Thelma Plum Could Cap a Stunning Year with ARIAs Triumph

Forget for a moment the ARIA Awards, the songwriter plaudits. Thelma Plum has collected them all, and wears a crown that carries with it no physical trophy — national treasure.

A proud Gamilaraay artist, Plum’s career can’t truly be measured in streams, chart positions, ticket sales, or those shiny objects that come with critical and commercial adoration.

But with her latest round of ARIA Awards nominations, five in total, it’s impossible to overlook her impact on the music community.

As the first-year anniversary closes in on her second album, I’m Sorry, Now Say It Back, Plum should consider an upgrade to her trophy cabinet.

To date, her wins include the 2020 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition for “Better in Blak”; the 2023 Queensland Music Awards for Song of the Year and Pop Award, for “Backseat of My Mind”; and the 2023 National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs), where her EP Meanjin won for Album of the Year. And at the 2019 ARIA Awards, she collected Best Cover Art for her debut album Better in Blak, on a night when she performed the rousing title track.

That was then. Earlier this year, Plum won the 2025 Rolling Stone Australia Award for Best Single, for “Freckles”.

And at the 2025 ARIAs, her latest album is shortlisted for Album of the Year, Best Pop Release, Best Cover Art (Kira Puru, Thelma Plum, Em Jesen), Producer – Best Produced Release (Alex Burnett), and Plum is also up for Best Solo Artist.

I’m Sorry, Now Say It Back is admittedly a “vulnerable” collection, and is the culmination of five years of writing and recording in Byron Bay, London, Sydney, and Brisbane, the latter a place where Plum feels right at home.

“Brisbane is – shock horror – my favourite city. I do love singing about it. I wonder if it’s because everyone was so hard on Brissie and that it went so far,” she told Rolling Stone AU/NZ ahead of its release last year, for a feature that was republished in Rolling Stone India, reaching a potential audience of 1.4 billion. Plum has fans everywhere.

Soaking up all the glory, well, that’s not her style. “I’ve had so much fun making music with Alex Burnett. I love collaborating with him,” she enthused. Burnett’s name was called out too, with a nomination for an Artisan Award in the category for best produced release. “I struggle to put it into words. I guess it is chemistry,” she continues. “Without sounding too sentimental, I would write anywhere with Alex.”

Saying “sorry” is something she does, and does too often, in her own words. Perhaps it’s the “Irish Catholic in my family,” she quipped. Certainly, Thelma has “often felt misunderstood,” she told Rolling Stone AU/NZ. “When I was writing a lot of these songs, I had this hope that maybe if you listen to these songs that you might understand me a little bit more. It’s not like I haven’t written about trauma before, or the things that have happened in my life, but it does feel like this is maybe a little bit more… intimate.”

National treasures carry self-doubts and burdens, too.

Plum has thrown her considerable clout behind Indigenous issues, and leant her vocals to Baker Boy’s new single “THICK SKIN”, which was written in response to the 2023 Indigenous Voice Referendum. On it, she sings alongside Emma Donovan, Kee’ahn and Jade Weazale, a powerhouse Blak choir, creating an anthem of survival and solidarity.

She also embarked on an extensive national tour in support of her latest album, which included regional shows and such festivals as Dark Mofo, Blak Day Out, and the Kimberly Moon Experience. “Better in Blak” came in at No. 53 on triple j’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs, further proof of its enduring impact.

This summer, Plum will hit the road for more festival appearances, including Big Pineapple Festival, Queenscliff Music Festival, and Ocean Sounds Festival. And just maybe, add more silverware to her collection.