The NU Rock Awards was an annual recognition program presented from 1994 to 2010 by the Metro Manila-based radio stationNU 107.
History
The first NU 107 Rock Awards were in 1994 at The Music Hall in Annapolis St., Greenhills. Originally meant to be a small gathering to give recognition to the rock community, it slowly became a much anticipated annual event. The first "Song of the Year Award" was given to Alamid for "Your Love". The song went on to heaavy airplay and was the first NU 107 exclusive to cross over to other formats. Afterimage was very first winner of the Artist of the Year award. The first Album of the Year award was presented to the Eraserheads' first album Ultraelectromagneticpop!. The Eraserheads received the Album of the Year award in the following two years with their albums Circus and Cutterpillow, making them the only artist to win in the same category three years in a row. The Dawn has performed in the Rock Awards eleven times. The first "Video of the Year" awardwas given to "Ang Huling El Bimbo" by the Eraserheads. There has only been one tie in the history of the Rock Awards, in 1999, when the judges made Wolfgang’s Serve in Silence and Sandwich’s Grip Stand Throw joint Albums of the Year. Raimund Marasigan has the most awards, for his work as a member of Eraserheads and Sandwich, and as an album producer for other bands. The first band to win the Rock Awards’ "Raw Award" was Fatal Posporos. The Raw Award is given to the best unsigned artist of the year. In 2000, Punk’s Not Dead, an all-star tribute band made up of Myra Ruaro, Louie Talan, Diego Castillo, Raimund Marasigan, Zach Lucero and Aia de Leon, performed a medley of past Song of the Year winners in the style of The Ramones. In 2004, NU 107, acknowledging the growing role of women in the local rock scene, made the first Female Rock Icon Award to Cynthia Alexander. Before it became a rock anthem of sorts, Bamboo’s "Noypi" was first performed at the 2003 NU 107 Rock Awards, before their album As The Music Plays was released. Despite being held during a typhoon, the 2004 Rock Awards ceremony was the best attended, with over 4,000 rock fans filling the World Trade Center. In 2005, there were a record twelve nominees for the Song Of The Year Award.
