ARIA Awards 2018: All the winners, performances from Aussie music’s big night
An emotionally overwhelmed Amy Shark capped a monster year with her shark attack on the 2018 ARIA Awards during a night of tears, laughter and a few surprise appearances.
An emotionally overwhelmed Amy Shark capped a monster year with her shark attack on the 2018 ARIA Awards in Sydney.
Her Love Monster debut album claimed her awards for Apple Music Album of the Year, Best Female Artist and Best Pop Release, a phenomenal achievement after being rejected by the Australian music industry for a decade before launching on the global pop scene with her Adore single.
“I really, really wanted this,” she said after winning Album of the Year.
“Not just for me but my whole team, because there’s so much that has gone into this because everyone believed in me and let me go and write an album which was dangerous but they did it.”
Shark wowed the crowd with her performance of her double-platinum smash I Said Hi, the song dedicated to all those in the industry who failed to see her potential before she finally got signed just two years ago.
She also joined host Keith Urban to sing his hit The Fighter, cheered on by the country superstar’s wife Nicole Kidman, who added a touch of Hollywood glamour to the proceedings at The Star.
Homegrown pop rock heroes 5 Seconds of Summer, whose single Youngblood has been one of the biggest hits on the planet this year with more than half a billion streams, picked up three awards including Best Group and the publicly voted Best Australian Live Act and Apple Music Song of the Year.
The four young men from Sydney’s western suburbs are now based in Los Angeles are now one of our most successful musical exports being the first Australian act to reach No.1 in the US with each of their albums.
“You saw us grow up, you’ve seen us since we were 16 and we stand before you as men, very proud of the music we have created,” Ashton Irwin said as they collected Song of the Year.
“This song changed our life and career.”
There were standing ovations when the late indigenous national treasure Gurrumul, who lost his battle against kidney disease last year at 46, was named Best Male Artist and picked up Best independent Release for his posthumous final album Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow).
The record was the first ever indigenous language album to debut at No.1 on the ARIA charts.
Jessica Mauboy and Briggs from A.B. Original led a beautiful tribute to the late singer’s musical legacy and was joined on stage by his daughter Jasmine Yunupingu to perform Wulminda.
The continued success of Jimmy Barnes’ brave exposition of his harrowing childhood via his memoirs, theatre productions and Working Class Boy documentary was recognised with the Best Original Soundtrack award.
Another Australian killing in it on the world stage, Courtney Barnett, won Best Rock Album for her second record Tell Me How You Really Feel, performing the stunning single Charity at the awards at The Star.
Kasey Chambers became the 12th woman to be inducted to the ARIA Hall of Fame in its three-decade history and also won Best Country Album for her Campfire record, the ninth time she has claimed the dangerously pointed trophy in this category.
She was joined by Missy Higgins, Kate Miller-Heidke, Amy Sheppard and Paul Kelly to perform a special rendition of her signature anthem Not Pretty Enough with Ain’t No Little Girl.
When accepting the honour as the youngest ever inductee, Chambers wiped away tears as many of her fans in the audience also dealt with something in their eyes.
“The two things I have learnt in the music industry is always be true to yourself and to find your tribe,” she said.
“My mother has taught me being a bitch doesn’t make you strong and being strong doesn’t make you a bitch.
“My father said just don’t be a dickhead.”
She also paid tribute to her brother Nash who has produced many of her records and helped steer her career and sent love to her three children Talon, Arlo and Poet.
“I’m so proud to be your mum and at the end of the day I hope I have inspired you three to find something that makes you feel alive.”
Dean Lewis picked up the fan-voted Best Video for his bloke break-up smash Be Alright.
British pop chart-toppers Rita Ora and George Ezra both performed at the awards while American tourist Richard Marx took time out from his Australian tour to attend the ARIAs.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Apple Music Album of the Year
Amy Shark, Love Monster
Best Male Artist
Gurrumul, Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow)
Best Female Artist
Amy Shark, Love Monster
Best Dance Release
PNAU, Go Bang
Best Group
5 Seconds of Summer, Youngblood
Breakthrough Artist
Ruel, Dazed and Confused
Best Pop Release
Amy Shark, Love Monster
Best Urban Release
Hilltop Hoods, Clark Griswold feat. Adrian Eagle
Best Independent Release
Gurrumul, Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow)
Best Rock Album
Courtney Barnett, Tell Me How You Really Feel
Best Adult Contemporary Album
Vance Joy, Nation of Two
Best Country Album
Kasey Chambers & the Fireside Disciples, Campfire
Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album
Parkway Drive, Reverence
Best Blues and Roots Album
Tash Sultana, Flow State
Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album
Jimmy Barnes, Working Class Boy: The Soundtracks
Best Children’s Album
Justine Clarke, The Justine Clarke Show!
Publicly voted awards
Apple Music Song Of the Year
5 Seconds of Summer, Youngblood
Best Video
Dean Lewis, Be Alright
Best Australian Live Act
5 Seconds of Summer, Youngblood
Best international Act
Camila Cabello, Camila
Music Teacher of the Year
Scott Maxwell, Grant High School, Mt Gambier
Originally published as ARIA Awards 2018: All the winners, performances from Aussie music’s big night
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