Sam Smith and Billie Eilish to stream performances for ARIA Awards

International pop stars Billie Eilish and Sam Smith have joined the bill to perform at this year’s virtual ARIA Awards.

The Awards will be hosted by Delta Goodrem, with Sia as well as Lime Cordiale, Tame Impala, Sampa The Great and Amy Shark already announced as acts taking the stage.

Sia and Eilish will have their performances streamed from the US’ Los Angeles, while Smith’s take place in Abbey Road Studios in London.

The 2020 ARIA Awards are taking place on Wednesday, November 25 in partnership with Channel 9 and YouTube.

Smith said they were looking forward to the performance.

“Australia has always held such a special place in my heart, and I am so honoured to be a part of this year’s ARIA Awards. I’ll be crossing live from London with a very special performance for you all. I can’t wait to see you soon,” Smith said.

ARIA’s chief executive Dan Rosen noted it would be a different set-up this year, but said it would be a special performance nonetheless.

“It is a great honour to be able to welcome one of the world’s biggest stars Sam Smith to this year’s ARIA Awards. While the COVID pandemic means that our international guests cannot be physically with us, we are excited to take the ARIAs to the world’s stages. And what a thrill to have an ARIA performance from the world’s most famous studio Abbey Road. We cannot wait to bring Sam from the hallowed Abbey Road to the 2020 ARIA Awards,” he said.

Smith is a four-time Grammy Award winner, and has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, including 750,000 in Australia. Smith has amassed 30 billion streams and this year released their third studio album Love Goes. 

Eilish, meanwhile, is described by ARIA was a “global phenomenon” who has accumulated 54 billion steams – 1.27 billion of these from within Australia. Her debut solo album WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? debuted at #1 both here and in the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand.

She made Grammy Awards history earlier this year, winning five awards.

She will perform her new single ‘Therefore I Am’.

Rosen said: “We are thrilled to welcome global superstar Billie Eilish to this year’s ARIA Awards. Australian music fans have taken her into our hearts, and last year Billie had the highest selling album in Australia with her massive hit WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? She is truly one of the biggest artists in the world right now, and we can’t wait to see her perform her new song for all her Australian fans on the ARIA stage.”