Amy Shark and Gurrumul win big at the 2018 ARIA Awards
Wednesday, November 28th saw the Australian music industry’s best, brightest, and most talented descend upon Sydney’s Star Event Centre for the Aussie music scene’s night of nights.
With a who’s-who list of performers and presenters, it was undoubtedly set to be one of the most exciting events on the musical calendar. But of course, the question on everyone’s lips was exactly the same; who will be taking home the awards tonight?
With the likes of Amy Shark and Courtney Barnett leading the noms this year (with nine and eight respectively), it was always going to be a tight race. Of course, in our eyes they’re all winners, but at the end of the day, someone had to take home that pointy statue.
Undoubtedly, the evening’s biggest winners were Amy Shark and Gurrumul, who each received a massive four awards each.
Amy Shark’s honours for the evening included Album Of The Year, Best Female Artist, Best Pop Release, and Producer of the Year, which recognised the work of Dann Hume & M-Phazes on ‘I Said Hi’.
Meanwhile, the late Gurrumul’s posthumous Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) was honoured with the awards for Best Male Artist, Best Independent Release, Best World Music Album, and Best Cover Artist, with Caiti Baker’s phenomenal art being celebrated.
5 Seconds of Summer took home the awards for Best Group, Best Australian Live Act, and Song of the Year for their chart-topping ‘Youngblood’. Meanwhile, Best International Artist went to Camila Cabello, Best Rock Album to Courtney Barnett, Best Urban Release to the Hilltop Hoods, and Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album to Parkway Drive.
However, the most emotional aspect of the evening occurred during Kasey Chambers’ induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame by Paul Kelly. While Kelly read her a poem he had composed, Chambers’ held back tears while thanking her family, before jumping into a performance of ‘Not Pretty Enough’.
“The two main things I’ve learnt about how to survive in the music business is to always be true to yourself and to find your tribe,” Chambers explained “I have had the most amazing tribe in the world, my mum and dad.”
“I still look in the mirror today and ask Am I Not Pretty Enough?
And my answer now is…..Who gives a fuck!”
— Tone Deaf (@tonedeaf) November 28, 2018
.@paulkelly legit wrote a poem for @kaseychambers to induct her into the Hall Of Fame.
“Kasey they’ll never call you tame, and that is why you live right here, in my own Hall of Fame”#arias
— Tone Deaf (@tonedeaf) November 28, 2018
Fuck you @paulkelly you just made everyone cry. We’re wearing make up! ???? #arias https://t.co/QTVD1dfk3Q
— The Industry Observer (@theindustry_o) November 28, 2018
“The best advice my dad ever gave me was, ‘just don’t be a dickhead’,” she continued. “I know it doesn’t sound very profound, but it’s been the best advice to follow.”
“Seriously, you don’t need to be a dickhead to get ahead in this business, you really don’t. You don’t have to drag other people down to get to the top.”
“I don’t believe I’m up here because I’m a strong woman, I think I’m standing up here because I’m just myself, and that’s all any of us ever need to be.”
Check out the full list of winners below
Check out Kasey Chambers’ ‘Not Pretty Enough’:
2018 ARIA Awards With Apple Music Recipients
Apple Music Album Of The Year
Winner: Amy Shark – Love Monster (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Gurrumul – Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) (SFM/MGM)
Pnau – Changa (etcetc Music)
Troye Sivan – Bloom (EMI)
Best Male Artist
Winner: Gurrumul – Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) (SFM/MGM)
Dan Sultan – Killer Under A Blood Moon (Liberation Records)
Dean Lewis – Be Alright (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Troye Sivan – Bloom (EMI)
Vance Joy – Nation Of Two (Liberation Records)
Best Female Artist
Winner: Amy Shark – Love Monster (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Alison Wonderland – Awake (EMI)
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Sia – Flames (What A Music Ltd, Under Exclusive Licence to Warner Music Group)
Tash Sultana – Flow State (Lonely Lands Records/Sony Music)
Best Dance Release
Winner: Pnau – Go Bang (etcetc Music)
Alison Wonderland – Awake (EMI)
Fisher – Losing It (etcetc Music)
Peking Duk – Fire (Sony Music)
RÜFÜS DU SOL – No Place (Sony Music)
Best Group
Winner: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (Capitol UK/EMI)
DMA’S – For Now (I OH YOU)
Peking Duk – Fire (Sony Music)
Pnau – Go Bang (etcetc Music)
RÜFÜS DU SOL – No Place (Sony Music)
Breakthrough Artist
Winner: Ruel – Dazed & Confused (RCA Records/Sony Music)
Alex Lahey – I Love You Like A Brother (Nicky Boy Records/Caroline Australia)
Jack River – Sugar Mountain (I OH YOU)
Mojo Juju – Native Tongue (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia)
Odette – To A Stranger (EMI)
Best Pop Release
Winner: Amy Shark – Love Monster (Wonderlick Recording Company)
5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (Capitol UK/EMI)
