This year’s ARIA Awards will be the biggest and best in history
It has been a huge year for our Aussie artists at home and across the globe, with the likes of Troye Sivan, 5 Seconds of Summer and Amy Shark leading the way. They’re all in town and ready to let their hair down at what has been billed as the best ARIA Awards ever.
It has been a huge year for our Aussie artists at home and across the globe, with the likes of Troye Sivan, 5 Seconds of Summer and Amy Shark leading the way.
Now they’re all back in town and ready to let their hair down at Australia’s music night of nights. Even though it looks set to be a very wet red carpet, here is why this will be the best ARIAs ever.
AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE
It is all about Aussies smashing the charts here and overseas, across multiple genres — Troye Sivan, 5 Seconds of Summer, Amy Shark, Courtney Barnett, Tash Sultana and Dean Lewis to name just some.
“Aussie artists are dominating both here and around the world,” ARIA chief executive Dan Rosen told Confidential
“It is wonderful that they are all back in town for the ARIAs.”
Getting everyone on the red carpet at The Star hasn’t been an easy feat for the behind the scenes team working around the clock to organise schedules and flights from all corners of the globe.
“I am thankful they all flew in on Tuesday because it looks like we might get a biblical storm today,” Rosen said.
“It is the one time a year that the industry gets together and the artists are all in town at the same time. It hasn’t been an easy task but it really is the industry that makes it happen.”
WOMEN RULE
Women dominate the nominations with Amy Shark and Courtney Barnett in the lead.
“Women are killing it and the ARIAs reflect that. It is wonderful to see,” Rosen said.
Shark has the most nominations of any artist tonight with nine nods including Best Female Artist, Album of The Year for Love Monster and Song of the Year for I Said Hi. Barnett is up for eight awards while Tash Sultana has six nominations.
BLOOMING TROYE
As well as being up for five awards, Troye Sivan will present the Breakthrough Artist gong.
It has been a phenomenal couple of years for the 23-year-old, who peaked at number four on America’s Billboard Chart with his new album Bloom.
He picked up his first two ARIA Awards in 2016 — Best Video and Song of the Year — for his track Youth.
BREAKING THROUGH
No pressure or anything but it will be the first prime-time performance for former sound technician Dean Lewis.
The 31-year-old is Confidential’s breakthrough artist of the year regardless of how many awards he takes home tonight thanks to his awesome hit Be Alright.
CHART TOPPERS
Four ARIA Number One Songs will be performed tonight — 5 Seconds of Summer, Youngblood; Kasey Chambers, Not Pretty Enough; Dean Lewis, Be Alright and George Ezra, Shotgun.
URBAN CHARGED
Nine years since he last performed at the ARIA Awards, Keith Urban returns home to Australia from Nashville to host the night.
Urban won his first ARIA in 2001 when he took home the Outstanding Achievement Award.
He has four more to his name, as well as several Grammy Awards in the US.
Confidential is disappointed Urban won’t be performing with good mate Post Malone after hearing they’d collaborated for an Elvis Presley TV special.
HOLLYWOOD STAR POWER
Nicole Kidman will bring some Hollywood superstar power to the carpet, walking the ruby rug to support husband Urban.
Oscar winner Kidman, who is herself tipped as a likely Academy Award nominee thanks to her brilliant performance in Boy Erased, last attended an ARIA Awards in 2007, again to support her husband who that year took home Best Country Album for Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing.
THE FIGHTER
Who can forget Kidman and Urban singing in the car to his hit The Fighter? It has amassed six million views on Youtube alone.
Carrie Underwood recorded the album version that Amy Shark will put her stamp on alongside Urban on stage tonight.
HALL OF FAME
Kasey Chambers, 42, is the youngest female solo artist to receive the Hall of Fame honour in the history of the awards, joining the likes of Tina Arena, Cold Chisel, Kylie Minogue, AC/DC and Midnight Oil.
“It is incredible to think she has had a 25 year career, she just started unbelievably young,” Rosen said of Chambers, who is also nominated for Best Country Album for Campfire with The Fireside Disciples.
“Kasey has really inspired a whole generation of strong female artists that have come after her,” Rosen said.
SUPERSTAR INTERNATIONAL GUESTS
Eighties pop star Richard Marx will present an award while George Ezra will perform his global hit Shotgun and Rita Ora will belt out her new single, Let You Love Me. As much as anything else, they’re all looking forward to seeing our best Aussie talent.
“I love Troye, Amy (Shark) and 5 Seconds of Summer, I think they are great,” Ora told Confidential.
“I love that I am among such great talent, you guys have had such amazing music and to be alongside such great millenials and the future of music and of course legends like Keith Urban, I am really excited. I am going to have an amazing time.”
GURRUMUL REMEMBERED
Stayed tuned for a very special tribute to Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, who died from liver and kidney disease in July last year at the age of 46. Gurrumul’s daughter Jasmine Yunupingu will be at the awards tonight to remember her late father, who was one of our most successful music exports ever.
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