News November 24, 2021

Genesis Owusu wins big at 2021 ARIA Awards

Image: Press; @spencernotspencer; Press

Some of the country’s best and brightest artists have received well-deserved recognition at the 2021 edition of the ARIA Awards, with the likes of Genesis Owusu, The Kid LAROI, and RÜFÜS DU SOL serving as big winners at this year’s event.

Announcing its nominees just last month, it was both Genesis Owusu and Amy Shark who were tipped as heavy contenders for this year’s ARIA Awards, with both artists receiving six nominations apiece. Ultimately though, it was Genesis Owusu who came out on top, winning the most awards for the evening, with four.

Taking home Album Of The Year for Smiling with No Teeth, Genesis also took out the ARIA for Best Hip Hop Release, Best Independent Release, and Best Cover Art for the same record. Closely behind though, The Kid LAROI took out two big awards, with both the ARIA for Best Artist and Best Pop Release coming his way, the latter for his Justin Bieber collaboration, “Stay”.

Meanwhile, Sydney trio RÜFÜS DU SOL were also big winners, taking home the ARIA for Best Dance Release for “Alive”, and Best Group, which saw them beat out the likes of AC/DC, The Avalanches, Midnight Oil, and Gang of Youths to win the award.

Elsewhere, Budjerah was named as the recipient of the inaugural Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist award, with Ed Sheeran handing out the award in honour of Gudinski, who served as inspiration for Sheeran’s recent song, ‘Visiting Hours’.

Tkay Maidza took out the ARIA for Best Soul/R&B Release, while Middle Kids and Crowded House received the awards for Best Rock and Best Adult Contemporary Albums, respectively. While Troy Cassar-Daley won Best Country Album, Archie Roach nabbed Best Blues & Roots Album while Tropical Fuck Storm received the ARIA award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album.

In the public voted awards, Taylor Swift was voted Most Popular International artist, while the Best Australian Live Act award went to Lime Cordiale, and Spacey Jane took out Song of The Year thanks to their enduring hit ‘Booster Seat’.

“The 2021 ARIA Awards have shown once again what incredible world class music talent we have in Australia,” said ARIA Chief Executive, Annabelle Herd in a statement. “Congratulations to all the winners and nominees for your outstanding success and achievement even through a really difficult time.

“Our artists are smashing it here and overseas and we can’t wait to see them bringing the joy of live music back to audiences in 2022.”

With the 2021 event once again presented without a live audience in attendance, a number of nominated artists also performed at the event, including the likes of Amy Shark and Genesis Owusu, in addition to Budjerah, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Gretta Ray, and The Kid LAROI.

Check out ‘Don’t Need You’ by Genesis Owusu:

2021 ARIA Award Recipients

Album Of The Year
WINNER: GENESIS OWUSU
Amy Shark – Cry Forever (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Genesis Owusu – Smiling with No Teeth (OURNESS / AWAL)
Midnight Oil & First Nations Collaborators – The Makarrata Project (Sony Music)
The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You (Modular / EMI Music Australia)
Tones and I – Welcome to the Madhouse (Bad Batch Records / Sony Music)

Best Artist
WINNER: THE KID LAROI
Amy Shark – Cry Forever (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Budjerah – Budjerah (EP) (Warner Music Australia)
Genesis Owusu – Smiling with No Teeth (OURNESS / AWAL)
Keith Urban – The Speed Of Now Part 1 (CAPITOL – NASHVILLE / EMI Music Australia)
Kylie Minogue – Disco (Liberator Music/Mushroom)
Masked Wolf – Astronaut In The Ocean (Teamwrk Records/ADA/Warner Music)
Ngaiire – 3 (Dot Dash Recordings / Remote Control Records)
The Kid LAROI – Stay (with Justin Bieber) (Columbia/Sony Music)
Tones and I – Welcome to the Madhouse (Bad Batch Records / Sony Music)
Vance Joy – Missing Piece (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)

Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist
WINNER: BUDJERAH
Budjerah – Budjerah (EP) (Warner Music Australia)
Gretta Ray – Begin To Look Around (EMI Music Australia)
Masked Wolf – Astronaut In The Ocean (Teamwrk Records/ADA/Warner Music)
MAY-A -Don’t Kiss Ur Friends (Arcadia Music / Sony Music)
Ngaiire – 3 (Dot Dash Recordings / Remote Control Records)

