melted With Excitement
- Golden Gaytime Sangas Were Invented, ‘Cos Dreams Do Come True
WINNER: Lockout be damned, Sydney’s iconic Lansdowne Hotel reopened for business.
The lockout laws have seen the closure of numerous beloved venues around Sydney, but thankfully one place said “nup” to that trend: Chippendale‘s iconic Lansdowne Hotel. It had been quietly undergoing renovations for several months before announcing it’d be reopening its doors – and as expected, everyone was beyond stoked. The venue has quickly met, and arguably exceeded, the glory of its old days. Yep, we’re all eternally grateful to Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham (the owners of Mary’s Newtown and The Unicorn Hotel in Paddington) for bringing this establishment back into our lives.
SPORTS (ACHIEVEMENT IN SPORTS BALL)
- Cricket Aus finally gave elite female cricketers a pay rise.
- Matildas gun Sam Kerr shattered Australian goal-scoring records.
- Dustin Martin became the first player to win the Brownlow, the AFL premiership and the Norm Smith Medal in one season.
- The very first season of AFLW was an A+ footy triumph.
- Ya boy Ben Simmons smashed his rookie NBA season for the 76ers.
WINNER: The very first season of AFLW was an A+ footy triumph.
2017 marked the launch season of AFLW, which saw some of Australia’s most talented female footy players from eight teams (Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood, Fremantle, Greater Western Sydney, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs) play in a seven-round competition which kicked off with a Carlton v Collingwood stoush at IkonPark in front of 65,000 people and ended with Adelaide taking out the inaugural Grand Final over minor premiers Brisbane. With thousands of fans turning up to see great footy over the two-month season and six more teams joining the comp by 2020, AFLW is only gonna get bigger.
MUSIC (GUITAR HERO)
- The women of Aussie music penned an open later calling out sexual misconduct in the industry.
- Gang of Youths completely owned 2017 with #1 album, three ARIAs and four songs in the Hottest 100.
- Camp Cope called out Falls Festival during their set for a lack of equality on the line-up.
- Triple j officially shifted the date of the Hottest 100 from the controversial January 26.
- Client Liaison brought out Tina Arena to smash ‘Sorrento Moon’ at Splendour.
WINNER: Triple j officially shifted the date of the Hottest 100 from the controversial January 26.
Youth broadcaster Triple J confirmed it would officially move the date of the Hottest 100 countdown, after a lengthy consultation process regarding shifting the list away from the increasingly controversial Australia Day.
The station confirmed the countdown will be moved to the fourth weekend in January from this point on, kicking everything off this year on Saturday, January 27th.
BREAKING THE INTERNET
- Sia leaked her own nude to prevent paps from selling it to fans.
- Idol-killing ‘Milkshake Duck’ internet phenomenon voted Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year.
- Nine News crew’s white shirt nightmare, aka ‘Jacketgate’ goes global.
- ABC’s Insiders had us all transfixed by Bob Katter’s bizarre mid-interview brain snap.
- Bag Raiders’ 2009 gem ‘Shooting Stars’ memed its way into our feeds again.
WINNER: Bag Raiders’ 2009 gem ‘Shooting Stars’ memed its way into our feeds again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=MSENH3FE2As
One of the best memes of 2017 also resurrected one of the best Australian songs of 2009 – ‘Shooting Stars‘ by Bag Raiders.
The idea is simple: a snippet of video is played and the main subject is all of a sudden blasted through the stars or some other insane backdrop, complete with a fitting soundtrack. It’s hilarious and hypnotising all at the same time.
‘STRAYAN OF THE YEAR
- Tracey Spicer tackled sexual harassment for the #MeToo movement.
- Sally Rugg worked tirelessly to achieve marriage equality for Aussies.
- Rebel Wilson took on Bauer Media in landmark defamation case, and won.
- Samuel Johnson used his Logie wins to raise awareness (and millions) for cancer research.
- Clinton Pryor walked 5,581km across Oz in pursuit of justice for Indigenous people.
WINNER: Sally Rugg worked tirelessly to achieve marriage equality for Aussies.
Sally was at the forefront of the fight for marriage equality in Australia – the GetUpcreative and campaigns director seemed to never sleep, pushing for Aussies to vote in the Marriage Equality Postal Vote, to rock up to rallies, to make their voices heard. And it paid off – we won marriage equality, and Sally’s a huge part to thank in that.
TV + MOVIES + STREAMING (DON’T BELIEVE ME, JUST WATCH)
- Sorry, but Sophie Monk was the greatest Bachelorette of all time.
- Samara Weaving kicked off US domination with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and SMILF.
- Aussie legends Liane Moriarty and Nicole Kidman brought us our new #1 show, Big Little Lies.
- Matt Okine wrote/starred in/brought us legit lols with The Other Guy.
- The Katering Show gals dropped the v. funny full-length show Get Krack!n’.
WINNER: Sorry, but Sophie Monk was the greatest Bachelorette of all time.
The Bachie franchise did not know what hit it in 2017. By calling upon Sophie Monkas their first-ever celebrity lead, and one of Australia’s funniest and down-to-earth personalities at that, Channel 10 did the whole country (and their ratings) a service. Whether she was putting a-holes in their place or breaking the hearts of budding magicians and ah, delicate vineyard owners, it was truly entertaining from beginning to end.
LIKE A BOSS
- Local jewellery label Babyanything scored Kim K and Miley Cyrus (and us).
- Afterpay is everywhere, turns out we’re super into buying now and paying later.
- A festival all about death and dying came to Sydney and was a lively success.
- Aussie tech start-up Canva is now worth over $1 billion and scored ‘unicorn’ status.
- Showpo CEO Jane Lu made her first appearance on AFR’s Young Rich List with a cool $32 million profit.
WINNER: Afterpay is everywhere, turns out we’re super into buying now and paying later.
It’s crazy to think that a couple of years ago Afterpay didn’t even exist, and now it’s a permanent fixture in so many retailers and, well, people in general’s lives. Sydney-based co-founder and CEO of Afterpay, Nick Molnar, is to thank for this, and it’s pretty darn impressive how he managed to shake up the retail industry in 2017, namely by becoming more and more prevalent throughout it. Afterpay has become like free shipping: if you don’t have it, customers are going elsewhere.
BREAKTHROUGH TALENT
- Dacre Montgomery was one of the best things about Stranger Things season two.
- Alex the Astronaut burst onto the scene (and into our hearts) with her LGBTIQ+ anthem.
- Young gun Ruel’s song ‘Don’t Tell Me’ had Australia, and Elton John, frothin’.
- Country gal Victoria Lee slayed her Victoria’s Secret fashion show debut.
- Katherine Langford stole the entire show in 13 Reasons Why, scored first Golden Globe nod.
WINNER: Katherine Langford stole the entire show in 13 Reasons Why, scored first Golden Globe nod.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdt3J01j5MS/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_profile_upsell_test
13 Reasons Why was the show on everyone’s lips in 2017, fronted by Perth girl Katherine Langford. She did a bang-up job in the role, which really thrust her into a public world she hadn’t previously been a part of. Sure, she had acted, but not in anything as widespread as this Netflix show. It’s a role that’s seen her get a nod from the Golden Globes, have an appearance on Ellen and get cast in upcoming flick Love, Simon.
*wipes away a tear*
We’re proud of you all.
And we’ll express that pride – and a healthy dose of awe – the only way we know how: gifs.
