The countdown to the 2021 ARIA Awards in partnership with YouTube Music is on, with just five weeks to go. The ARIA Awards Nominations Announce event saw the nominees in all categories revealed via a YouTube Premiere. This is the second time in ARIA Awards history that the Nominations event has premiered on YouTube and can be viewed here and available to stream free on 9Now.
The winners will be announced on Wednesday 24th November 2021, to be broadcast from Sydney, Australia and the world on YouTube.
8x ARIA Award winner Amy Shark is closing a huge year with six nominations, including Album of the Year, Best Artist, Best Pop Release, Song of the Year presented by YouTube Music, and more. Amy’s confessional sophomore album Cry Forever, debuted at #1 on the ARIA charts, following in the footsteps of Shark’s debut/breakthrough 2018 ARIA Album of the Year, LOVE MONSTER.
Amy Shark
Genesis Owusu lands in tally with six nominations, including Album of the Year, Best Artist, Best Independent Release presented by PPCA, Best Hip Hop Release Presented By Menulog, and Best Cover Art. Genesis Owusu’s debut album Smiling With No Teeth peaked at #27 on the ARIA charts. The record gained worldwide acclaim from outlets like triple j, BBC, KCRW, The Needle Drop, The Guardian, NME and more.
Genesis Owusu
Also receiving five nominations, including Best Artist, Best Soul/R&B Release and the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist, is R&B wunderkind Budjerah. The 19-year-old breakout artist released his self-titled debut Budjerah this year, co-written and produced by ARIA winner, singer songwriter Matt Corby. Missing You, the debut single from Budjerah has seen him garner widespread support from radio including #1 most played on triple j and Top 30 national airplay.
Budjerah
Internationally acclaimed Australian rapper Masked Wolf has secured five nominations this year, including Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist, Best Artist, Best Hip Hop Release Presented By Menulog, Song of the Year presented by YouTube Music and Best Video presented by YouTube Music. In 2021 Masked Wolf re-released his 2019 single Astronaut in the Ocean, and it immediately caught fire, igniting 17.5million-plus TikTok videos.
Masked Wolf
Australian treasures, 11x ARIA Awards and 2006 ARIA Awards Hall of Fame inductees, Midnight Oil and First Nations Collaborators, have landed five nominations this year, including Best Group, Best Australian Live Act presented by Heaps Normal and Best Video presented by YouTube Music. The Rock n’ Roll icons have also scored nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album for this year’s mini-album The Makarrata Project, which debuted at #1 on the ARIA charts, the band’s first new body of work in nearly 20 years.
Midnight Oil
It was an exciting day for Australian electronic group, The Avalanches, who landed five ARIA Award nominations for Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Pop Release, Best Australian Live Act presented by Heaps Normal, and Best Video presented by YouTube Music. In 2020, the band released their third studio album – We Will Always Love You, which features an array of living guests who contribute vocals and lyrics – meaning the album is their most song-oriented album yet.
One of Australia’s fastest growing breakthrough artists, Tones And I, has this year been nominated for five awards, including Album of the Year, Best Artist, Best Pop Release, Song of the Year presented by YouTube Music, and Best Video presented by YouTube Music. Following the enormous success of her breakout global hit Dance Monkey, which has accrued 7 billion global streams, 1.7 billion views on YouTube, and went 15X platinum; Tones And I released her debut studio album, Welcome to the Madhouse, which debuted at #1 on the ARIA charts, hit #1 on the iTunes Album charts and #144 on the US Billboard 200.
Tones And I
Previous ARIA Award winner Vance Joy has scored five nominations for Best Artist, Best Pop Release, Best Independent Release presented by PPCA, Song of the Year presented by YouTube Music, and Best Video presented by YouTube Music. Vance Joy has long been winning the hearts of Australians and the world with his anthemic folk-influenced tunes; this year he released two singles, You with Marshmello and Benny Blanco and the platinum – selling global hit Missing Piece.
Papua New Guinea born and Sydney based R&B artist Ngaiire is celebrating four nominations for Best Artist, Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist, Best Soul/R&B Release, and Best Cover Art. 2021 saw the release of Ngaiire’s third album, 3, which transcended music, to stand as a mission.
The excitement continues for Sydney-born international superstar, The Kid LAROI, who is nominated for four awards including Best Artist, Best Pop Release, Best Hip Hop Release Presented By Menulog, and Song of the Year presented by YouTube Music. It’s been a groundbreaking year for The Kid LAROI, not only in his homeland but across the globe, with over 3 billion global streams across his catalogue. In early 2020 he released the first part of the F*ck Love trilogy, which went on to claim #1 on the Billboard 200, Top 40 in 17 countries and #1 on the ARIA charts, making him the youngest Australian artist to top the charts.
The Kid Laroi
The Kid LAROI and Justin Beiber performed their 3X platinum single Stay at the MTV VMAs this year, a track that quickly hit #1 on both the Billboard 100 and the ARIA charts as well as a number of other countries.
With three nominations indie, rock pioneers Ball Park Music are nominated for Best Australian Live Act, Best Independent Release presented by PPCA, and Best Rock Album. In late 2020 the five piece released their latest self titled album Ball Park Music, the sixth in their 13 years since formation.