We’ve all made it through another ARIA Awards night, a little older, a little wiser about the state of affairs in Australian music.
We saw Keith Urban do a very laidback hosting job, making a fun big prick joke, and we saw Kasey Chambers be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Her induction gave us one of the standout performances of the night – with a medley of Kate Miller-Heidke, Missy Higgins and Amy Sheppard singing ‘Not Pretty Enough‘ and Chambers smashing ‘Ain’t No Little Girl‘, with accompaniment from Paul Kelly himself. And Kelly read her a poem!
In terms of winners: if you haven’t gotten your ears around Ruel‘s single ‘Dazed & Confused‘, which made him the youngest ever solo artist to cop an ARIA, winning for Breakthrough Artist, or the posthumous final album from Gurrumul, Djarimirri, you should probably hop to it ASAP. The ARIAs tribute to him featuring Courtney Barnett, Jessica Mauboy, his daughter Jasmine Yunupingu and Briggs was absolutely stunning.
It would’ve been impossible to avoid hearing Amy Shark‘s remarkable pop debut, Love Monster, but give it another spin, after four wins from nine noms – including Album of the Year and Best Female Artist – you’d be a lummox not to. And sure, Courtney Barnett missed out on most of her eight noms, taking only Best Rock Album tonight, but Tell Me How You Really Feel remains one of the prescient records to drop this year.
In the publicly voted categories, Camila Cabello, 5 Seconds of Summer, Dean Lewis and were the big winners on the night.
Read on for the full list of ARIA Award winners:
2018 ARIA AWARD WINNERS
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: AMY SHARK – LOVE MONSTER
- Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
- Gurrumul – Djarimirri
- Pnau – Changa
- Troye Sivan – Bloom
BEST MALE ARTIST
- WINNER: GURRUMUL – DJARIMIRRI
- Dan Sultan – Killer Under A Blood Moon
- Dean Lewis – Be Alright
- Troye Sivan – Bloom
- Vance Joy – Nation of Two
BEST FEMALE ARTIST
- WINNER: AMY SHARK – LOVE MONSTER
- Alison Wonderland – Awake
- Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
- Sia – Flames
- Tash Sultana – Flow State
BEST DANCE RELEASE
- WINNER: PNAU – GO BANG
- Alison Wonderland – Awake
- Fisher – Losing It
- Peking Duk – Fire
- RÜFÜS DU SOL – No Place
BEST GROUP
- WINNER: 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER – YOUNGBLOOD
- DMA’s – For Now
- Peking Duk – Fire
- Pnau – Go Bang
- RÜFÜS DU SOL – No Place
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
- WINNER: RUEL – DAZED & CONFUSED
- Alex Lahey – I Love You Like A Brother
- Jack River – Sugar Mountain
- Mojo Juju – Native Tongue
- Odette – To A Stranger
BEST POP RELEASE
- WINNER: AMY SHARK – LOVE MONSTER
- 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood
- Dean Lewis – Be Alright
- Jack River – Sugar Mountain
- Troye Sivan – Bloom
BEST URBAN ALBUM
- WINNER: HILLTOP HOODS – CLARK GRISWOLD
- 360 – Vintage Modern
- Esoterik – My Astral Plane
- Kerser – Engraved In The Game
- Mojo Juju – Native Tongue
BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE
- WINNER: GURRUMUL – DJARIMIRRI
- Angus & Julia Stone – Snow
- Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
- DMA’s – For Now
- Pnau – Go Bang
BEST ROCK ALBUM
- WINNER: COURTNEY BARNETT – TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL
- Camp Cope – How To Socialise & Make Friends
- DMA’s – For Now
- Luca Brasi – Stay
- Middle Kids – Lost Friends
BEST ADULT CONTEMPORARY ALBUM
- WINNER: VANCE JOY – NATION OF TWO
- Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile – Lotta Sea Lice
- Dan Sultan – Killer Under A Blood Moon
- Missy Higgins – Solastalgia
- Odette – To A Stranger
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
- WINNER: KASEY CHAMBERS & THE FIRESIDE DISCIPLES – CAMPFIRE
- Adam Eckersley & Brooke McClymont – Adam & Brooke
- Fanny Lumsden – Real Class Act
- The Wolfe Brothers – Country Heart
- Travis Collins – Brave & The Broken
BEST HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL ALBUM
- WINNER: PARKWAY DRIVE – REVERENCE
- DZ Deathrays – Bloody Lovely
- King Parrot – Ugly Produce
- Polaris – The Mortal Coil
- West Thebarton – Different Beings Being Different
BEST BLUES & ROOTS ALBUM
- WINNER: TASH SULTANA– FLOW STATE
- Angus & Julia Stone – Snow
- Emily Wurramara – Milyakburra
- Mama Kin Spender – Golden Magnetic
- Ruby Boots – Don’t Talk About It
BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK OR MUSICAL THEATRE CAST ALBUM
- WINNER: JIMMY BARNES – WORKING CLASS BOY: THE SOUNDTRACKS
- Evelyn Ida Morris – Acute Misfortune
- Jessica Mauboy – The Secret Daughter: Season Two (Songs From The Original Series)
- LIARS – 1/1 (Original Soundtrack)
- Various Artists – Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical (Original Cast Recording)
BEST CHILDREN’S ALBUM
- WINNER: JUSTINE CLARKE – THE JUSTINE CLARKE SHOW!