Dean Lewis – Be Alright (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Jack River – Sugar Mountain (I OH YOU)
Troye Sivan – Bloom (EMI)
Best Urban Release
Winner: Hilltop Hoods – Clark Griswold (feat. Adrian Eagle) (Hilltop Hoods/Universal Music Australia)
360 – Vintage Modern (Forthwrite/EMI)
Esoterik – My Astral Plane (Flight Deck/Mushroom Group)
Kerser – Engraved In The Game (ABK Records. Marketed & distributed by ADA, a division of Warner Music Australia Pty Ltd)
Mojo Juju – Native Tongue (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia)
Best Independent Release
Winner: Gurrumul – Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) (SFM/MGM)
Angus & Julia Stone – Snow (Angus & Julia Stone Pty Ltd/EMI)
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
DMA’S – For Now (I OH YOU)
Pnau – Go Bang (etcetc Music)
Best Rock Album
Winner: Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Camp Cope – How To Socialise & Make Friends (Poison City Records)
DMA’S – For Now (I OH YOU)
Luca Brasi – Stay (Cooking Vinyl Australia)
Middle Kids – Lost Friends (EMI)
Best Adult Contemporary Album
Winner: Vance Joy – Nation Of Two (Liberation Records)
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile – Lotta Sea Lice (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Dan Sultan – Killer Under A Blood Moon (Liberation Records)
Missy Higgins – Solastalgia (Eleven: A Music Company/EMI Music)
Odette – To A Stranger (EMI)
Best Country Album
Winner: Kasey Chambers & The Fireside Disciples – Campfire (Essence Group Entertainment. Marketed and distributed by Warner Music Australia Pty Ltd)
Adam Eckersley & Brooke McClymont – Adam & Brooke (Lost Highway Australia /Universal Music Australia)
Fanny Lumsden – Real Class Act (Red Dirt Road/AWAL)
The Wolfe Brothers – Country Heart (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia)
Travis Collins – Brave & The Broken (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia)
Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album
Winner: Parkway Drive – Reverence (Resist Records/Cooking Vinyl Australia)
DZ Deathrays – Bloody Lovely (I OH YOU)
King Parrot – Ugly Produce (EVP Recordings/Rocket)
Polaris – The Mortal Coil (Resist Records/Cooking Vinyl Australia)
West Thebarton – Different Beings Being Different (Domestic La La/Sony Music Entertainment)
Best Blues & Roots Album
Winner: Tash Sultana – Flow State (Lonely Lands Records/Sony Music)
Angus & Julia Stone – Snow (Angus & Julia Stone Pty Ltd/EMI)
Emily Wurramara – Milyakburra (Wantok Musik/MGM)
Mama Kin Spender – Golden Magnetic (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia)
Ruby Boots – Don’t Talk About It (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album
Winner: Jimmy Barnes – Working Class Boy: The Soundtracks (BLOODLINES)
Evelyn Ida Morris – Acute Misfortune (Original Soundtrack) (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia)
Jessica Mauboy – The Secret Daughter Season Two (Songs for the Original 7 Series) (Sony Music)
LIARS – 1/1 (Original Soundtrack) (Mute/Inertia)
Various Artists – Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical (The Original Cast Recording) (Global Creatures/Sony Music)
Best Children’s Album
Winner: Justine Clarke – The Justine Clarke Show! (ABC KIDS/Universal Music Australia)
Lah-Lah – 10th Birthday Party (Stella Projects/Sony Music)
Sam Moran – Santa’s Coming! (Sony Music)
Teeny Tiny Stevies – Helpful Songs For Little People (ABC KIDS/Universal Music Australia)
The Wiggles – Wiggle Pop! (ABC KIDS/Universal Music Australia)
Public Voted Awards
Apple Music Song Of The Year
Winner: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (Capitol UK/EMI)
Amy Shark – I Said Hi (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Angus & Julia Stone – Chateau (Angus & Julia Stone Pty Ltd/EMI)
Conrad Sewell – Healing Hands (Sony Music)
Dean Lewis – Be Alright (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Peking Duk – Fire/Reprisal (Sony Music)
Pnau – Go Bang (etcetc Music)
Sheppard – Coming Home (Chugg Music/MGM)
Troye Sivan – My My My! (EMI)
Vance Joy – Lay It On Me (Liberation Records)
Best Video
Winner: Dean Lewis – Be Alright (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Amy Shark – I Said Hi (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Client Liaison – Survival In The City (Warner Music Australia Pty Ltd)
Courtney Barnett – Need A Little Time (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Gang Of Youths – The Heart Is A Muscle (Mosy Recordings/Sony Music)
Mojo Juju – Native Tongue (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia)
Peking Duk – Fire (Sony Music)
Pnau – Go Bang (etcetc Music)
Tash Sultana – Salvation (Lonely Lands Records/Sony Music)
The Presets – Do What You Want (Modular/EMI)
Best Australian Live Act
Winner: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Meet You There Tour (Capitol UK/EMI)
Amy Shark – Love Monster Tour (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Client Liaison – Expo Liaison (Warner Music Australia Pty Ltd)
