ARIAs 2015: Who will win Australia's biggest music awards?
(From left) AC/DC; Courtney Barnett; the Veronicas. PHOTOS: MICHELLE SMIT, LESLIE KIRCHHOFF F rom the international breakthrough of eight- time nominee Courtney Barnett to Tame Impala's warped psychedelia and Meg Mac's rise, it's been a great year for home-grown music. Before the ARIAs on   November 26, we predict who will (and who should) win the top prizes in Australia's music awards.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (Milk!) 
Flight Facilities, Down to Earth (Future Classic) Hermitude, Dark Night Sweet Light (Elefant Traks) Tame Impala, Currents (Modular) Vance Joy, Dream Your Life Away (Liberation Music) SHOULD WIN: Some of us had more fun with Flight Facilities than everyone else combined, but Courtney Barnett's perfectly judged tales of the quotidian life will be the defining Australian sound of 2015.
WILL WIN: With votes splitting wildly, Courtney Barnett's solid core of excellent will overcome indie wariness and fatigue.
BERNARD ZUEL SONG OF THE YEAR Conrad Sewell, Start Again (300 Entertainment/Warner Music) Grace, You Don't Own Me feat.
G-Eazy (RCA/Sony Music) Iggy Azalea, Trouble feat.
Jennifer Hudson (Mercury Australia/Universal Music) Jarryd James, Do You Remember (Jarryd James Music/Dryden Street Limited) Marlisa, Stand By You (Sony Music) Nathaniel, Live Louder (Sony Music) Peking Duk, Take Me Over feat.
Safia (Vicious Bitch/Universal Music) Sia, Elastic Heart (Inertia) The Veronicas, You Ruin Me (Sony Music) Vance Joy, Georgia (Liberation Music) SHOULD WIN: Conrad Sewell's Start Again was quite the introduction, but Peking Duk's Take Me Over was impressive even when ubiquitous.
WILL WIN: This category is voted by the public, so who can get their fanbase motivated? Don't be surprised if it's the Veronicas.
CRAIG MATHIESON BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST RELEASE Conrad Sewell, Start Again (300 Entertainment/Warner Music) Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (Milk!)
Gang of Youths, The Positions (Verge/Sony Music) Jarryd James, Do You Remember (Jarryd James Music/Dryden Street Limited) Meg Mac, Never Be (LittleBIGMAN/Inertia) SHOULD WIN: Courtney Barnett, because she's the successor to Paul Kelly and Tim Rogers as an Australian generation's definitive songwriter.
WILL WIN: Courtney Barnett, because this category is the classic consolation prize for someone undeniably great but also idiosyncratic. CM BEST GROUP 5 Seconds of Summer, LiveSOS (EMI) AC/DC, Rock or Bust (Alberts) Hermitude, Dark Night Sweet Light (Elefant Traks) Tame Impala, Currents (Modular) The Preatures, Blue Planet Eyes (Mercury) SHOULD WIN: Hermitude reflect two minds melding as one like a proper group.
WILL WIN: Tame Impala because Kevin Parker smokes enough for a five-piece.
BEST FEMALE ARTIST Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (Milk!)
Jessica Mauboy, Can I Get a Moment? (Sony) Meg Mac, MegMac EP (LittleBIGMAN) Megan Washington, There There (Mercury) Sia, Elastic Heart (Inertia) SHOULD WIN: Megan Washington's album was a huge leap in songwriting, production and depth, ignored by radio of course despite its mix of catchy uptempo pop songs and killer ballads. Courtney Barnett made a great record, as simple as that.
WILL WIN: Sia. Because there's only so many times ARIA voters can go to the well of an album (Barnett's) they don't own and don't understand. Sia makes hits that are widely loved and they're getting bigger. That's something everyone understands. BZ BEST MALE ARTIST #1 Dads, Nominal (Pieater/ Inertia) Daniel Johns, Talk (Eleven/ EMI) Guy Sebastian, Tonight Again (Sony Music) Jarryd James, Do You Remember (Jarryd James Music/Dryden Street Limited) Vance Joy, Dream Your Life Away (Liberation Music) SHOULD WIN: Tom Iansek of #1 Dads, but he'll have to wait until Big Scary's next disc.
WILL WIN: Vance Joy's album is more than a year old, so look for ARIA's fave Daniel Johns. CM