- Lah-Lah – 10th Birthday Party
- Sam Moran – Santa’s Coming!
- Teeny Tiny Stevies – Helpful Songs For Little People
- The Wiggles – Wiggle Pop!
SONG OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER – YOUNGBLOOD
- Amy Shark – I Said Hi
- Angus & Julia Stone – Chateau
- Conrad Sewell – Healing Hands
- Dean Lewis – Be Alright
- Peking Duk – Fire/Reprisal
- Pnau – Go Bang
- Sheppard – Coming Home
- Troye Sivan – My My My!
- Vance Joy – Lay It On Me
BEST VIDEO
- WINNER: DEAN LEWIS – BE ALRIGHT
- Amy Shark – I Said Hi
- Client Liason – Survival In The City
- Courtney Barnett – Need A Little Time
- Gang of Youths – The Heart Is A Muscle
- Mojo Juju – Native Tongue
- Peking Duk – Fire
- Pnau – Go Bang
- Tash Sultana – Salvation
- The Presets – Do What You Want
BEST AUSTRALIAN LIVE ACT
- WINNER: 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER – MEET YOU THERE TOUR
- Amy Shark – Love Monster tour
- Client Liason – Expo Liason
- Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Fgurrumueel tour
- Dean Lewis – 2017 National tour
- Gang of Youths – 2017 National tour
- Paul Kelly – Life Is Fine tour
- Peking Duk – The Wasted tour
- Pnau – Pnau Changa Australian tour
- Tash Sultana – Homecoming tour
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTIST
- WINNER: CAMILA CABELLO – CAMILA
- Drake – Scorpion & More Life
- Ed Sheeran – ÷
- Eminem – Revival & Kamikaze
- Imagine Dragons – Evolve
- Khalid – American Teen
- P!nk – Beautiful Trauma
- Post Malone – Beerbongs & Bentleys & Stoney
- Sam Smith – The Thrill Of It All
- Taylor Swift – Reputation
MUSIC TEACHER OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: SCOTT MAXWELL – GRANT HIGH SCHOOL, MOUNT GAMBIER
- Becky Hall – Education Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne
- Dean Harawire – Nerang State High School, Gold Coast
- Deborah Skelton – Caladenia Primary School, Canning Vale
BEST COVER ART
- WINNER: CAITI BARKER FOR GURRUMUL – DJARIMIRRI
- Steve Wyper for Amy Shark – Love Monster
- Dean Hanson for Ball Park Music – Good Mood
- Ben Lopez for Tash Sultana – Flow State
- Jonathan Zawada for The Presets – Hi Viz
ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: BURKE REID FOR COURTNEY BARNETT – TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL
- Dann Hume & M Phazes for Amy Shark – I Said Hi
- Sam Cromack for Ball Park Music – Good Mood
- Ted Howard, Robin Mai & Matthew Cunliffe for Gurrumul – Djarimirri
- Holly Rankin, Xavier Dunn, John Castle for Jack River – Sugar Mountain
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: DANN HUMM & M PHAZES FOR AMY SHARK – I SAID HI
- Ball Park Music for Ball Park Music – Good Mood
- Courtney Barnett, Dan Luscombe & Burke Reid for Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
- Michael Hohnen for Gurrumul – Djarimirri
- Tash Sultana for Tash Sultana – Flow State
BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM
- WINNER: SLAVA GRIGORYAN – BACH CELLO SUITES VOLUME II
- Ray Chen – The Golden Age
- Sally Whitwell – Philip Glass: Complete Etudes for Solo Piano
- Tamara-Anne Cislowska, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Fritzsch – Intro Silence: Pärt | Vasks | Górecki | Pelēcis
BEST JAZZ ALBUM
- WINNER: JONATHAN ZWARTZ – ANIMARUM
- Barney McAll – Hearing The Blood
- Elixir feat. Katie Noonan – Gratitude And Grief
- Jake Mason Trio – The Stranger In The Mirror
- James Morrison, Patti Austin, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Northey – Ella And Louis
BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM
- WINNER: GURRUMUL – DJARIMIRRI
- Joseph Tawadros – The Bluebird, The Mystic and The Fool
- Melbourne Ska Orchestra – Ska Classics
- Mista Savona – Havana Meets Kingston
- Xylouris White – Mother
BEST COMEDY RELEASE
- WINNER: BRIDE AND WYATT, TONIGHTLY WITH TOM BALLARD – SEX PEST
- Akmal Saleh – Transparent
- Aunty Donna – The Album
- Lawrence Mooney – Moonman
- Luke Heggie – Tiprat
