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The one-thousand strong ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Awards voting academy has spoken! In what is arguably the most eclectic and exciting group of music artists to land on the ARIA honour roll, nominees across 28 categories in the 2008 ARIA Awards were today announced at a special industry gathering in Sydney. Highlighting the depth and diversity of talent across all genres of the Australian music community, the nominations set up what will be an intriguing evening when the 2008 ARIA Awards, proudly brought to you by Motorola, rolls around on Sunday, 19 October at Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.
A number of emerging Australian artists have received their first ever ARIA Award nominations, and two lead the nominations field. Vocal powerhouse GABRIELLA CILMI (pictured left) has received six nods for her debut album 'Lessons to be Learned'. She is nominated for SINGLE OF THE YEAR (Sweet About Me), BEST FEMALE ARTIST, BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST - ALBUM, BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST - SINGLE, BEST POP RELEASE and HIGHEST SELLING SINGLE. Not bad for the 16-year-old Melbourne girl who toppled Madonna from the #1 position on the Motorola ARIA Chart - the youngest Australian solo artist ever to crack the top spot!
Nominated for five ARIA Awards is SAM SPARRO, the Sydney-sider taking on the world with his unique voice and powerful melodies. He also makes his ARIA Awards debut with his self-titled first album, with nominations for SINGLE OF THE YEAR (Black and Gold), BEST MALE ARTIST, BEST POP RELEASE, BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST - ALBUM (Sam Sparro) and BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST - SINGLE. Of Sparro, legendary soul diva Chaka Khan said, "Damn, that white boy can sing!" According to the ARIA Awards voting academy, she was right!
At the other end of the musical spectrum is GEOFFREY GURRUMUL YUNUPINGU who has received four ARIA Award nominations (plus 1 ARIA Artisan Award nomination) for his stunning debut solo album Gurrumul. GEOFFREY GURRUMUL YUNUPINGU is nominated in the categories of BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM, BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE, BEST MALE ARTIST and the coveted ALBUM OF THE YEAR. The ARIA Award voting academy has reinforced the high praise Yunupingu has received from music critics around the nation such as this, from the Sydney Morning Herald: "Listen to Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu and you will surrender to the greatest voice this continent has ever recorded."
Also receiving four ARIA Award nominations are those ARIA Award winning twins from Queensland, THE VERONICAS, in the categories of BEST POP RELEASE (Hook Me Up), HIGHEST SELLING ALBUM (Hook Me Up) and two nominations in the HIGHEST SELLING SINGLE category for 'Hook Me Up' and 'Untouched'.
Electronic duo THE PRESETS cap off an incredible year with four ARIA Award nominations for their second album 'Apocalypso' and the hugely popular single 'My People'. They have received salutes in the categories of BEST GROUP, BEST DANCE RELEASE, SINGLE OF THE YEAR and ALBUM OF THE YEAR. This is in addition to four ARIA Artisan Award nominations (more on this shortly). Another duo, brother and sister act ANGUS and JULIA STONE, have received their first ever ARIA Award nominations and they walk away with four nods for their glorious debut album 'A Book Like This' in the categories of BEST GROUP, BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST - ALBUM, BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST - SINGLE (The Beast) and BEST BLUES AND ROOTS ALBUM. ANGUS and JULIA STONE have also received two ARIA Artisan Award nominations.
Rock n' roll trio THE LIVING END has also received four ARIA Award nominations for their widely acclaimed album 'White Noise'. Hailed as 'the best album of their career' by Rolling Stone Magazine, White Noise has seen THE LIVING END score nominations for BEST GROUP, BEST ROCK ALBUM, ALBUM OF THE YEAR and SINGLE OF THE YEAR.
Sydney outfit FAKER has three ARIA Award nominations (plus 1 ARIA Artisan nomination) for their album 'Be The Twilight' and the smash hit single 'This Heart Attack'. They are represented in the categories of BEST ROCK ALBUM, BEST GROUP and SINGLE OF THE YEAR. Last year's ARIA Hall of Fame inductee NICK CAVE (AND THE BAD SEEDS) has received three ARIA Award nominations for the mighty 'Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!'. The band is nominated for ALBUM OF THE YEAR, BEST ROCK ALBUM and NICK CAVE is up for BEST MALE ARTIST.
