By Robert Moran and Angus Thomson
Do they give out trophies to the Young Australian of the Year? If so, 2019 recipient Baker Boy will need to make some room next to it on his mantelpiece after sweeping the ARIA Awards’ major categories on Thursday night and taking home five awards in total.
The 26-year-old Yolngu rapper, real name Danzal Baker, won the night’s top awards – album of the year for his debut full-length Gela, and best solo artist. His album also won for best hip-hop/rap release, best cover art (for designer Adnate), and best mixed album (for engineers Pip Norman, Andrei Eremin and Dave Hammer).
Baker Boy clutches the ARIA award for Album of the Year in delight.Credit: Hanna Lassen/Getty
His album of the year win marks the first time an Indigenous Australian artist has claimed the ARIA Awards’ top prize in its 35-year history, and follows young Kamilaroi man The Kid Laroi’s win as best solo artist (with Justin Bieber) last year.
Reflecting Australia’s ever-burgeoning hip-hop movement, it’s also the second year in a row that the winner of the best hip-hop/rap release has claimed the overall best album prize, following Genesis Owusu’s groundbreaking win for Smiling with No Teeth in 2021.
While Baker’s throwback party flow is far removed from the globe-conquering drill and trap music of local rap’s top streaming stars, such as The Kid Laroi, Hooligan Hefs and OneFour, few would begrudge his wins.
The Arnhem Land/Darwin rapper has been one of the country’s most consistent performers since he first attracted Triple J attention in 2017, and Gela was an ambitiously personal statement filled with his trademark rapping in language and outspoken activism. It even featured a wonderful cameo from the late Jack Charles.
Baker Boy, all smiles at the 2022 ARIA Awards at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney.Credit: Hanna Lassen
At the National Indigenous Music Awards in Darwin in August, Baker similarly swept the top categories, winning for artist of the year and album of the year.
Accepting the album of the year award from host G-Flip and last year’s winner Genesis Owusu on Thursday night, Baker delivered his speech in his native Yolngu language, before returning to the stage to breakdance and play didgeridoo in an energetic performance of Gela track Meditjin.
Speaking to media back stage, he explained his speech was a personal thank you to everyone involved in the album as well as his partner, “who’s always been there for me”.
“Pretty much all that, but in language,” Baker said. “Speaking in language [means I] represent my people and show off Yolngu culture.”
Later, he dedicated his win for best hip-hop/rap release to young people back home in Arnhem Land. “I did it, I’ve been there, and I know you mob can as well,” he said.
Echoing Baker’s success, this year’s ARIA Awards were dominated by Indigenous artists.
Arnhem Land’s Yolngu indie-rock newcomers King Stingray claimed the Michael Gudinski breakthrough artist award, while The Kid Laroi added to last year’s dual haul with a win for best pop release for his single Thousand Miles.
The winner of the best soul/R&B release was Coodjinburra/Bundjalung singer Budjerah. In an onstage protest criticising ARIA’s failure to nominate a full field of five artists in the category, presenter Illy wore a T-shirt featuring names of some of the popular local R&B musicians the awards shunned, including A.Girl, Becca Hatch and Lara Andallo.
The late Gunditjmara/Bundjalung singer-songwriter Archie Roach, who died in July, won best independent release for One Song off his career-spanning anthology My Songs: 1989-2021. The award was accepted by Roach’s granddaughter and singer-songwriter Emma Donovan.
Budjerah, Thelma Plum and Jessica Mauboy united onstage to perform the song as part of a posthumous tribute to Roach, which had been led by Peter Garrett and Briggs and earned a standing ovation from the live audience.
“I never met someone who was so considered and so warm,” said Briggs. “When Uncle Arch embraced you, he embraced you like family.”
Backstage, Baker Boy also reflected on the loss of both Roach and Uncle Jack Charles this year.
“It just shows us that we have to step up for the next generation and be the person they were, taking over the big roles and looking after the young ones,” he said.
