:: Spotlight :: 2007 ARIA AwardsBy: Carmine Pascuzzi & Angela DewanThe Final Nominations were recently announced for the 2007 Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards. This is the 21st year for the annual awards. Here is the complete list, including the awards already decided. 2007 ARIA AWARDS ARTISAN WINNERS Best Video Engineer of the Year Producer of the Year NOMINATIONS Best Classical Album – winner to be announced at ARIA Fine Arts Awards, October 15 Best Jazz Album – winner to be announced at ARIA Fine Arts Awards, October 15 Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album – winner to be announced at ARIA Fine Arts Awards, October 15 Best World Music Album – winner to be announced at ARIA Fine Arts Awards, October 15 Best Blues and Roots Album Best Children’s Album Best Dance Release Best Urban Release Best Independent Release Best Music DVD Best Rock Album Best Adult Contemporary Album Best Pop Release Best Comedy Release Best Country Album Breakthrough Artist – Single Breakthrough Artist – Album Best Group Best Male Artist Best Female Artist Single of the Year Album of the Year The 2007 ARIA Awards is proudly presented by Motorola and occurs on Sunday, October 28, 2007 at the Acer Arena, Olympic Park, Homebush, NSW. As you can see, deserved nominations for the band Sneaky Sound System who have received great recognition with six ARIA nominations. I am particularly pleased that they scooped the pool of nominations after a fantastic last twelve months. John Butler Trio did well to received five nominations and rock bands Silverchair and Powderfinger emerged with four nominations each. This year’s nominees range far and wide in the Australian musical landscape from some of those names listed immediately above, to creative and growing artists like Gotye, Josh Pyke, Kate Miller-Heidke, Jackson Jackson, and Operator Please. ********************************************************************** **Update as at October 22, 2007** SPECIAL PRIZE FOR HOME VIEWERS BY WATCHING THE ARIA AWARDS Who will take home MOTOROLA’S HOTTEST PERFORMANCE AWARD at the 2007 ARIA Awards, brought to you by Motorola? Will it be Sneaky Sound System (Motorola’s current Artist of the Month), John Butler Trio, Silverchair, Operator Please, Missy Higgins, Ben Lee, Gotye, Kate Miller-Heidke or YOU? By voting for your hottest performance at the much-anticipated 21st ARIA Awards during the Channel Ten broadcast on October 28 commencing at 8:30pm, Motorola is offering you and a friend the trip of a lifetime! You could be attending the BRIT Awards in the UK, including flights and three nights accommodation in London!!! All you have to do is tune into the Channel Ten broadcast of the ARIA Awards next Sunday night and decide who rocks your vote on the night. SMS your favourite live performer’s name to 191819 (with your full name and state) or log onto here and follow the prompts to the competition page. A winner will be picked at random to win the massive prize of heading to London to the 2008 BRIT Awards including three nights accommodation in London and return flights! Last year’s BRIT Awards had hot performances from the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, The Killer’s and Amy Winehouse (Motorola’s Artist of the Month in September)… without a doubt this is another Awards show you will not want to miss! Motorola’s Artist of the Month initiative supports local and international talent every month, including Grinspoon, Rhianna, Sneaky Sound System, Bloc Party, Thirsty Merc Amy Winehouse and more. March saw Motorola launch Silverchair’s multi-platinum album ‘Young Modern’ at an exclusive event in Sydney. Last week, Motorola held a live and intimate Good Charlotte gig to kick off the bands Australian tour in conjunction with Optus. Motorola’s dedication to Australian music is also highlighted through the partnership with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), supporting Australian artists across all genres, ensuring your music is number one. Keep your eyes glued to the website to ensure you don’t miss out on upcoming events and showcases! The winner of the MOTOROLA HOTTEST PERFORMANCE will have their artists’ clip played on Channel Ten’s Video Hits on Saturday, November 3. ************************************************************** **Presenters announced for ceremony** ARIA is proud to announce performers and presenters who will take part in the 2007 ARIA Awards to be held at Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday, October 28, 2007 and will be exclusively telecast by broadcast partner Network Ten from 8.30pm that night with a 30 minute Red Carpet special to air at 7.00pm. With live performances already announced by POWDERFINGER, SILVERCHAIR, JOHN BUTLER TRIO, MISSY HIGGINS and SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM, organisers can confirm that multiple ARIA nominee GOTYE (pronounced Gore-ti-yeah!) will perform live at the awards. The multi-talented musician, writer and producer GOTYE (aka Wally de Backer), has scored 4 ARIA Award nominations (Best Male Artist, Best Independent Release, Best Dance Release and Album of the Year plus 2 Artisan Award nominations) for ‘Mixed Blood’, a remix album of songs from his extraordinarily successful sophomore release ‘Like Drawing Blood’. The captivating KATE MILLER-HEIDKE whose debut album ‘Little Eve’ landed her 4 ARIA Award nominations (plus 1 Artisan Award nomination) - in the categories of Best Female Artist, Breakthrough Artist – Single, Breakthrough Artist – Album and Best Pop Release - will bring her unique style to the ARIA Awards stage. With a national tour slated for November / December, the divine Ms Kate Miller-Heidke will be one to watch at the 2007 ARIA Awards. Formed at Elenora High (Gold Coast, QLD) in 2005 during chess class, young upstarts OPERATOR PLEASE will ditch their school uniforms to perform live at the ARIA Awards. Nominated twice (Best Pop Release and Breakthrough Artist – Single + 1 Artisan Award) for the infuriatingly catchy single ‘Just A Song About Ping Pong’, the song hit number 12 on the ARIA chart here and number 1 on the UK MTV chart. Host ROVE McMANUS will be joined on stage by JAMES MATHISON and guest presenters including DELTA GOODREM, DARREN HAYES, BEN LEE, CRAIG