Your guide to tonight's Apra Silver Scrolls

This year's Apra Silver Scroll nominees.

Lydia Jenkin crunches the numbers on tonight's Silver Scroll finalists ...

New Zealand songwriters have voted for the best five songs of the year, and tonight one of them will win the coveted Apra Silver Scroll Award.

We've decided to analyse the top five for clues to what makes a great song.

All five are by solo acts. Musically they're an eclectic representation of the diversity of New Zealand music, though songs with folk or country influences account for three while the others have more synth-based sounds and dark pop leanings.

Anything common to all? Well, all five have strong vocal performances, and a clear, focused lyrical theme. Here's how they stack up ...

Dark Child - Marlon Williams and Tim Moore

Total time: 5.21
Time to chorus: 2.04 (though the song eschews any kind of conventional verse-chorus structure)
Key: B major
Time signature: 4/4
Word count: 122
Genre: Alt-country rock ballad
Lyrical themes: The story of a wayward son, and the regret and pain of parenthood.
Similarities to past winners: Tami Neilson set a precedent for country winners last year with Walk, which featured Williams. But this is an emotional ballad as opposed to a sassy soul-infused toe-tapper. That said, there's plenty of precedent for big, impassioned vocal performances among past winners.

Get Out Alive - Mel Parsons

Total time: 3.23
Time to chorus: 58 seconds
Key: G minor
Time signature: 2/4
Word count: 232
Genres: Folk country
Lyrical themes: An autobiographical tale of a car accident and contemplation of mortality.
Similarity to past winners: There's very little in the way of folk-country in the past winners list, but the intense, dark, bleakly humorous nature of this song might just strike voters as something fresh.

Yellow Flicker Beat - Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little (Lorde)

Total time: 4.03
Time to chorus: 1.16
Key: G sharp minor
Time signature: 4/4
Word count: 323
Genre: Written-to-order dark electronic pop
Lyrical themes: Rebellion, war, strength, independence, fighting spirit
Similarities to past winners: Lorde won in 2013, so that's pretty similar. But as far as songs written for film soundtracks go, this would be a first.

Multi-Love - Ruban Nielson and Kody Nielson (Unknown Mortal Orchestra)

Total time: 4.15
Time to chorus: 1.30
Key signature: D sharp minor
Time signature: 4/4
Word count: 218
Genre: Psychedelic electronic rock
Lyrical themes: The insanity of love and polyamory.
Similarities to past winners: Despite the fact that Ruban Nielson has been a finalist four times, he's never won. There's nothing much like UMO among past winners to compare him to, but Chris Knox did win with My Only Friend in 2000, which has some broad similarities.

Water Underground - Anthonie Tonnon

Total time: 5.34
Time to chorus: It's not strictly a chorus, but 58 seconds
Key signature: D major
Time signature: 4/4
Word count: 198
Genres: Folk pop
Lyrical themes: Journalistic narrative of local body politics, minor scandal, and futility.
Similarities to past winners: Tonnon has been compared to Dave Dobbyn and Don McGlashan with his knack for melody and storytelling and strong Kiwi sensibility, and they both have multiple wins under their belt.

• We will be live streaming the Apra Silver Scroll Awards from 7pm click here to watch.