Earlier in the night, acclaimed didgeridooist William Barton won for best world music album for History has a Heartbeat, his collaboration with Egyptian-Australian oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros.
The night’s other big successes were Melbourne punk-rockers Amyl and the Sniffers, who took home the awards for best group and best rock album for their wiry Comfort to Me, and The Wiggles, who also won two awards, for best children’s album for ReWiggled and the publicly voted best Australian live act for the OG Wiggles Reunion/Fruit Salad TV Big Show Tour.
Other winners included Tones & I, who won the publicly voted song of the year for Cloudy Day (possibly some karma after her smash Dance Monkey lost out on the prize back in 2019), and Luude, who won best dance/electronic release for his hit drum’n’bass remix of Men At Work’s Down Under, featuring Colin Hay.
The Tasmanian DJ, real name Christian Benson, beat out the night’s top nominees Rufus Du Sol, who went in with seven nods but came out with just one win for best produced album for Surrender. The Sydney trio will be seeking a better showing at the Grammys in February, where they’re nominated twice (although they’ll be facing off against Beyonce herself).
Of the other major categories, best hard rock/heavy metal album went to Sunshine Coast rockers The Chats’ Get F—ed; best adult contemporary album went to Julia Jacklin’s Pre Pleasure; best blues & roots went to William Crighton’s Water and Dust; and best country album was claimed by Casey Barnes for Light It Up.
The show ended with a delightfully campy tribute to Olivia Newton-John, with host Natalie Imbruglia singing Hopelessly Devoted to You, singer Kye launching into Xanadu, and Tones and I and Peking Duk doing the Grease hit You’re the One That I Want.
Ahead of Thursday’s ceremony, which was held at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion with a live audience for the first time since 2019, the ARIAs had flirted with controversy following the release of nominations in October.
Bowraville rapper Tasman Keith questioned the chart performance criteria that kept his acclaimed The Colour Undone out of the nominations for best hip-hop release, while Brisbane artist Mallrat criticised the rock focus and lack of gender diversity in the major categories, saying: “what this industry deems as credible is overwhelmingly indie rock and rock fronted by men”.
In response to the criticism, ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd had sympathised with concerns that “non-male artists [were] underrepresented” and pledged to “tackle that at [the] source”.
Thursday night’s celebration of Indigenous excellence – across the major categories and the often overlooked rap and R&B spheres – should at least buy the organisation a temporary reprieve.
2022 ARIA AWARDS WINNERS LIST
(winners marked in bold)
Album of the Year
Amyl and The Sniffers – Comfort To Me (Virgin Music Australia)
Baker Boy – Gela (Island Records/Universal Music Australia)
Gang Of Youths – Angel In Realtime (Mosy Recordings/Sony Music)
King Stingray – King Stingray (Cooking Vinyl/The Orchard)
Rufus Du Sol – Surrender (Rose Avenue Records/Warner Music)
Best Solo Artist
Baker Boy – Gela (Island Records/Universal Music Australia)
Budjerah – Conversations (Warner Music Australia)
Courtney Barnett – Things Take Time, Take Time (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Daniel Johns – FutureNever (BMG/ADA)
Flume – Palaces (Future Classic)
Julia Jacklin – Pre Pleasure (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)
Ruel – Growing Up Is____ (RCA/Sony Music)
