Courtney Barnett may not have won the Best New Artist Grammy (an honor she lost to Meghan Trianor), but the "Pedestrian at Best" singer has been honored by her home country. On Tuesday (March 8), Barnett was announced as the 11th winner of the Australian Music Prize.
Barnett's debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit was selected at the best album to come out of Australia in 2015 by a committee of 16 industry judges, The Guardian reports. In addition to the distinguished honor of having Australia's best record of the year, Barnett was also awarded a prize of AUS$30,000.
Featuring breakout singles such as "Pedestrian at Best," "Depreston," "Elevator Operator" and "History Eraser," Barnett was praised by critics for her debut studio album, which was released in March 2015.
"It's huge, it's a lot of money. I'm not sure right now what to do with it. It's nice because it feels like this is a real reflection of the songs and the album, instead of sales or popularity or plays on YouTube. It feels good," Barnett said in an interview with Billboard after receiving the award.
Barnett beat a field of nine other albums, including Currents by fellow alt-rock juggernauts Tame Impala. Other nominees included Methyl Ethyl's On Inhuman Spectacle, Dan Kelly's Leisure Panic, Royal Headache's High, Jess Ribeiro's Kill It Yourself and Sarah Blasko's Eternal Return.
Previous winners of the Australian Music Prize include Remi, Hermitude, The Jezabels, Cloud Control and The Drones.
