# Miiesha

Miiesha Elizabeth Rose Young, known mononymously as Miiesha, is an Australian singer-songwriter from the Aboriginal community of Woorabinda, Queensland. She was the recipient of New Talent of the Year at the 2020 National Indigenous Music Awards and won the ARIA Award for Best Soul/R&B Release at the 2020 ARIA Music Awards.

## Early life and education

Miiesha Elizabeth Rose Young is an Aṉangu/Torres Strait Islander woman from Woorabinda in Queensland.

## Career

Miiesha is inspired by the sounds of RnB, gospel and soul, and the power of spoken word poetry.
Mieesha's career was launched after performing as one of the Kulgoodah dancers, who won the Dance Rites competition in Sydney in 2017. The competition had founded by head of Indigenous programming at the Sydney Opera House Rhoda Roberts a few years prior.

### 2019–2020: Nyaaringu

Miiesha made her debut single "Black Privilege" in June 2019. In May 2020, Miiesha released her debut album titled, Nyaaringu; a project of 9 songs tied together through the common themes of her life, her community and her people. Her late Grandmother's interludes provide a thread between the tracks, highlighting the passing down of knowledge from Elders through the generations. Triple J's Unearthed picked up album singles "Black Privilege" and "Drowning". The album peaked at number 28 on the ARIA Charts and won the ARIA Award for Best Soul/R&B Release at the 2020 ARIA Music Awards.

### 2021-present: Smoke & Mirrors

On 14 May 2021, Miiesha released "Damaged", which Miiesha said is her "most personal song yet". It won Song of the Year at the National Indigenous Music Awards 2021.
On 16 July 2021, Miiesha released "Made for Silence".
In September 2021, Miiesha announced a double-EP project titled Smoke & Mirrors, with the first part scheduled for release in November 2021. In a press release, the EPs explore "broken family dynamics, searching for love and healing from two perspectives", with the first centred around "survival" and the second on "looking back and understanding". The single "Still Dream" was released on 4 March 2022 from the forthcoming EP Mirrors. On 3 June 2022, Smoke & Mirrors was released on CD and LP, combining both EPs.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | AUS |
| Nyaaringu | Released: 29 May 2020 Label: Miiesha Young (independent), EMI Australia Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming | 28 |

### Extended plays

List of EPs, with release date and label shown :
| Title | Details |
| Nyaaringu Remixes | Released: 28 August 2020 Label: Miiesha Young (independent), EMI Australia Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Smoke | Released: 19 November 2021 Label: Red Dirt Music Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Mirrors | Scheduled: 3 June 2022 Label: Red Dirt Music Format: Digital download, streaming |

### Singles
#### As lead artist

List of singles, with year released and album name shown :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "Black Privilege" | 2019 | Nyaaringu |
| "Drowning" | 2019 | Nyaaringu |
| "Twisting Words" | 2020 | Nyaaringu |
| "Hold Strong" | 2020 | Nyaaringu |
| "Neon Moon" (featuring the Woorabinda Singers) | 2020 | Deadly Hearts: Walking Together |
| "Damaged" | 2021 | Smoke & Mirrors |
| "Made for Silence" | 2021 | Smoke & Mirrors |
| "Price I Paid" | 2021 | Smoke & Mirrors |
| "Still Dream" | 2022 | Smoke & Mirrors |
| "Everything" | 2022 | Smoke & Mirrors |
| "War" | 2022 | Smoke & Mirrors |
| "Eventually" | 2022 | TBA |

#### As featured artist

List of singles, with year released and album name shown :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "Tjitji" (Ziggy Ramo featuring Miiesha) | 2020 | Deadly Hearts: Walking Together |
| "Heaven of My Own" (Dallas Woods featuring Miiesha) | 2020 | Non-album single |

#### Other appearances

List of other non-single song appearances :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "By the Boab Tree" | 2023 | Faraway Downs (Soundtrack) |

## Awards and nominations
### APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) to recognise composing and song writing skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2021 | Miiesha Young p.k.a. Miiesha | Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2021 | "Twisting Words" | Most Performed R&B / Soul Work | Nominated | |
| 2022 | "Made for Silence" | Most Performed R&B / Soul Work | Nominated | |
| 2023 | "Still Dream" | Most Performed R&B / Soul Work | Won | [25] [26] |

### ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. As of 2020, Miiesha has received 5 nominations and Best Soul/R&B Release.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2020 | Nyaaringu | Best Female Artist | Nominated |
| 2020 | Nyaaringu | Best Soul/R&B Release | Won |
| 2020 | Nyaaringu | Breakthrough Artist | Nominated |
| 2020 | IAMMXO (a.k.a Mohamed Komba) for Nyaaringu | Producer of the Year | Nominated |
| 2020 | IAMMXO (a.k.a Mohamed Komba) for Nyaaringu | Engineer of the Year | Nominated |

### Australian Music Prize

The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. They commenced in 2005.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2020 | Nyaaringu | Album of the Year | Nominated | |

### 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.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2020 | Nyaaringu | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated | |

### National Indigenous Music Awards

The National Indigenous Music Awards recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. They commenced in 2004.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2020 | Herself | New Talent of the Year | Won |
| 2020 | Nyaaringu | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2020 | "Drowning" | Film Clip of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | Herself | Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | "Damaged" | Song of the Year | Won |
| 2022 | "Made for Silence" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2023 | Smoke & Mirrors | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2023 | "Skin Deep" | Song of the Year | Nominated |

### National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2020 | Herself | Queensland Act Voice of the Year | Nominated | |

### 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.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
| 2021 | "Twisting Words" | Indigenous Award | Won |
| 2021 | "Twisting Words" | Soul / Funk / R&B Award | Won |
| 2021 | "Twisting Words" | Remote Award | Won |
| 2022 | "Made for Silence" | Soul / Funk / R&B Award | Won |
| 2023 | "Still Dream" | Soul / Funk / R&B Award | Won |

### Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2021 | Miiesha | Best New Artist | Nominated | |