Southside singers Emma Bosworth, Jaguar Jonze nominated for QMAs

Two singers from Brisbane’s southside have been nominated for their songs for the Queensland Music Awards.

QMA nominee: Emma Bosworth from Acacia Ridge and Jaguar Jonze from Eight Mile Plains.

TWO singers from Brisbane’s southside have been nominated for their songs as part of the prestigious Queensland Music Awards.

The QMAs will take place at The Fortitude Music Hall on Tuesday, March 3.

$1 FOR 28 DAYS: FULL DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION

Emma Bosworth from Acacia Ridge.

Emma Bosworth from Acacia Ridge is nominated in the blues/roots category for her single Low Road and Jaguar Jonze from Eight Mile Plains is nominated in the singer-songwriter/folk category for her single Beijing Baby.

Jonze told the Southern Star the QMA’s had always been important to her and she was excited for this year’s event.

“Being Brisbane-raised, I was ecstatic when I got to go for my first ceremony, be nominated for my first award and take home a People’s Choice Award many moons ago,” she said.

“It holds a special place in my heart and would mean the world to be able to bring home a song award.”

Jaguar Jonze from Eight Mile Plains.

Jonze’s song Beijing Baby is about “ how easy it is to hide behind facades and be swept away in the allure of materialism”.

“I wrote it because, in this day and age temptation is everywhere and it’s so easy to set your value against metrics that shouldn’t be important,” she said.

This year Jonze is headed overseas for her first US tour and she will be releasing her first EP.

“I’ve been singing for seven years now … It hasn’t been a huge part of my life but singing, writing and performing became a necessity for catharsis,” Jonze said.

Jaguar Jonze from Eight Mile Plains.

“I think once you come across passion in your life, it’s really hard to go back and not have drive, so I’ve just been steam rolling through trying to make it happen since.”

Jonze hopes to have a sustainable career doing what she loves in arts and music.

“I’m just as passionate about my visual art project Spectator Jonze and hope to be able to weave all my creative worlds side-by-side and together,” she said.

Bosworth told the Southern Star it was a “huge pat on the back” to be nominated for a QMA.

“And a fantastic opportunity to wear something nice and get out with my husband, band mates and team, not just to celebrate the nomination, but to celebrate the rich music community that we have here in Brisbane,” she said.

Emma Bosworth from Acacia Ridge.

Bosworth said her song Low Road came to her really quick, which was always the dream for a songwriter.

“I faced some hurdles in my mid 20s that I struggled to move past; the song is kind of a letter to myself,” the mother-of-two said.

“Now that I can reflect (being almost 40) I realised that I tried really hard to please everyone; I struggled with big decisions and dwelled on them for far too long.

“Before now, I’d never really thought about what I hoped the song could do for a listener; but if it could give someone the confidence to believe in their intuition, to make mistakes, and be proud of who they are, then that would be awesome. I’m all for saving a bit of heartache here and there.”

Emma is nominated for a QMA.

Bosworth, who works part-time as co-CEO at Green Music Australia and is the founder of Wild Mountains Songs, has just received news that her song Oh Man is going to be on the TV show Harrow which she says is “pretty awesome”

“I wrote my first song about a week after I learnt my first guitar chord when I was 14. I find it really therapeutic. Like talking to my own internal best friend,” she said.

“I love how music making, and writing can transport me into a state of unconsciousness. It’s almost like a state of meditation for me.. whether I’m concentrating on playing it right, or using parts of your brain to write melodies .. it’s using parts of my brain that you don’t use in a normal job, or being a mum, or all of the other things we’re meant to be, I think it’s really healthy. It’s my guilty pleasure.”