The finalists in the 28th annual Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) have been announced with the hotly contested Best On Air Team FM (Metro) finalists including five-time winners Kyle Sandilands and Jackie (O)Henderson, (The Kyle and Jackie O Show, KIIS 1065, Sydney) up against three-time winners Hamish Blake and Andy Lee (The Hamish & Andy Show, SCA Hit Network).
But for Crystal Vas & Chris Nairn, from Power FM in Bega not only have they never won an ACRA, they’ve never been nominated.
“Yes, this is both our first nominations,” says Crystal.
“I think it’s anyone’s goal starting out in radio to end up attending the ACRAs so we’re both very excited to frock up and mingle with some of the industry’s best in Melbourne.”
Crystal and Chris have been nominated in the Best On-Air team Country & Provincial category.
Crystal started her radio journey volunteering with community stations in Adelaide when she was 16.
She gained her first commercial gig when she was 19 after completing Sean Craig Murphy’s Australian Radio School. Her first job took her to Tamworth with the Super Radio Network where she progressed from drive to breakfast in her 2 years at the station before moving to Bega to take up a workday / promotions gig at the end of 2015.
After just a month working at Power FM Crystal moved to the breakfast shift alongside Chris.
Chris got into radio while studying architecture at Canberra University in 2012, doing it in a round-a-bout way, commuting to his home town of Wollongong on weekends to do Saturday night shifts on community station Vox FM from 11pm-1am for the year.
In 2013 he ditched architecture and went to AFTRS to complete the Post Grad Diploma in Radio, doing his work experience at Wave FM back in Wollongong before picking everything up and moving to Port Pirie in SA to be the solo breakfast announcer/copywriter at 5CS and weekend announcer on Magic FM at the start of 2014.
After a year and a half later, his friend (and multiple ACRA award winner) Ashleigh Blucher, suggested he applied to Power FM for the breakfast gig there and he started on air in Bega a month later.
“I so wasn’t expecting to be a finalist so haven’t even thought about a dress yet, but this gives me a great excuse to go on a little shopping trip,” says Crystal.
“And yes Chris will be wearing a matching tie whether he likes it or not! Haha.”
Take a listen to their entry.
And see the full list of finalists here.