Kylie Minogue and the big winners miss big Aussie awards show due to overseas gigs

The biggest stars of the 2025 APRA Music Awards were noticeably absent from the Melbourne gig – but not for the reason you might think.

An effervescent Kylie Minogue said “17-year-old me would not be able to compute the life that music has given me” when she was bestowed with one of Australia’s most prestigious honours at the 2025 APRA Music Awards on Wednesday.

The national music treasure, who is in the middle of her biggest American tour, joins legends including AC/DC, Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, Helen Reddy and the Wiggles as a recipient of the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music.

Accepting via video from Los Angeles, the proud Melburnian said this triumphant chapter of her career found her loving music more than ever.

Kylie Minogue says 17-year-old her couldn’t imagine being a mega pop legend. Picture: Supplied.

“I mean, we all know it’s work. You work for it. But I feel like whatever we give and whatever it might take from us, we receive more,” she said.

“And as I’m on tour at the moment, I’m singing songs throughout my entire catalogue. So, from the first one, The Locomotion, right up to songs from Tension. And I’m really aware of, I guess, the passage of time and how much more music means to me.”

Minogue’s award was accepted by her nephew Charlie, who attended with his dad Brendon and brother James.

James, Brendon and Charlie Minogue. Picture: Tony Gough

“My first Kylie show was in 2011, I was five years old. Since then, I’ve been lucky to attend almost every concert. On behalf of our family, I wanted to say how proud we are of her, not only for what the world sees, but for everything it takes behind the scenes to make the magic happen,” Charlie said.

The big winners of the 2025 awards, which recognise songwriters and music creators, were all out of the country and missed the ceremony in Melbourne.

That may be an event organiser’s nightmare but it speaks volumes about how successful Australian artists are on the world stage, even as the local industry struggles to get streaming services, radio and local fans excited about backing homegrown songs.

Amyl and the Sniffers got the votes for Song of the Year. Picture: Emma McIntyre/Getty.

The peer voted Song of the Year was U Should Not Be Doing That by indie rockers Amyl and the Sniffers who caused a ruckus with their performance at the Coachella festival and kick off the US leg of their world tour next week.

Tame Impala supremo Kevin Parker, a go-to co-writer and producer for some of the world’s biggest pop stars, won two trophies for his work on Dua Lipa’s smash hit Houdini.

Kevin Parker of Tame Impala and Dua Lipa scored a massive hit with Houdini. Picture: Don Arnold/Getty Images.

There were murmurs in the room about Houdini picking up the Most Performed Australian Work gong, with some suggesting APRA introduce a new category to recognise local songwriters who have helped create huge international hits.

Troye Sivan, who also starred at Coachella as a special guest of pop provocateur Charli XCX, was named the Songwriter of the Year.

His Something to Give Each Other album, which reached No. 1 at home and top 20 in the US, is now a certified global star whose pioneering queer pop has reshaped the sound of now.

“Songwriting is my favourite thing that I get to do. I think I’ll be something that I do for the rest of my life,” he said via a video acceptance speech.

“I feel like it’s one of the greatest gifts that I was born with. Not even that like the ability to write a good song, just the ability to create at all.”

Electronic music superstar and stage-slayer Dom Dolla, who is touring in Korea, continued his award-winning run of the past year with his smash hit Saving Up named the Most Performed Dance/Electronic Work.

Electronic king Dom Dolla was also working overseas as the APRAs gave him a gong. Picture: Getty.

Breakthrough Sydney indie rock duo Royel Otis, working in LA on new music, also added to their trophy cabinet with the Emerging Songwriter of the Year award.

But one of our biggest, and quietest, achievers at the 2025 awards was Grammy-winning producer Keanu Torres, also known as Keanu Beats, who was given the International recognition award for his work with a jaw-dropping list of superstars including Taylor Swift, the Kid Laroi, Doechi, Beyonce and warring rap gods Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

And is it even an APRA awards if Sia doesn’t win anything? Courtesy of her huge streaming presence, her 2016 hit Unstoppable is literally unstoppable when it comes to taking out the Most Performed Australian Work Overseas for the second year running.

Other winners included blues rocker Ziggy Alberts, Kaiit and King Stingray while nominees Missy Higgins and Tones and I also attended the awards.

Originally published as Kylie Minogue and the big winners miss big Aussie awards show due to overseas gigs