Awards Reflect Australia's Music Resurgence
SYDNEY--The changing of the guard in Australian music was underlined at this year's Australian Recording Industry Assn. awards, when teenage rock act Silverchair and soulful singer Tina Arena dominated the show.
Both acts, signed to Sony Music, have broken Australia's drought of international success in the last year, with Silverchair's "Frogstomp" album currently at No. 14 on The Billboard 200.
As the first Australian act to reach the top 10 of The Billboard 200 with a debut album since Men At Work in 1982, and the first to have any album in that chart since INXS in 1990 (with "X"), the teenage band from the industrial city of Newcastle, scooped best Australian new talent, best Australian album (for "Frogstomp"), and best Australian single, best Australian debut single, and best-selling Australian single (for "Tomorrow").
The members of Silverchair perpetuated the peculiarly Australian tradition of snubbing many of those who had made them successful by refusing to walk to the podium and collect their five awards. They did, however, appear at the end of the telecast performing a blitzkrieg version of an old Radio Bird-man song that culminated with a Who-style stage destruction and the near concussion of member Ben Gillies, who dove headfirst into his kit before staggering off stage.
The 15- and 16-year-old sudden superstars failed to take the award for best Australian alternative release, which went to rooArt trio You Am I for the album "Hi-Fi Way," and the coveted best Australian group award, which went to last year's winner, Red Eye/Polydor's Cruel Sea, for its "Three Legged Dog" album. Tina Arena, a former child TV star who can rightly claim to be a 20-year veteran at just 26, received the sort of industry accolades that were bestowed upon John Farnham in 1987. Her blistering soul ballad "Chains," which broke a long international chart drought for Australia when it hit the top 10 of the U.K. charts earlier in the year, was honored as best Australian song of the year, while her album "Don't Ask," for which she co-wrote every track, was named best Australian album. To cap it off, Arena took home the statue for best Australian female artist.
The Sony sweep continued with Itche-E & Scratch-E scoring best Australian dance release for "Sweetness And Light," and the relatively unknown Troy Cassar-Daley pulling off an upset win by trouncing the king and queen of country, ABC Music's Lee Kernaghan and Gina Jeffreys, for best Australian country release for "Beyond The Dancing." ABC did enjoy success with its ether principal areas of activity--children's, classics, and soundtrack/show--winning with the Wiggles, Yvonne Kenny & the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and "The Pirates Of Penzance," respectively.
The evening saw fierce competition from female acts, many of whom were unknown this time last year. Max Sharam (Warner), Merrill Bainbridge (Gotham/BMG), and Christine Anu (Mushroom/Festival) all had multiple nominations, but only Anu took home an award, for best Australian Aboriginal/Islander release for "Stylin' Up." Kylie Minogue landed a left-field gong for her Keir McFarlane-directed video for "Put Yourself In My Place," winner of best Australian video.
As expected, satirist Billy Birmingham, otherwise known as the Twelfth Man, won the best Australian comedy category for "Wired World Of Sports II" but shocked rock acts by grabbing the highest-selling Australian album for the same release. His label, EMI, was also able to celebrate Diesel's win of best Australian male artist category.
The three-hour telecast Oct. 2 was taped before 2,000 industry and public guests at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre. The event, the ninth ARIAs and the fourth to be broadcast, was held six months later than usual to align it with Australian Music Week. Both events are run by ARIA.
Presenter of the ARIAs, Richard Stubbs, made much of the "changing of the guard" in Australian music.
Live appearances came from Arena, the Screaming Jets, Take That, Merrill Bainbridge, Melissa Etheridge with a band composed of members of Southern Sons and INXS, and Demi Hines.
It may have been unintentional, but the six-month delay in staging the 1995 ARIAS proved to be a masterstroke.
In April, the awards would have acknowledged a music scene still wondering what had become of its once fearsome international edge. In October, it was able to celebrate an astonishing recovery and resurgence, and to recognize, if not always award, an impressive array of remarkably accomplished newcomers.