The Kid Laroi – Thousand Miles (Columbia/Sony Music)
Thelma Plum – Meanjin (Warner Music Australia)
Vance Joy – In Our Own Sweet Time (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)
Best Group
Amyl and The Sniffers – Comfort To Me (Virgin Music Australia)
Gang Of Youths – Angel in Realtime (Mosy Recordings/Sony Music)
King Stingray – King Stingray (Cooking Vinyl/The Orchard)
Midnight Oil – Resist (Sony Music)
Rufus Du Sol – Surrender (Rose Avenue Records/Warner Music)
Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist
Beddy Rays – Beddy Rays (Independent/Ditto Music)
Bella Taylor Smith – Look Me In The Eyes (EMI Music Australia)
Harvey Sutherland – Boy (Clarity Recordings/Virgin Music Australia)
King Stingray – King Stingray (Cooking Vinyl/The Orchard)
Luude – Down Under (ft. Colin Hay) (Sweat It Out/Warner Music)
Best Pop Release
Flume – Say Nothing (feat. MAY-A) (Future Classic)
Rufus Du Sol – On My Knees (Rose Avenue Records/Warner Music)
The Kid LAROI – Thousand Miles (Columbia/Sony Music)
Thelma Plum – Meanjin (Warner Music Australia)
Vance Joy – Clarity (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)
Best Dance/Electronic Release
Confidence Man – Tilt (I OH YOU/Mushroom)
Flume – Palaces (Future Classic)
Harvey Sutherland – Boy (Clarity Recordings/Virgin Music Australia)
Luude – Down Under (ft. Colin Hay) (Sweat It Out/Warner Music)
Rufus Du Sol – Surrender (Rose Avenue Records/Warner Music)
Best Hip Hop/Rap Release
Baker Boy – Gela (Island Records/Universal Music Australia)
Barkaa – Blak Matriarchy (Bad Apples Music/Island Records Australia)
Chillinit – Family Ties (420 Family/Virgin Music Australia)
Day1 – Mbappe (feat. KAHUKX) (db Music/Warner Music Australia)
The Kid Laroi & Fivio Foreign – Tokyo to Paris (Columbia/Sony Music)
Best Soul/R&B Release
Budjerah – Conversations (Warner Music Australia)
Emma Donovan & The Putbacks – Under These Streets (Cooking Vinyl Australia/The Orchard)
Kian – Shine (EMI Music Australia)
Vanessa Amorosi – City Of Angels (Scream Louder/MGM)
Best Independent Release
Archie Roach – One Song (Bloodlines/Mushroom Group)
Ball Park Music – Weirder & Weirder (Prawn Records/Inertia Music)
Courtney Barnett – Things Take Time, Take Time (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Genesis Owusu – GTFO (Ourness)
Julia Jacklin – Pre Pleasure (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)
Best Rock Album
Amyl and The Sniffers – Comfort To Me (Virgin Music Australia)
Ball Park Music – Weirder & Weirder (Prawn Records/Inertia Music)
Gang Of Youths – Angel in Realtime (Mosy Recordings/Sony Music)
King Stingray – King Stingray (Cooking Vinyl/The Orchard)
Spacey Jane – Here Comes Everybody (AWAL Recordings)
Best Adult Contemporary Album
Alex the Astronaut – How To Grow A Sunflower Underwater (Warner Music Australia)
Julia Jacklin – Pre Pleasure (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)
Missy Higgins – Total Control (Eleven: A Music Company/Universal Music Australia)
Vance Joy – In Our Own Sweet Time (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)
Vika & Linda – The Wait (Bloodlines/Mushroom Group)
Best Country Album
Adam Brand – All Or Nothing (ABC Music)
Amber Lawrence – Living for the Highlights (ABC Music)
Andy Golledge – Strength of a Queen (I OH YOU/Mushroom)
Casey Barnes – Light It Up (Casey Barnes Entertainment/Chugg Music)
Georgia State Line – In Colour (Cheatin Heart Records/Virgin Music Australia)
Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album
Dune Rats – Real Rare Whale (BMG/ADA)
Northlane – Obsidian (Believe/Rocket)
Shihad – Old Gods (Warner Music NZ)