REUCASSEL, CHRIS TAYLOR and DAVE HUGHES. ******************************************************************** **Full list of winners** Album of the Year: Silverchair - Young Modern Best Group: Silverchair - Young Modern Best Male Artist: Gotye - Mixed Blood Best Female Artist: Missy Higgins - On A Clear Night Single of the Year: Silverchair - Straight Lines Best Pop Release: Sarah Blasko - What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have Best Independent Release: The John Butler Trio - Grand National Best Urban Release: Hilltop Hoods - The Hard Road Restrung Best Comedy Release: Dave Hughes - Live Best Country Album: Keith Urban - Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing Breakthrough Artist - Single: Operator Please - Just A Song About Ping Pong Breakthrough Artist - Album: Sneaky Sound System - Sneaky Sound System Best Blues and Roots Album: The John Butler Trio - Grand National Best Children's Album: The Wiggles - Pop Go The Wiggles Best Dance Release: Sneaky Sound System - Sneaky Sound System Highest Selling Single: Silverchair - Young Modern Highest Selling Album: Damien Leith - The Winner's Journey (Sony BMG) Best Music DVD: You Am I - Who Are They, These Rock Stars? Live At The Mint Best Rock Album: Silverchair - Young Modern Best Adult Contemporary Artist: Josh Pyke - Memories & Dust Best Cover Art: Aaron Hayward & David Homer (Debaser) - Powderfinger - Dream Days At The Hotel Existence Best Video: Paul Goldman & Alice Bell - Silverchair - Straight Lines Engineer of the Year: Wayne Connolly - Josh Pyke - Memories & Dust Producer of the Year: Wayne Connolly & Josh Pyke - Josh Pyke - Memories & Dust Best Classical Album: Richard Tognetti, Australian Chamber Orchestra - Bach Violin Concertos Best Jazz Album: Mike Nock & Dave Liebman - Duologue Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album: Choir of Hard Knocks - Choir of Hard Knocks Best World Music Album: Zulya - 3 Nights ARIA Hall of Fame: Nick Cave ******************************************************************* **ARIA Awards report by our reporter Angela Dewan** This annual glitzy day of glam and good music had a shaky start on this fine Sunday at the Acer Arena. Former Australian Idol contestant Ricki Lee Coulter was to bust out of her limo and sing and dance down the red carpet to open the event. Instead, her shoe decided to fall off, the music was stopped and she had to start again. Second time lucky, she pulled off an energetic performance with her new single Love is All Around. Australia’s cream of the crop musicians and other celebrities made their way down the carpet in style. Standing out on the day were twins The Veronicas who paraded their naughty devil and angel outfits, one in black and one in white. A swarm of photographers yelled out their names in hope the two would look into their cameras to strike a cheeky pose, which they do very well. Arriving with nominee and winner, Keith Urban, was the striking Nicole Kidman who had everyone’s immediate attention. Of course, model Megan Gale received plenty of attention also. Hip hop acts the Hilltop Hoods and Bliss n Eso gave the red carpet fans and radio stations some beat-boxing and MCing, while comedian David Hughes cracked a few jokes. Rockwiz host Julia Zemiro was asked if she would consider posing for a men’s magazine, to which she replied “no because that magazine stands for everything I’m morally opposed to.” Australia’s recent success story, Kate Miller-Heidke, joined Ben Lee on the red carpet in her signature style of tights under a dress and Pat Benatar-like eye make-up. The excitement continued inside as the performances took off. Some highlights were Sneaky Sound System performing a medley of their chart toppers, and Keith Urban teamed up with the John Butler Trio to deliver a very special collaboration of Funky Tonight. Operator Police gave a fun, dynamic performance of their Song About Ping Pong, which won them the the award for Best Breakthrough Artist - Single. Lead singer Amandah Wilkinson said she wrote the song in her head walking down the street. “I mushed it all up together. It’s not deep. It is what it is.” The Hilltop Hoods took the ARIA for Best Urban Release but said, “we would like to see hip hop in its own category next year.” Missy Higgins was awarded Best Female Artist for her album On a Clear Night, and a softly spoke Sarah Blasko won Best Pop Release for What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have. A memorable performance was given by Gotye, who later picked up the Best Male Artist award for his album Mixed Blood. Gotye performed on the drums, singing at the same time with a solid band supporting him. His album brings a refreshing sound to Australian music as does Kate Miller-Heidke who has an almost Kate Bush style of performing. Sneaky Sound System’s self-titled album won them the ARIA for the Best Breakthrough Artist - Album and also the Best Dance Release. Later that night, an intoxicated Daniel Johns of Silverchair commented, “How about Sneaky Sound System? Their songs are so catchy. Once you’ve got one in your head, your f**ked!” Sneaky Sound System revealed a chip on their shoulder as Mediasearch asked how much vocalist Connie had contributed to the group's success. A defensive Marcus replied “derr,” and Damon replied “what do you want me to say? 85%? Then it’s 85%. Of course she’s brought a lot to the group, she’s incredible.” Nick Cave was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and condemned the organisers for not including his band the Bad Seeds. He continued to condemn the Australian music industry for not embracing underground music but acknowledged that it is improving. Silverchair was truly the highlight of the night making Australian history. The group won awards for the Highest Selling Single and Single of the Year with Straight Lines, the Best Rock Album for Young Modern, Best Group and lastly Album of the Year, tallying five ARIAs for the night, and they now have the most awards in the history of the ARIAs. As the band realised what they had achieved, front man Daniel Johns asked if they had won “even more than Midnight Oil? And Barnsey? AC/DC?” Yes, that’s right Silverchair. Even more than AC/DC. Well done!
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