Best Pop Release
WINNER: THE KID LAROI
Amy Shark – Cry Forever (Wonderlick Recording Company)
The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You (Modular / EMI Music Australia)
The Kid LAROI – Stay (with Justin Bieber) (Columbia/Sony Music)
Tones and I – Fly Away (Bad Batch Records / Sony Music)
Vance Joy – Missing Piece (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)

Best Hip Hop Release Presented By Menulog
WINNER: GENESIS OWUSU
B Wise – jamie (Semi Pro Sound)
Genesis Owusu – Smiling with No Teeth (OURNESS / AWAL)
Masked Wolf – Astronaut In The Ocean (Teamwrk Records/ADA/Warner Music)
The Kid LAROI – WITHOUT YOU (Columbia/Sony Music)
Youngn Lipz – Area Baby (Biordi Music/Virgin Music)

Best Independent Release Presented by PPCA
WINNER: GENESIS OWUSU
Archie Roach – The Songs Of Charcoal Lane (Bloodlines/Mushroom)
Ball Park Music – Ball Park Music (Prawn Records/ Inertia Music)
Emma Donovan & The Putbacks – Crossover (Hopestreet Recordings/The Planet Company)
Genesis Owusu – Smiling with No Teeth (OURNESS / AWAL)
Vance Joy – Missing Piece (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group

Best Soul/R&B Release
WINNER: TKAY MAIDZA
Budjerah – Budjerah (EP) (Warner Music Australia)
Hiatus Kaiyote – Mood Valiant (Brainfeeder/Ninja Tune)
Ngaiire – 3 (Dot Dash Recordings / Remote Control Records)
Tash Sultana – Terra Firma (Lonely Lands Records/Sony Music
Tkay Maidza – Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 (Dew Process/Universal Music Australia)

Best Dance Release
WINNER: RÜFÜS DU SOL
Cosmo’s Midnight – Yesteryear (Nite High/Sony Music)
Dom Dolla – Pump The Brakes (Sweat It Out/Warner)
Jolyon Petch – Dreams (TMRW Music)
KLP & Stace Cadet – People Happy (Medium Rare Recordings / Sony Music)
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Alive (Rose Avenue Records/Reprise/Warner Music)

Best Group
WINNER: RÜFÜS DU SOL
AC/DC – Power Up (Leidseplein Presse / Sony Music)
Gang Of Youths – The Angel of 8th Ave. (Mosy Recordings / Sony Music)
Midnight Oil & First Nations Collaborators – The Makarrata Project (Sony Music)
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Alive (Rose Avenue Records/Reprise/Warner Music)
The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You (Modular / EMI Music Australia)

Best Rock Album
WINNER: MIDDLE KIDS
AC/DC – Power Up (Leidseplein Presse / Sony Music)
Ball Park Music – Ball Park Music (Prawn Records/ Inertia Music)
Holy Holy – Hello My Beautiful World (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Middle Kids – Today We’re The Greatest (EMI Music Australia)
Midnight Oil & First Nations Collaborators – The Makarrata Project (Sony Music)

Best Adult Contemporary Album
WINNER: CROWDED HOUSE
Big Scary – Daisy (Pieater/Inertia)
Crowded House – Dreamers Are Waiting (EMI Music Australia)
Kylie Minogue – Disco (Liberator Music/Mushroom)
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Carnage (Goliath / AWAL)
Odette – Herald (EMI Music Australia)

Best Country Album
WINNER: TROY CASSAR-DALEY
Brad Cox – My Mind’s Projection (Sony Music)
Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham – The Song Club (ABC Music)
Shane Nicholson – Living In Colour (Lost Highway Australia/Universal Music Australia)
The Wolfe Brothers – Kids On Cassette (BMG/WMG)
Troy Cassar-Daley – The World Today (Tarampa Music / Sony Music)

Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album
WINNER: TROPICAL F**K STORM
Alpha Wolf – A Quiet Place To Die (Greyscale Records / Cooking Vinyl Australia)
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound What Reality? (TFS Records/Virgin Music)
Tropical F**k Storm – Deep States (TFS Records/Virgin Music)
Yours Truly – Self Care (UNFD/The Orchard)
A. Swayze & the Ghosts – Paid Salvation (IVY LEAGUE/MUSHROOM)

Best Blues & Roots Album
WINNER: ARCHIE ROACH
Archie Roach – The Songs Of Charcoal Lane (Bloodlines/Mushroom)
Emma Donovan & The Putbacks – Crossover (Hopestreet Recordings/The Planet Company)
Josh Teskey & Ash Grunwald – Push The Blues Away(Ivy League/Mushroom)
Martha Marlow – Medicine Man (Independent/The Planet Company)
Ziggy Alberts Searching For Freedom (Commonfolk Records / The Orchard)

Best Children’s Album
WINNER: BLUEY
Amber Lawrence – The Kid’s Gone Country 2 (Fun For All The Family ABC Music)
Bluey – Bluey The Album – (Ludo Studios / Demon Music Group / BBC Studios / Rocket)
Diver City – Dance Silly (ABC Music / Universal)
The Wiggles – Lullabies With Love (ABC Music)
Various Artists – The Moon, The Mouse & The Frog: Lullabies from Northern Australia (ABC Music)

Public Voted Awards

Best Video presented by YouTube Music
WINNER: MISSING PIECE – VANCE JOY, ANNELISE HICKEY
24k – Tkay Maidza, Nicholas Muecke (Dew Process/Universal Music Australia)
Astronaut In The Ocean – Masked Wolf, Daniele Cernera (Teamwrk Records/ADA/Warner Music)
could cry just thinkin about you (Full Version) – Troye Sivan & Jesse Gohier-Fleet (EMI Music Australia)
Dance – Julia Stone, Jessie Hill (BMG/WMG)
First Nation – Midnight Oil (featuring Jessica Mauboy & Tasman Keith), Robert Hambling (Sony Music)
Higher – Budjerah, Mick Soiza (Warner Music Australia)
Love Songs Ain’t for Us – Amy Shark, James Chappell (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Missing Piece – Vance Joy, Annelise Hickey (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)
The Divine Chord – The Avalanches, Jonathan Zawada (Modular / EMI Music Australia)
Won’t Sleep – Tones and I, Nick Kozakis, Liam Kelly (Bad Batch Records / Sony Music)

Best Australian Live Act presented by Heaps Normal
WINNER: LIME CORDIALE
Amy Shark – Cry Forever Tour 2021 (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Ball Park Music – The Residency (Prawn Records/ Inertia Music)
Budjerah – Budjerah 2021 Aus Tour (Warner Music Australia)
Genesis Owusu – Smiling With No Teeth Album Tour (OURNESS / AWAL)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Micro Tour (King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard/Virgin Music)
Lime Cordiale – Relapse Tour (Chugg Music Pty Ltd)
Midnight Oil & First Nations Collaborators – Makarrata Live (Sony Music)
The Avalanches – The Avalanches Live (Modular / EMI Music Australia)
The Teskey Brothers – The Teskey Brothers (Headline Shows + Festivals) (IVY LEAGUE/MUSHROOM)

Song of the Year presented by YouTube Music
WINNER: SPACEY JANE
Amy Shark Feat. Keith Urban – Love Songs Ain’t For Us (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Dean Lewis – Falling Up (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)
Hooligan Hefs – Send It! (db Music / Warner Music Australia)
Keith Urban & P!nk – One Too Many (CAPITOL – NASHVILLE / EMI Music Australia)
Masked Wolf – Astronaut In The Ocean (Teamwrk Records/ADA/Warner Music)
Sam Fischer & Demi Lovato – What Other People Say (Sony Music)
Spacey Jane – Booster Seat (AWAL Recordings)
The Kid LAROI with Miley Cyrus – Without You (Columbia/Sony Music)
Tones and I – Fly Away (Bad Batch Records / Sony Music)
Vance Joy – Missing Piece (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)