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel National Tour (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Dean Lewis – 2017 National Tour (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Gang Of Youths – 2017 National Tour (Mosy Recordings/Sony Music)
Paul Kelly – Life Is Fine Tour 2017 (EMI)
Peking Duk – The Wasted Tour (Sony Music)
Pnau – Pnau Changa Australian Tour (etcetc Music)
Tash Sultana – Homecoming Tour (Lonely Lands Records/Sony Music)
Best International Artist
Winner: Camila Cabello – Camila (Syco/Epic/Sony Music)
Drake – Scorpion & More Life (Republic/Universal Music)
Ed Sheeran – ÷ (Warner Music)
Eminem – Revival & Kamikaze (Interscope/Universal Music)
Imagine Dragons – Evolve (Interscope/Universal Music)
Khalid – American Teen (RCA/Sony Music)
P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (RCA/Sony Music)
Post Malone – Beerbongs & Bentleys & Stoney (Universal Music)
Sam Smith – The Thrill Of It All (Capitol/EMI)
Taylor Swift – Reputation (Big Machine/Universal Music)
Music Teacher of the Year
Winner: Scott Maxwell (Grant High School, Mount Gambier SA 5209)
Becky Hall (Education Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne VIC 3052)
Dean Harawira (Nerang State High School, Gold Coast QLD 4211)
Deborah Skelton (Caladenia Primary School, Canning Vale WA 6155)
2018 Artisan Awards
Best Cover Art
Winner: Caiti Baker For Gurrumul – Djarimirri (Child Of The Rainbow) (SFM/MGM)
Steve Wyper for Amy Shark – Love Monster (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Dean Hanson for Ball Park Music – Good Mood (Stop Start (Label)/Inertia (Distributor)
Caiti Baker for Gurrumul – Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) (SFM/MGM)
Ben Lopez for Tash Sultana – Flow State (Lonely Lands Records/Sony Music)
Jonathan Zawada for The Presets – Hi Viz (Modular/EMI)
Engineer Of The Year
Winner: Burke Reid For Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Dann Hume & M Phazes for Amy Shark – I Said Hi (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Sam Cromack for Ball Park Music – Good Mood (Stop Start (Label)/Inertia (Distributor)
Burke Reid for Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Ted Howard, Robin Mai & Matthew Cunliffe for Gurrumul – Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) (SFM/MGM)
Holly Rankin, Xavier Dunn, John Castle for Jack River – Sugar Mountain (I OH YOU)
Producer Of The Year
Winner: Dann Hume & M Phazes For Amy Shark – I Said Hi (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Ball Park Music for Ball Park Music – Good Mood (Stop Start (Label)/Inertia (Distributor)
Courtney Barnett, Dan Luscombe & Burke Reid for Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel (Milk! Records/Remote Control Records)
Michael Hohnen for Gurrumul – Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) (SFM/MGM)
Tash Sultana for Tash Sultana – Flow State (Lonely Lands Records/Sony Music)
2018 Fine Arts Awards
Best Classical Album
Winner: Slava Grigoryan – Bach Cello Suites Volume II (ABC Classics/Universal)
Greta Bradman, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Chamber Singers, Luke Dollman – Home (Decca Classics Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Ray Chen – The Golden Age (Decca Classics Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Sally Whitwell – Philip Glass: Complete Etudes For Solo Piano (ABC Classics/Universal Music Australia)
Slava Grigoryan – Bach Cello Suites Volume II (ABC Classics/Universal Music Australia)
Tamara-Anna Cislowska, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Fritzsch – Into Silence: Pärt | Vasks | Górecki | Pelēcis (ABC Classics/Universal Music Australia)
Best Jazz Album
Winner: Jonathan Zwartz – Animarum (Jonathan Zwartz/Planet/MGM)
Barney McAll – Hearing The Blood (Extra Celestial Arts)
Elixir feat. Katie Noonan – Gratitude And Grief (KIN MUSIC/Universal Music Australia)
Jake Mason Trio – The Stranger In The Mirror (Soul Messin’ Records/Inertia Music)
James Morrison, Patti Austin, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Northey – Ella And Louis (ABC Jazz/Universal Music Australia)
Jonathan Zwartz – Animarum (Jonathan Zwartz/Planet/MGM)
Best World Music Album
Winner: Gurrumul – Djarimirri (Child Of The Rainbow) (SFM/MGM)
Joseph Tawadros – The Bluebird, The Mystic and The Fool (Independent/Planet)
Melbourne Ska Orchestra – Ska Classics (ABC Music/FOUR FOUR/Universal Music Australia)
Mista Savona – Havana Meets Kingston (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia)
Xylouris White – Mother (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia)
Best Comedy Release
Winner: Bridie And Wyatt, Tonightly With Tom Ballard – Sex Pest (ABC Music/Universal)
Akmal Saleh – Transparent (Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Aunty Donna – Aunty Donna The Album (etcetc Music)
Lawrence Mooney – Moonman (Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Luke Heggie – Tiprat (Century)
Bridie and Wyatt, Tonightly with Tom Ballard – Sex Pest (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia)
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.