Emma Louise nominated for ARIA Award for best female artist

FROM Courier-Mail People's Choice to ARIA nominee, Emma Louise is going places.

THE rise of Queensland songwriter Emma Louise took another huge step yesterday when she was named as one of five finalists in the best female category at the ARIA Awards.

Emma Louise first won notice as a 15-year-old Cairns schoolgirl when she won The Courier-Mail People's Choice Award at the Queensland Music Awards in 2007, the youngest winner of the award voted by our readers.

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Her debut album Vs Head Vs Heart was named album of the year at the 2013 Queensland Music Awards and now wins an ARIA nomination alongside Missy Higgins, Sarah Blasko, Jessica Mauboy and Abbe May.

Emma Louise, 22, said after the announcement yesterday: "It seems pretty unreal, it hasn't hit me yet. Even if I get to see Sarah and Missy on the carpet at the ARIAs then I'd be stoked."

Emma Louise declined all offers from Australian record companies and released her debut album independently. "It was a risk, but I knew I needed that kind of creative freedom to make the record that I really wanted to make," she said.

Emma Louise played her first Sydney Opera House concert on Saturday.

Other Queensland nominees are Sheppard, for best independent release; Keith Urban, for best male; The Amity Affliction, for best hard rock/metal album;and Troy Cassar-Daley, for best country album for his collaboration with Adam Harvey.

The awards will be held in Sydney on December 1.

Album of the Year

Birds of Tokyo, March Fires

Flume, Flume

Guy Sebastian, Armageddon

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Push the Sky Away

Tame Impala, Lonerism

Best Male

Flume, Flume

Guy Sebastian, Armageddon

Keith Urban, Little Bit Of Everything

Matt Corby, Resolution

Paul Kelly, Spring and Fall

Best Female

Abbe May, Kiss My Apocalypse

Emma Louise, Vs Head Vs heart

Jessica Mauboy, To The End Of The Earth

Missy Higgins, Set Me On Fire

Sarah Blasko, I Awake

Breakthrough Artist

Big Scary, Not Art

Flume, Flume

Rufus, Atlas

The Rubens, The Rubens

Vance Joy, God Loves You When You Are Dancing

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