Jody Direen's year of success has continued with a big win at the New Zealand Country Music Awards, taking out Female Artist of The Yearon Saturday night.

The award is the latest in a long list of wins for the Wanaka-based singer/songwriter who was nominated at the CMC Awards in Australia earlier in the year, becoming the first Kiwi nominee in the Best New Oz Artist category. Jody was honoured to take home the prize, thanking her loyal fans for their support.

"I am overwhelmed with excitement, and so thankful to all my supporters! It has been an amazing couple of weeks and receiving this award tops it off brilliantly. This award means so much to me and I'm so grateful to all of the wonderful people that continue to be a part of this road I am on! I'm excited to bring more music and live shows your way soon."

Jody released her debut album Breaks Out in April 2015 which reached #1 on the New Zealand Country Album charts on iTunes and peaked at #12 on the Official NZ Top 20 National charts. Jody has been signed by ABC Music Australia and is releasing BREAKS OUT internationally on August 21.

Constantly moving forward, Jody has just been confirmed on a star-studded line up for the CMC ROCKS QLD festival in March 2016. Jody also has a string of New Zealand performances this year, including an explosive New Years Eve show in Wanaka that's guaranteed to bring in 2016 with a bang! Tickets to this New Years' event featuring numerous special guests are now available at www.jodydireen.com.