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Emily Wurramara is an Indigenous Australian singer and songwriter. At the 2024 ARIA Music Awards, she won the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album, making her the first Indigenous woman to ever win in this category.
Emily grew up in Brisbane after her family moved there when she was six. As a child, she wrote songs and poetry, and listened to Coloured Stone and Yothu Yindi on her grandparents' cassette player. She later listened to Billie Holiday, rapper Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé, and American country singer Alan Jackson.
In 2016, she released her debut Extended play, Black Smoke, which was featured on triple j unearthed and earned her a Queensland Music Award. She followed it up with an album named Milyakburra in 2018 and toured nationally with Alice Skye. Milyakburra is named after the island of Bickerton Island, sacred to Wurramara and her people. Family members feature on the album, including Wurramara's Uncle Enoch singing on track "Title" and her great-grandmother on "Carry Me Home". The album art is by her grandmother.
In November 2022, she collaborated with other First Nations artists Emma Donovan, DOBBY, Drmngnow, and Optamus to create a song in memory of Cassius Turvey, a Noongar-Yamatji boy who had died at the age of 15 the result of an assault by a random attacker when walking home from school in Perth, Western Australia. The song, titled "Forever 15", was played at Turvey's funeral on 18 November 2022 funeral and released three days later on 21 November 2022.
Wurramara appeared on the cover of Coles supermarket chain's Health and Beauty magazine for Winter 2023, alongside Noongar singer Bumpy.
In July 2024, Wurramara announced the release of her second studio album Nara. The album was released on 23 August 2024. The album was supported with a national tour, and won Best Adult Contemporary Album at the 2024 ARIA Awards. She is the first Indigenous woman to win in this category at the ARIA Awards.
On 2 May 2019, a fire at her home in Brisbane destroyed most of her belongings.
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| rowspan="2" | 2019
| Emily Wurramara
| Breakthrough Independent Artist
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| Milyakburra
| Best Independent Blues and Roots Album
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| 2023
| Ayarra Emeba (Calm Songs)
| Best Independent Children's Album or EP
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| rowspan="4"| 2025
| rowspan="1"| Nara
| Independent Album of the Year
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| Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore for Emily Wurramara (featuring Tasman Keith) "Lordy Lordy"
| Independent Music Video of the Year
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| ABC Music and The Annex for Nara
| Independent Marketing Team of the Year
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| Liz Ansley for Nara
| Independent Publicity Team of the Year
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| 2025
| Emily Wurramara
| Emerging Songwriter of the Year
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| 2018
| Milyakburra
| Best Blues & Roots Album
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|rowspan="2"| 2024
|rowspan="2"| Nara
| Best Adult Contemporary Album
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| Best Independent Release
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|rowspan="1"| 2025
| Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore for Emily Wurramara – "Lordy Lordy"
| Best Video
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| 2022
| "When a Tree Falls"
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| scope="row" rowspan="2"| 2024
| "Lordy Lordy" (featuring Tasman Keith)
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| rowspan="2"| 2017
| "Herself"
| New Talent of the Year
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| "Hey Love"
| Song of the Year
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| rowspan="2"| 2018
| "Herself"
| New Talent of the Year
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| Milyakburra
| Album of the Year
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| 2020
| "Herself"
| Artist of the Year
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| rowspan="4"| 2025
| Emily Wurramara
| Artist of the Year
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| Nara
| Album of the Year
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| "Lordy Lordy"
| Film Clip of the Year
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| "S.T.F.A.F.M."
| Song of the Year
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| rowspan="2" | 2023
| rowspan="2" | Emily Wurramara
| Best Folk Act
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| Live Voice in Tasmania
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| 2017
| "Ngayuwa Nalyelyingminama (I Love You)"
| Indigenous Song of the Year
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| 2018
| "Ngayuwa Nalyelyingminama (I Love You)"
| Indigenous Song of the Year
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|rowspan="2"|2019
| "Lady Blue"
| Indigenous Song of the Year
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| "Tap Sticks"
| Blues and Roots Song of the Year
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Career
Wurramara writes and sings in both English and Anindilyakwa, and plays six instruments, including piano and violin.
Personal life
Wurramara has a daughter, born in 2017.
Discography
Albums
Extended plays
Singles
2016
! scope="row" "Ngerraberrakernama (Wake Up)" Black Smoke 2017
! scope="row" "Hey Love" 2019
! scope="row" "Yuwani" rowspan=5 2020
! scope="row" "Trust" 2024
! scope="row" "Magic Woman Dancing" Nara
Non-single album appearances
2017
! scope="row" "Black Boy" Deadly Hearts 2020
! scope="row" "Get Back to the Land" (with DRMNGNOW) Deadly Hearts: Walking Together 2022
! scope="row" "Dressing Up" ReWiggled 2024
! scope="row" "So High" (with PNAU) Hyperbolic
Awards and nominations
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
APRA Music Awards
The APRA Music Awards were established by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 1982 to honour the achievements of songwriters and music composers, and to recognise their song writing skills, sales and airplay performance, by its members annually.
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
Environmental Music Prize
The Environmental Music Prize is a quest to find a theme song to inspire action on climate and conservation. It commenced in 2022.
(The Boy of Many Colors featuring Emily Wurramara)
| Environmental Music Prize
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| 2023
| "Lady Blue"
| Environmental Music Prize
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J Awards
The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.
Directed by Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore
| Australian Video of the Year
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| Emily Wurramara
| Double J Artist of the Year
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National Indigenous Music Awards
The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMA) is an annual award ceremony and recognises excellence, dedication, innovation and outstanding contribution to the Northern Territory music industry.
National Live Music Awards
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) commenced in 2016 to recognise contributions to the live music industry in Australia.
Queensland Music Awards
The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.
External links
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