Kid Laroi, Masked Wolf, Dean Lewis and Tones and I lead Australian takeover of America

A performance on a late night US TV talk show used to be rare for Aussie pop stars. Now their songs are becoming global mega hits.

“Live from New York with little bro.” So Miley Cyrus revealed her Saturday Night Live hook-up with Australia’s hip pop prince The Kid Laroi to perform their remix of his global smash hit Without You.

Their live performance this weekend will be his third on US TV in just three months as Australian artists stage a takeover of American late night and talk shows with their latest hits.

Only a few years ago, it was rare for a homegrown pop artist to score a coveted spot on shows hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden or Stephen Colbert.

Kid Laroi and Miley Cyrus will premiere their Without Out remix on SNL. Picture: Supplied/ Instagram

But the streaming success of our pop exports including the Kid Laroi, Tones and I, Dean Lewis, Sam Fischer and now Sydney rapper Masked Wolf have made them in-demand with talent bookers in America.

Masked Wolf performed his global stream slaying hit Astronaut In The Ocean on Fallon’s show last week, joining Kid Laroi and Iggy Azalea as the only Australian hip hop artists to break the American market.

As his single climbed the Shazam and Spotify charts – two indicators watched avidly by industry gatekeepers – Masked Wolf and his American team hustled to get him on the late night shows to put a face to the song for American audiences.

Masked wolf filmed his American TV debut in a studio in Redfern. Picture: Richard Dobson

“Dance Monkey was a massive song, obviously it was,” Masked Wolf said of the Australian invasion.

“But it’s even harder to break through internationally as an Australian rapper because the American hip hop community over there are really, really passionate about their genre.

“I think they found it refreshing to discover a 16-year-old like Kid Laroi and then someone like me who raps about things that mean something.”

Tones and I premiered her Fly Away single in the US on Jimmy Kimmel Live in December and was featured on Ellen last month.

Her co-manager Regan Lethbridge said the old-school shows in America may not turn on teenagers but it can turn passive playlist listeners into “real fans”.

“You don’t necessarily see a spike in streams; it’s more for positioning and visibility … you have a real opportunity to convert passive listeners into real fans,” he said.

“It’s certainly not essential in the strategy book to do but a great stepping stone into cracking the biggest and toughest market around the globe. It’s brilliant to see so many Aussie and Kiwi artists gracing US screens and long may it continue.”

Dean Lewis recording his performance of Falling Up on Balmoral Beach for the Ellen Show. Picture: Supplied.

Dean Lewis delivered a slice of small screen eye candy for Ellen when he filmed his premiere performance of new single Falling Up from the roof of the Balmoral Pavilion against a stunning sunset backdrop a couple of weeks.

“Last time we were doing (Ellen), we were in LA and now I just walked 200 metres across the beach to do it in Sydney,” Lewis said.

Lewis offered up some travel inspo for locked down fans with his performance. Picture: Supplied.

Leo Conley, who has helped steer his career from its earliest days, said scoring Lewis a spot on the show was part of their strategy for launching Falling Up in America.

“US TV performances still have a big impact on songs and, depending on the timing, can either launch a song or take it to the next level. It provides opportunity for exposure to a wider audience demographic, resulting in new fans,” Conley said.

“The decision to film at that location was very much based on wanting to show the US audience, and audiences around the world who have been in lockdown, some of beautiful Australia and to provide them a virtual escape.”

But it’s not just household names who are getting their three minutes to shine. Sydney indie pop band Middle Kids launched their latest record Today We’re The Great on Corden’s show and landed on Kimmel this week, while Chet Faker reintroduced himself to America with new single Low on Ellen in January.

The television takeover coincides with Australian artists finally breaking through on streaming services via popular playlists.

Tones and I recently celebrated eight billion streams, Lewis has about five billion and the Kid Laroi has already generated more than two billion.

Other Australian artists to join the One Billion Club – and awarded an APRA trophy to mark the occasion – include Sia, Tame Impala, Flume, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Vance Joy and Troye Sivan.

Originally published as Kid Laroi, Masked Wolf, Dean Lewis and Tones and I lead Australian takeover of America