"Better in Blak" is a song by Australian singer/songwriter

Thelma Plum Thelma Amelina Plumbe (born 21 December 1994), known professionally as Thelma Plum, is an Aboriginal Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist and musician from Delungra, New South Wales. Her father is renowned lore-man Paul Winanga-li Gii Spear ...

, released on 26 April 2019 as the third single from her debut studio album of the same name.

Background

Upon release, Plum said: "I wrote 'Better in Blak' about my experiences with people trying to take the colour from the conversation. My

colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

is an important part of who I am, and over the last couple of years I've had people try and tell me 'it's not about colour' when obviously to me it is."

Reception

Laura English from ''

Music Feeds ''Music Feeds'' is a free bi-weekly digital music and lifestyle magazine ( street press) established in 2008 and based in Sydney, Australia. It is distributed electronically every second Tuesday, with additional material posted on the website ...

'' wrote: "The track is all about the frustrating experiences Plum faces as a

Gamilaraay The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

woman and musician", describing it as "an emotional, cathartic song that sees honest lyrics coupled with upbeat, danceable beats". In July 2019, "Better in Blak" was nominated for Film Clip of the Year at the

National Indigenous Music Awards The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMA), also known as the NT Indigenous Music Awards from 2004 to 2008, are music awards presented to recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians in ...

. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2019 The ARIA Music Awards of 2019 are the 33rd Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) and consist of a series of awards, including the 2019 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA ...

, "Better in Blak" was nominated for Best Video. At the

J Awards of 2019 The J Award of 2019 is the fifteenth annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio stati ...

, the song was nominated for Australian Video of the Year. At the

APRA Music Awards of 2020 The APRA Music Awards of 2020 are the 38th annual series, known as APRA Awards, in 2020. The awards are given in a series of categories in three divisions and in separate ceremonies throughout the year: the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards ...

, "Better in Blak" was nominated for Song of the Year. The song won the 2020

Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition The Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by Albert Music and APRA AMCOS. The competition awards a ...

Music video

The music video was directed by

Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore is an Australian filmmaker. She won an Australian Women in Music Award. She features women in her music videos. Her videos have been nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Video and J Award Music Video of the Year honor. ...

and released on 28 May 2019. It was nominated for Best Video at the

.ARIA Award previous winners.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Thelma Plum songs Songs written by Alexander Burnett (musician) Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition Winning Songs