My #APMA Winners…
It’s that time of year again, kiddos. The nominees for the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards have been release and it is now all down to you – the fans. The problem with this is that there are so many nominees who I am fans of, that the thought of having to choose one makes me have heart palpitations. Nevertheless, I’ve gone through all of them and I’m going to give you my winners – not necessarily my favorite but who I think should win. I will also be including some people who I think deserve a nomination – at least. Here we go.
Let me explain… I have seen three of these six vocalists live within the last five months, and I will let you know, I loved all of them. My gut instinct is to pick Alex Gaskarth because he is simply my favorite human but as far as just technical range and style – Kellin Quinn and Patrick Stump are insane. Because I’ve seen Kellin live, I’m going with my gut. However, I think when anyone goes up against Fall Out Boy fans… you’re in for a battle.
Mackenzie’s Winner: Kellin Quinn ~ Sleeping With Sirens Nomination Needed: Brendon Urie ~ Panic! At The Disco
I’m torn. JB Brubaker… August Burns Red… they’re hometown boys. I’ve seen Memphis May Fire & August Burns Red on Warped Tours. I’ve seen Sleeping With Sirens on the Back To Future Hearts Tour and I’ve seen Chad Gilbert – not with NFG but with What’s Eating Gilbert. Even though I haven’t seen them live, I’m quite familiar with A Day To Remember and you can’t even start to ignore Kevin’s talent. This honestly just comes down to a matter of whom I’m more of a fan of…
Mackenzie’s Winner: Chad Gilbert ~ New Found Glory Nomination Needed: Tony Perry ~ Pierce The Veil
Now I have only ever seen one of these bands live and it was at Warped Tour a few years ago. This means that I had to go back and listen to a select few songs from this list of bands and try and make my decision that way. This is not so set in stone about who I think should win so you’re more than welcome to disagree. You’re not hurting my feelings and I also know that a very good friend of mine’s favorite band is on here… sorry, bro.
Mackenzie’s Winner: Skyler Acord ~ Issues Nomination Needed: Roger Lima ~ Less Than Jake ( I know it’s been a bit but they’re on Warped so… still counts.)
Oh boy. Here we go. All of these drummers are amazing. We’ve got newer bands mixed in with the veterans and that’s enough to tear an angsty teen apart. Underoath has been around for almost as long as I have. Loniel Robinson and letlive. is only a few years younger. Black Veil Brides came onto the scene a year before Miss May I. And Set it Off kind of was part of the re-vamping of the genre in 2008 and Neck Deep is the baby of the group. only being around for going on four years.
Mackenzie’s Winner: Dani Washington ~ Neck Deep Nomination Needed: Jake Bundrick ~ Mayday Parade (I mean, come on, did you listen to ‘Black Lines?’)
These bands have all blown up in the last few years – the last few months especially. Knuckle Puck released “Copacetic.” I Prevail went viral and “Heart Vs. Mind.” Neck Deep released “Life’s Not Out To Get You,” and co-headlined a world tour. Set It Off released “Duality: Stories Unplugged,” New Years Day released, “Malevolence.” Last but not least, State Champs released, “Around the World and Back,” and were the other co-headliner on AP’s World Tour. Just putting the releases to the side, these bands have all sold out shows and gained such a following in a short amount of time that is is honestly unreal.
Mackenzie’s Winner: Neck Deep Nomination Needed: None. I’m okay with these. These are fair.
This category for me was a bit of a shock. I don’t know what I expected but I definitely wasn’t expecting this. Especially when you take into consideration the huge bands listed on some other categories. Now obviously, Motionless In White and Slipknot are pretty big No one is arguing that but the rest aren’t as well known and aren’t as huge as what I was expecting. The bands that I have seen live of this list are incredible and they all bring something different to the table.
Mackenzie’s Winner: Beartooth Nomination Needed: Twenty One Pilots/Panic! At The Disco
I’ve watched them all. I loved a lot of them. I didn’t really like a few of them. But I think from watching them, I tried to focus more on the entertaining factor of the video. Was it comical? Did it catch my interest? Do I think it makes sense? When it comes down to it, for me there was one clear winner.
Mackenzie’s Winner: “Emperor’s New Clothes” ~ Panic! At The Disco Nomination Needed: “Kali Ma” ~ Neck Deep
One of my favorite things about a lot of the bands I go to see or the bands I support is the non-profits that they support. I’ve grown up supporting non-profits and doing community service really means a lot to me so knowing that a band that I love is using their powers for good, warms my little heart. I think this one really just goes to the band who does the most with what they have and that’s pretty obvious.
Mackenzie’s Winner: The Wonder Years Nomination Needed: I think these are good as well. I can’t think of anyone else I would like to add.
Once again, not really what I was expecting. I say this mainly because if I tweet about a band I get about 3 fan accounts that follow me right away. None of them belong to these groups. However, with that being said, they all do have amazing fan bases and different instances can attest to that. Personally, from what I have seen, I know one band whose support, in my opinion, is awe-inspiring.
Mackenzie’s Winner: The Ghost Inside Nomination Needed: Twenty One Pilots
I’m very familiar with a few of these bands and it is safe to say that they have some of the most dedicated fans I’ve ever met. They’ve graced the covers of magazines and taken over many a social media. But when it comes down to it, some of them are much more currently active than others. Some have been off the grid for a while and are coming back on slowly but surely. Some haven’t released new stuff in a while Some are working on new stuff as we speak but it was petty easy for me to decide this one.
Mackenzie’s Winner: Parkway Drive Nomination Needed: Simple Plan
Depending on the radio stations you listen to, these songs have been everywhere. You’ve heard them on Snapchats, Instagrams, Flipagrams, and commercials for tours. I’ve heard most of them quite often but I’ve heard one much more than I’ve heard the others.
Mackenzie’s Winner: “Hallelujah” ~ Panic! At The Disco Nomination Needed: “Stressed Out” ~ Twenty One Pilots
This is torture. Absolute torture and I almost refused to answer but because I am dedicated, I’ve made the decision. I’ve listened to all but one of these albums completely through. They were all fantastic and they all do deserve recognition for their hard work. With that being said, my favorite band is on this list. However, I said earlier that I wasn’t picking favorites but I was picking the ones that I felt deserved it so here we go.
Mackenzie’s Winner: Blurryface ~ Twenty One Pilots Nomination Needed: Death of a Bachelor ~ Panic! At The Disco (I realize it was a later release but I don’t care)
Last one… all of these bands have had incredible years. I’m not going to be ignorant. They’ve all killed it. But once again, I feel like there is a specific artist on here who may have had a bit more of a big year than others.
Mackenzie’s Winner: Twenty One Pilots Nomination Needed: Bring Me The Horizon
