Better in Blak (song)
"Better in Blak" is a song by Australian singer/songwriter Thelma Plum, released on 26 April 2019 as the third single from her debut studio album of the same name.
"Better in Blak" | ||||
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Single by Thelma Plum | ||||
from the album Better in Blak | ||||
Released | 26 April 2019 | |||
Length | 3:12 | |||
Label | Mosy Recordings, Sony Music Australia | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | ||||
Thelma Plum singles chronology | ||||
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In July 2019, "Better in Blak" was nominated for Film Clip of the Year at the National Indigenous Music Awards.[1][2]
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019, "Better in Blak" was nominated for Best Video.[3]
At the J Awards of 2019, the song was nominated for Australian Video of the Year.[4]
At the APRA Music Awards of 2020, "Better in Blak" was nominated for Song of the Year.[5][6]
The song won the 2020 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition.[7]
Background
Upon release, Plum said: "I wrote 'Better in Blak' about my experiences with people trying to take the colour from the conversation. My colour is an important part of who I am, and over the last couple of years I've had people try and tell me 'it's not about colour' when obviously to me it is."[8]
Reception
Laura English from Music Feeds wrote: "The track is all about the frustrating experiences Plum faces as a Gamilaraay woman and musician", describing it as "an emotional, cathartic song that sees honest lyrics coupled with upbeat, danceable beats".[8]
Music video
The music video was directed by Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore and released on 28 May 2019.[9] It was nominated for Best Video at the ARIA Music Awards of 2019.[10]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Better in Blak" | 3:12 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[13] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
References
- "National Indigenous Music Awards unveils 2019 nominations". NIMA. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- "Record breaking crowd for the 2019 National Indigenous Music Awards!". NIMA. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- "ARIA Awards: 2019 ARIA Awards nominated artists revealed". ARIA Awards. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- "The J Award 2019". Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- Cashmere, Paul (7 April 2020). "Tones and I leads nominations for 2020 virtual APRA Awards". Noise11. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- "2020 Awards". APRA AMCOS. 7 April 2020. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- "Thelma Plum's "Better in Blak" Wins Vanda & Young Songwriting Comp". Billboard. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- English, Laura (26 April 2019). "Thelma Plum returns with new single "Better in Blak"". Music Feeds. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- "Thelma Plum - Better In Blak (Official Video)". YouTube. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ARIA Award previous winners. "Winners by Award – Artisan Awards – Best Video". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- "Better in Blak – Single by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- "ARIA Chart Watch #562". auspOp. 1 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- "Better in Blak (Anniversary Edition LP) by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". JB HiFI. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.