To the surprise of very few people playing along at home, massively popular The Kid Laroi and the critically-acclaimed Genesis Owusu have taken home two of the biggest awards in Australian music at this year’s ARIA Awards.
In a markedly different setting this year, the 35th iteration of the ARIAs played out in the picturesque setting of Taronga Zoo with music fans streaming the show on both YouTube and 9Now in lieu of the traditional TV broadcast.
Hear the music behind the winners on iHeartAustralia:
Genesis Owusu’s much-heralded album ‘Smiling With No Teeth’ took home gongs for Best Hip Hop Release, Best Independent Release and the coveted Album Of The Year. Meanwhile, The Kid Laroi was awards Best Artist, beating the likes of Kylie Minogue, Amy Shark, Tones and I and Keith Urban for the prize.
“Just checking back in and dude how good is Australian Music and tonight has been such an incredible night,” The Kid Laroi said in a pre-recorded speech.
“I feel so blessed and overwhelmed, over the love and support. It’s incredible that I’m getting this much love especially from home, that means the world to me … When I started this all I wanted to do was bring up the culture and show the world how good Australian music was.”
Rüfüs Du Sol won the award for Best Group over Aussie rock royalty AC/DC and Midnight Oil, while Crowded House proved that their Farewell To The World tour 25 years ago was way too premature, winning the gong for Best Adult Contemporary Album.
Here’s your full list of last night’s ARIA Award winners:
Album Of The Year – Smiling With No Teeth, Genesis Owusu
Best Artist – The Kid Laroi
Breakthrough Artist – Budjerah
Best Pop Release – Stay (with Justin Bieber), The Kid Laroi
Best Hip Hop Release – Smiling With No Teeth, Genesis Owusu
Best Independent Release – Smiling With No Teeth, Genesis Owusu
Best Soul/R & B Release – Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3, Tkay Maidza
Best Dance Release – Alive, Rufus Du Sol
Best Group – Rufus Du Sol
Best Rock Album – Today We’re The Greatest, Middle Kids
Best Adult Contemporary Album – Dreamers Are Waiting, Crowded House
Best Country Album – The World Today, Troy Cassar-Daley
Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album – Deep States, Tropical F*** Storm
Best Blues & Roots Album – The Songs Of Charcoal Lane, Archie Roach
Best Children’s Album – Bluey The Album
Public Voted Awards:
Best Video – Missing Piece, Vance Joy
Best Australian Live Act – Lime Cordiale
Song of the Year – Booster Seat, Spacey Jane
Most Popular International – Taylor Swift
Artisan Awards:
Best Cover Art – Kofi Ansah (Genesis Owusu) and Bailey Howard for Genesis Owusu
Engineer of the Year – Konstantin Kersting
Producer Of The Year – Konstantin Kersting and The Rubens
Fine Arts Awards
Best Classical Album – Bower, Genevieve Lacey and Marshall McGuire
Best Jazz Album – Automatic, Mildlife
Best World Music Album – Hope Is An Empty City, Joseph Tawadros