The Chats – Get F---ed (Bargain Bin Records/The Chats via Ingrooves)
Thornhill – Heroine (UNFD/The Orchard)
Best Blues & Roots Album
Charlie Collins – Undone (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
The Bamboos – Hard Up (BMG/ADA)
The Teskey Brothers with Orchestra Victoria – Live At Hamer Hall (Ivy League Records/Mushroom Group)
Thornbird – Thornbird (Thornbird/MGM)
William Crighton – Water and Dust (ABC Music)
Best Children’s Album
Benny Time – Benny and Friends (Independent)
Teeny Tiny Stevies – How To Be Creative (ABC Music)
The Beanies – Let’s Go! (ABC Music)
The Wiggles – ReWiggled (ABC Music)
Van-Anh Nguyen – The Princess And The Piano (Universal Music Australia)
PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS
Best Video
Apple Crumble – Lime Cordiale, Joe Neathway (Chugg Music)
Blak Matriarchy – Barkaa, Selina Miles (Bad Apples Music/Island Records Australia)
Down Under (ft. Colin Hay) – Luude, Peter Hume (Sweat It Out / Warner)
Every Side Of You – Vance Joy, William Bleakley (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)
GTFO – Genesis Owusu, Uncle Friendly (Rhett Wade-Ferrell) (Ourness)
Hertz – Amyl and The Sniffers, John Angus Stewart (Virgin Music Australia)
I Don’t Wanna Leave – Rufus Du Sol, Katzki (Rose Avenue Records/Warner Music)
Lydia Wears A Cross – Julia Jacklin (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)
Say Nothing (feat. MAY-A) – Flume (Future Classic)
Wish You Well (feat. Bernard Fanning) – Baker Boy, Macario De Souza (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Best Australian Live Act
Amy Shark – See U Somewhere Australia Tour 2022 (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Amyl and The Sniffers – Comfort To Me Tour 2022 (Virgin Music Australia)
Baker Boy – Gela Tour (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Budjerah – The Conversations Australian Tour (Warner Music Australia)
Gang Of Youths – Angel in Realtime (Mosy Recordings/Sony Music)
Genesis Owusu – Genesis Owusu & The Black Dog Band (Ourness)
Midnight Oil – Resist. The Final Tour. 2022 (Sony Music)
The Kid Laroi – End Of The World Tour (Columbia/Sony Music)
The Wiggles – The OG Wiggles Reunion/Fruit Salad TV Big Show Tour (ABC Music)
Thelma Plum – The Meanjin Tour (Warner Music Australia)
Song of the Year
Clinton Kane – I Guess I’m In Love (Columbia/Sony Music)
Dean Lewis – Hurtless (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Flume – Say Nothing (feat. MAY-A) (Future Classic)
Joji – Glimpse Of Us (88rising/Warner Records)
Jolyon Petch feat. Reigan – Dreams (TMRW)
Luude – Down Under (ft. Colin Hay) (Sweat It Out/Warner)
Rufus Du Sol – On My Knees (Rose Avenue Records/Warner Music)
The Kid Laroi – Thousand Miles (Columbia/Sony Music)
Tones And I – Cloudy Day (Bad Batch Records/Sony Music)
Vance Joy – Clarity (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)
Most Popular International Artist
ABBA – Voyage (Universal Music Group/Polar Music International)
Adele – 30 (Columbia/Sony Music)
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever (Darkroom/Interscope Records/Universal Music Group)
Drake – Certified Lover Boy (OVO/Republic/Universal Music Group)
Ed Sheeran – = (Atlantic Records/Warner Music)
Harry Styles – Harry’s House (Columbia/Sony Music)
Jack Harlow – Come Home The Kids Miss You (Atlantic Records/Warner Music)
Lil Nas X – Montero (Columbia/Sony Music)
Post Malone – Twelve Carat Toothache (Mercury/Republic/Universal Music Group)
Taylor Swift – Red (Taylor’s Version) (Republic/Universal Music Group)
ARIA Music Teacher Award