Most Popular International
WINNER: TAYLOR SWIFT
Ariana Grande – Positions (Universal Records USA / Universal Music Australia)
Doja Cat – Planet Her (RCA Records / Sony Music)
Justin Bieber – Justice (Def Jam / Universal Music Australia)
Kanye West – Donda (Def Jam / Universal Music Australia)
Luke Combs – What You See Ain’t Always What You Get (Columbia Nashville / Sony Music)
Machine Gun Kelly – Tickets To My Downfall (Interscope / Universal Music Australia)
Miley Cyrus – Plastic Hearts (RCA Records / Sony Music)
Olivia Rodrigo – Sour (Geffen / Universal Music Australia)
Pop Smoke – Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon (Universal Records USA / Universal Music Australia)
Taylor Swift – Evermore (Universal Music Australia)

Telstra ARIA Music Teacher Award
WINNER: ZOË BARRY – SACRED HEART SCHOOL, MELBOURNE VIC
Aaron Silver – Wodonga Primary School, Regional VIC
Ashley Baxter – Pimlico State High School, Townsville QLD
Daniel Wilson – Star Struck, Newcastle NSW
Zoë Barry – Sacred Heart School, Melbourne VIC

Artisan Awards

Best Cover Art
WINNER: KOFI ANSAH & BAILEY HOWARD for GENESIS OWUSU
Ngaiire Joseph & Dan Segal for Ngaiire – 3 (Dot Dash Recordings / Remote Control Records)
Eben Ejdne for Odette – Herald (EMI Music Australia)
Kofi Ansah & Bailey Howard for Genesis Owusu – Smiling with No Teeth (OURNESS / AWAL)
Jonathan Zawada for The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You (Modular / EMI Music Australia)
Giulia Giannini McGauran & Mitchell Eaton for Tones and I – Welcome to the Madhouse (Bad Batch Records / Sony Music)

Engineer Of The Year
WINNER: KONSTANTIN KERSTING
Chris Collins
Eric J Dubowsky
Konstantin Kersting
Matt Corby
Tony Espie

Producer Of The Year
WINNER: KONSTANTIN KERSTING & THE RUBENS
Andrew Klippel, Dave Hammer
Konstantin Kersting & The Rubens
M-Phazes
Matt Corby
Robert Chater

Fine Arts Awards

Best Classical Album
WINNER: GENEVIEVE LACEY and MARSHALL MCGUIRE
Christian Li – Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (Decca Records Australia/Universal Music Australia
Emily Sun & Andrea Lam – Nocturnes (ABC Classic)
Genevieve Lacey and Marshall McGuire – Bower (ABC Classic / Universal)
Grigoryan Brothers – This is Us: A Musical Reflection of Australia (ABC Classic / Universal)
Nat Bartsch – Hope (ABC Classic / Universal)

Best Jazz Album
WINNER: MILDLIFE
Australian Art Orchestra, Reuben Lewis, Tariro Mavondo & Peter Knight – Closed Beginnings (AAO Recordings/The Planet Company)
Kristen Beradi, Sean Foran & Rafael Karlen – Haven (Earshift Music / The Planet Company)
Mildlife – Automatic (Inertia Music / [PIAS])
Petra Haden & The Nick Haywood Quintet – Songs from my Father (ABC Jazz / Universal)
Vazesh – The Sacred Key (Earshift Music / The Planet Company)

Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album
WINNER: ANGUS & JULIA STONE
Angus & Julia Stone – Life Is Strange (BMG/WMG)
Antony Partos – Rams (Original Motion Picture Score) (ABC Music)
Caitlin Yeo, Maria Alfonsine, Damian de Boos-Smith – Wakefield Season One Official Soundtrack (MADBS Composing Palace)
Sia – Music Songs From And Inspired By The Motion Picture (Atlantic Records / Warner Music
Yve Blake – Fangirls (ADA/Warner Music)

Best World Music Album
WINNER: JOSEPH TAWADROS
Bob Weatherall & Halfway, with William Barton – Restless Dream (ABC Music)
Bukhu – Bukhchuluun Ganburged – The Journey (Bukhu/Distrokid)
Eishan Ensemble – Project Masnavi (Earshift Music / The Planet Company)
Joseph Tawadros – Hope In An Empty City (Independent / The Planet Company)
Kuya James – ISA (Settle Down Records / MGM Distribution)