Delorentos beat off stiff competition tonight to bag the Choice Music 'Album of the Year' prize for last year's excellent Little Sparks.

Also nominated were: Heathers, Wallis Bird, Adrian Crowley, Windings, Julie Feeney, Damien Dempsey, Mumblin' Deaf Ro, The Cast Of Cheers and Two Door Cinema Club.

Tonight's event saw nine of the 10 nominees (Two Door Cinema Club had prior commitments in Berlin) perform two songs each to the packed crowd, and after much deliberation, the judges - our own Craig Fitzpatrick among them - awarded the top prize to Delorentos. The band will receive €10,000, provided by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA).

The boys' emotional acceptance speech saw frontman Ronan Yourell dedicate the prize to drummer Ross McCormick's mum, who sadly passed away a few months back. Earlier, the band performed 'Bullet In A Gun' and 'Little Sparks', while 'Care For' was nominated for 'Best Song'.

That honour - voted for by the public - went to Dublin singer Gavin James for 'Say Hello'. Read a full review of the event in next week's issue of Hot Press.