David Collins-White – Haberfield Public School, Haberfield, Eora Nation, NSW
Jane Nicholas – Willandra Primary School, Seville Grove, Noongar Land, WA
Kath Dunn – Wollondilly Public School, Goulburn, Gundungurra Land, NSW
Matt Orchard – Apollo Bay P-12 College, Apollo Bay, Gadubanud Territory, VIC
ARTISAN AWARDS
Best Cover Art
Adnate for Baker Boy – Gela (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Giulia Giannini McGauran for Alex the Astronaut – How To Grow A Sunflower Underwater (Warner Music Australia)
Jonathan Zawada for Flume – Palaces (Future Classic)
Kayla Flett, Gabi Coulthurst & Dimathaya Burarrwanga for King Stingray – King Stingray (Cooking Vinyl Australia/The Orchard)
Seshanka Samarajiwa, Zain Ayub & Tasman Keith for Tasman Keith – A Colour Undone (AWAL Recordings Ltd)
Mix Engineer - Best Mixed Album
Cassian for Rufus Du Sol – Surrender (Rose Avenue Records/Warner Music)
Dann Hume & Eric J Dubowsky for Budjerah – Conversations (Warner Music Australia)
Eric J Dubowsky for Flume – Palaces (Future Classic)
Paul McKercher for Ball Park Music – Weirder & Weirder (Prawn Records/Inertia Music)
Pip Norman, Andrei Eremin & Dave Hammer for Baker Boy – Gela (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Producer - Best Produced Album
Amyl and the Sniffers & Dan Luscombe for Amyl and The Sniffers – Comfort To Me (Virgin Music Australia)
Courtney Barnett & Stella Mozgawa for Courtney Barnett – Things Take Time, Take Time (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Flume – Palaces (Future Classic)
Pip Norman, Rob Amoruso, Morgan Jones, Carl Dimataga, Willie Tafa & Jerome Farah for Baker Boy – Gela (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Surrender (Rose Avenue Records/Warner Music)
FINE ARTS AWARD
Best Classical Album
Amy Dickson, Colin Currie, Lothar Koenigs, Yvonne Kenny, David Zinman, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Markus Stenz & Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – Ross Edwards: Frog and Star Cycle / Symphonies 2 & 3 (ABC Classic)
Lachlan Skipworth – Chamber Works, Vol. 2 (Cygnus Arioso)
Luke Howard – All of Us (Mercury KX/Universal Music Australia)
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra & Sir Andrew Davis – The Enchanted Loom: Orchestral works By Carl Vine (ABC Classic)
Tamara-Anna Cislowska & Guests – Duet (ABC Classic)
Best Jazz Album
Barney McAll – Precious Energy (Extra Celestial Arts)
Mike Nock, Hamish Stuart, Julien Wilson & Jonathan Zwartz – Another Dance (Lionsharecords/The Planet Company)
Mildlife – Live From South Channel Island ([PIAS] Australia/Inertia Music)
Sam Anning – Oaatchapai (Earshift Music/The Planet Company)
Springtime – Springtime (Virgin Music Australia)
Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album
Australian Chamber Orchestra & Richard Tognetti – River (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (ABC Classic)
Brett Aplin – No Mercy, No Remorse (Original Score) (Independent)
In Hearts Wake – Green Is The New Black (UNFD/The Orchard)
Maria Alfonsine with Itunu Pepper – Akoni (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (MADBS Composing Palace)
Matteo Zingales – A Fire Inside (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (ABC Music)
Best World Music Album
Australian Art Orchestra, Daniel Wilfred, Sunny Kim, Peter Knight & Aviva Endean – Hand to Earth (AAO Recordings/The Planet Company)
Joseph Tawadros with William Barton – History Has A Heartbeat (Independent/The Planet Company)
Mista Savona – Havana Meets Kingston Part 2 (ABC Music)
Parvyn – Sa (Parvyn Music/Gaga Digi)
William Barton & Véronique Serret – Heartland (ABC Classic)