Also receiving three ARIA Award nominations is dance act THE POTBELLEEZ, who has scored approval in the categories of BEST DANCE RELEASE, BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST - SINGLE and HIGHEST SELLING SINGLE for their infectiously catchy single 'Don't Hold Back'.
The multi talented KASEY CHAMBERS and her equally gifted partner, SHANE NICHOLSON, have received two ARIA Award nominations in the ALBUM OF THE YEAR and BEST COUNTRY ALBUM categories (and 1 ARIA Artisan nomination) for their debut album together, 'Rattlin' Bones'.
The 2008 ARIA Awards also sees debut nominations for a host of artists including THE PANICS, BRITISH INDIA, MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS, EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING, SPIT SYNDICATE, A-LOVE, THE HERD, MOBIN MASTER, WATUSSI and MUPH AND PLUTONIC. And longer established artists including THE WIGGLES, GYROSCOPE, SILVERCHAIR, KYLIE MINOGUE, ANDREA KELLER, JOHN BUTLER TRIO, RICHARD TOGNETTI, PETE MURRAY, HI-5, SLAVA GRIGORYAN, DELTA GOODREM, TINA ARENA, BEN LEE, LIOR, JIMMY BARNES, SARA STORER, THE WAIFS, THE AUDREYS, PAUL KELLY, CATHERINE BRITT and CUT COPY have also received nominations for the 2008 ARIA Awards. Please see below for the full list of nominees.
Winners of the ARIA Artisan Awards for BEST COVER ART, BEST VIDEO, ENGINEER OF THE YEAR and PRODUCER OF THE YEAR were also announced today. Please see seperate news entry for the results.
Winners of the BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM, BEST JAZZ ALBUM, BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM and BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK/CAST/SHOW RECORDING ALBUM categories will be announced at the ARIA Fine Arts Awards on Monday, 29 September.
And for the second year at the ARIA Awards Nominations Event, retail outlets were honoured. AMRA (Australian Music Retailers Association), in conjunction with ARIA, is proud to announce the winners of the 2008 RETAILER OF THE YEAR Awards. The Awards are presented to independent and chain stores across Australia and recognise the importance of music retail to the artists, producers and promoters of music. Two new national Award categories have also been included this year for Best Digital and Best Specialty Store. A drum roll please for the fine folk at the following retail stores who have been honoured in the 2008 Retailer of the Year Awards:
WINNERS - BEST CHAIN STORES
NSW/ACT - JB Hi Fi, Penrith
QLD - JB Hi Fi, Brisbane City
SA/NT - JB Hi Fi, Adelaide City
VIC/TAS - JB Hi Fi, Bourke St
WA - JB Hi Fi, Osborne Park
WINNERS - BEST INDEPENDENT RETAIL OUTLETS
NSW/ACT - Richmond Records
QLD - Rocking Horse
SA/NT - The Muses, Adelaide
VIC/TAS - Discurio
WA - 78 Records
BEST DIGITAL STORE
Apple iTunes
BEST SPECIALTY STORE
Discurio, Melbourne
A special presentation to the winners will be made at the ARIA Chairman's Reception, an invitation-only event that will take place on Sunday, 19 October just prior to the ARIA Awards.
In keeping with tradition, ARIA Awards organisers also proudly announce the first artists who will perform live at the event on Sunday, 19 October. In addition to the confirmation of a very special performance by US superstar P!NK, the 2008 ARIA Awards will play host to performances by multiple nominees GABRIELLA CILMI, THE LIVING END, THE PRESETS and SAM SPARRO, with more live performances to be announced.
Dynamic duo HAMISH & ANDY will be making their hosting debut for the 2008 ARIA Awards alongside ARIA Awards veteran JAMES MATHISON. An exciting variety of guest presenters will be announced over the coming weeks.
Just over 6,000 tickets to the 2008 ARIA AWARDS go on sale to the general public at 12 noon TODAY (Wednesday, 10 September) and are expected to go quickly and sell to capacity. Tickets are available from Ticketek or phone 132 849.
For information on ALL nominees, click here. |
