Perth Hills punk rockers Helena. have taken out the Grand Prize at West Australian Music's (WAM) 2025 Song Of The Year competition with their song 'P's Get Degrees'.
Western Australia's premier competition to platform and celebrate the depth of talent in WA's contemporary music scene, Helena. also took home the Rock award (for the same song)."What a night! 'P's Get Degrees' won the overall Grand Prize. Massive thank you to YT Audio Productions for all his hard work in making this track sound incredible," posted the band.
"Thank you to WAM, Healthway and Act Belong Commit for hosting these awards. Incredible amount of musical talent WA produces."
Seamlessly blending rock anthems, pop punk, and harmonies to create a sound that's both infectious and captivating, with each performance Helena. deliver catchy tunes that undoubtedly make you move and leave you with a lasting impression.
Young 17-year-old trailblazer Elianie was Grand Prize Runner Up for 'My Mind' which also won the Schools 15–18 category. Yet again showing the quality of entries in the youth categories. "ONE WEEK until my new single 'Apathetic will be out everywhere!! ⋆.˚꩜," posted Elianie yesterday.
"After having not released music for a whiiile, I'm SO excited and ready to have this song out in the world. 'Apathetic' came together in one studio session with Calvin Bennett and I love it very much. seven days to gooo! Let's do this!!"
Second Runner Up was awarded to 'The Hunger (feat. Lemon Myrtle)' by Brightsider, the category winning song for Outstanding Regional.
"Lemon Myrtle, holy sh.t we won a thing!!! Such a fun night at Freo.Social for WAM Song Of The Year Awards; yeww thanks for having us, more ridiculous pics to come 🥳.
"Massive shout out to all the other regional acts nominated last night, so much crazy talent in WA ❤️."
The winner of the Act Belong Commit category this year was young First Nations performer ICONYX with 'Blak On Trak', which featured in the top five of three different categories and winner of the Outstanding Indigenous category. "Thank you to all who helped with this amazing body of work! I am so, so proud of it!"
Healthway Chief Executive Officer, Colin Smith congratulated ICONYX for taking home two well-deserved awards. "Congratulations to ICONYX and to all the winners and nominees.
"WAM is leading the way with a programme that not only celebrates musical talent but also strengthens our music community by putting mental health and well-being at its heart." Healthway is proud to partner with WAM to promote the Act Belong Commit health message.
West Australian Music CEO, Owen Whittle congratulated the winners. "With over 800 submissions across 17 categories from all corners of the state, these awards have shown that WA continues to publish the best music in the country.
"In 2025 we have seen a continued emergence of young musicians into the awards with under 18 musicians winning five categories, including our Outstanding Indigenous, Act Belong Commit and 'Hip-Hop/R&B.
"WAM was pleased to debut a new award, A Song of Sophie, developed in honour of local music enthusiast and artist Sophie Smith, and is possible thanks to the Sophie Smith Fund, held with the Fremantle Foundation.
"This unique, additional category welcomed under 25 artists to be judged by a specialist panel with the winner set to receive a cash prize of $2,500 and an exclusive mentoring programme with a renowned local artist Jordi Davieson from San Cisco.
"WAM would like to congratulate the recipient of this award, Liz-Zard for her song hard to believe. WAM is proud to honour Sophie's legacy by developing and nurturing local talent and celebrating West Australian music."
The 2025 Song Of The Year live event featured performances by Holli Scott, ICONYX, NEOMANTRA, Brightsider and EDIE – delivering a dynamic and diverse performance programme befitting of this big celebration of WA songwriting talent.
2025 WAM Song Of The Year Winners Tour Dates
GRAND PRIZE
Winner: 'P's Get Degree' by Helena.Runner-up: 'My Mind' by Elianie
Second Runner Up: 'The Hunger' by Brightsider feat. Lemon Myrtle
