It was a night for newcomers at the 2021 ARIA Awards tonight. They were held tonight at Taronga Zoo on Cammeraigal country and streamed around the world on YouTube. Showcasing the strength of music in Australia, there was an unprecedented number of first-time winners of ARIAs.
On the back of his outstanding debut album Smiling With No Teeth, Genesis Owusu took home four ARIAs, including Australian music Album Of The Year, Best Hip Hop Release, and Best Independent Release.
The Kid LAROI has had an incredible year, with over 3 billion streams of his songs. He picked up the Best Artist award, as well as Best Pop Release for his hit “Stay” (with Justin Bieber).
Budjerah picked up the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist award on the back of his EP Budjerah. His acceptance speech left barely a dry eye in the house. He also performed live at the ceremony.
Other first time winners included Tkay Maidza who won the Best Soul/R&B Release, for the third release in her EP trilogy, Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3. Middle Kids were also first-time winners, picking up Best Rock Album for their second studio album Today We’re The Greatest. Spacey Jane also picked up their first ARIA for Song of the Year, with “Booster Seat”.
Also performing live was Gretta Ray, Genesis Owusu, The Kid LAROI, RÜFÜS DU SOL and Amy Shark.
Here is the full list of winners for 2021
2021 ARIA AWARDS RECIPIENTS
Album Of The Year
Genesis Owusu – Smiling WIth No Teeth
Best Artist
The Kid LAROI
Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist
Budjerah – Budjerah (EP)
Best Pop Release
The Kid LAROI – Stay (with Justin Bieber)
Best Hip Hop Release
Genesis Owusu – Smiling with No Teeth
Best Independent Release
Genesis Owusu – Smiling with No Teeth
Best Soul/R&B Release
Tkay Maidza – Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3
Best Dance Release
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Alive
Best Group
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Alive
Best Rock Album
Middle Kids – Today We’re The Greatest
Best Adult Contemporary Album
Crowded House – Dreamers Are Waiting
Best Country Album
Troy Cassar-Daley – The World Today
Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album
Tropical F**k Storm – Deep States
Best Blues & Roots Album
Archie Roach – The Songs Of Charcoal Lane
Best Children’s Album
Bluey – Bluey The Album
PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS
Best Video
Missing Piece – Vance Joy, Annelise Hickey
Best Australian Live Act
Lime Cordiale – Relapse Tour
Song of the Year
Spacey Jane – Booster Seat
Most Popular International
Taylor Swift – Evermore
Telstra ARIA Music Teacher Award
Zoë Barry – Sacred Heart School, Melbourne VIC
ARTISAN AWARDS
Best Cover Art
Kofi Ansah & Bailey Howard for Genesis Owusu – Smiling with No Teeth
Engineer Of The Year
Konstantin Kersting
Producer Of The Year
Konstantin Kersting & The Rubens
FINE ARTS AWARDS
Best Classical Album
Genevieve Lacey and Marshall McGuire – Bower
Best Jazz Album
Mildlife – Automatic
Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album
Angus & Julia Stone – Life Is Strange
Best World Music Album
Joseph Tawadros – Hope In An Empty City
