The inaugural PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION Awards presented by UberPool took place last night and boy, was it a banger! Hosted by PTV icon Froomes, we were treated to performances from 1300, BARKAA and a killer DJ set by Diva Cups.
The entire team is still buzzing, and rightly so: we had queen Anna Paul say it was an honour to win a major award, Heartbreak High stars Sherry-Lee Watson and James Majoos had a cute reunion and to top it all off, there were cute Lynx puppies roaming the black carpet.
Here’s everything that went down on the night of nights!
The black carpet was rolled out at the ~stunning~ venue, Darlinghurst’s Cell Block Theatre, and we had over 200+ creatives and influencers join us for the big bash.
BARKAA at the PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION Awards.
Kween Kong at the PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION Awards.
Heartbreak High’s Sherry-Lee Watson & James Majoos at the PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION Awards.
The PEDESTRIAN.TV crew nabbed interviews with all the incredible talent who walked the carpet, and yes, we did get starstruck when Miss Anna Paul headed our way. Kween Kong and Etcetera Etcetera slayed, and BARKAA had a cute moment posing with her daughter Alinta-Jade.
The PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION Awards kicked off in style, with a killer performance from Aussie hip-hop legends 1300. The vibes were immaculate, and it felt like one giant party.
1300 opened the show with a high-energy performance.
Froomes followed up with an opening monologue, instantly roasting PEDESTRIAN.TV for making her redundant during the turbulent time that was COVID. We worked it out on the remix, so you guys can stop worrying about any leftover beef. She was truly the perfect host!
Froomes left US gagged.
The first award was the PEOPLE’S CHOICE CREATOR OF THE YEAR presented by UberPool. You, the people, voted for none other than Australia’s sweetheart, Anna Paul herself!
She said she was “honoured” to win the award and mentioned she’d never won anything like this before (a crime, seriously), and the audience fell in love with her a little more… if that’s even possible.
MOTHER!!!
Next up, we had the PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR presented by Lynx Fine Fragrance Collection. Lime Cordiale won for The Big Reveal; Ou L’Hypocrite and while they couldn’t make it, they sent a lil message that was played onscreen.
Bri Lee, author of Eggshell Skull, took home the LITTY COMMITTEE YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR. In an interview with PEDESTRIAN.TV, she said she was “stoked” to walk away with the honour.
“It makes me happy that there are more people reading and getting excited about books. Not this old ‘digital media versus literature’ fake binary bullshit,” she said.
Sherry-Lee Watson became a worldwide sensation this year with her portrayal of Missy Becket in Netflix’s Heartbreak High. So, it only makes sense that she took home the SCREEN STAR OF THE YEAR Award.
We must protect her at all costs.
She said she was “humbled” and “surprised”, and gave a shoutout to her Heartbreak High crew for supporting her.
“It takes a team to make productions like we do and tell stories like we do, so I wouldn’t be here without my incredible Heartbreak High family,” she told the crowd.
Next up was the award for ICON OF THE YEAR presented by Cupio Wines, and of course, it went to everybody’s fave ABC presenter, Tony Armstrong. He admitted in an interview with PEDESTRIAN.TV that he’s been “reading Pedestrian articles for as long as [he] can remember”, so HI TONY! WE LOVE U KING!
QUEER EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR went to our fave queen of all queens, that’s right, Kween Kong! She was SERVING, as expected, and used her acceptance speech to uplift the queer community.
In our winner’s interview, she elaborated on this sentiment, saying: “Our community is so resilient – out of necessity. Now, more than ever, we are facing attacks by the wider community who are trying to take the few rights we’ve fought for and push us back into the shadows of society.”
She is beauty, she is grace.
The SPORTS STAR OF THE YEAR presented by 9Now went to soon-to-be Olympic breaker Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn. She’s a B-Girl, and summed up what exactly she does in our interview: “It has the difficulty of gymnastics, the character and performativity of the Nicholas Brothers tap era, the effortlessness of skateboarding, and the responsiveness to your opponent like a debate… and that’s getting kind of close.”
And here I am, unable to do a forward roll.
She’s a gun!
The final award of the night went to Malyangapa/Barkindji rapper BARKAA, who accepted the GAME CHANGER OF THE YEAR Award with an emotional speech. She dedicated it to her children, saying she does it all for her babies.
In our interview with her, she said it was an “honour to be acknowledged” for her work “on and off the stage”. As for what she wants young people to know going forward, it’s simple: “Believe in yourselves and know your power.” A-fucking-men to that!
This was SO deserved.
Froomes closed out the show… and then the real party started – the epic afterparty! We were treated to the most epic DJ set from Diva Cups and a bunch of us got kinda sloshed. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember that much from this part of the night, but it was a VIBE.
The drinks were flowing — courtesy of Cupio Wines and V Refresh — and Lynx puppies were on the ground to make sure guests passed the sniff test (don’t worry, they did). Attendees also walked away with a goodie bag stuffed with the Lynx Fine Fragrance Collection and UberPool gift cards. And, of course, we wouldn’t be here without Daddy Nine and 9Now.
It was truly an honour to be in a room with Tina Provost, VV Pete, Miss Double Bay, Michael Sun, Neil Sharma, Chika Ikogwe, Luka Muller and Concetta Caristo — it’s a night I’ll never forget. (Want to see even more pics? Head right this way.)
Award winner Sherry-Lee celebrating at the after party!
THIS IS A PICTURE OF A GOOD BOY.
Vibey as hell.
Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened, guys. See you all next year!
The awards ceremony will air on PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION on 9Now live and on-demand from July 18, 2024.
