Features
Kylie, Wiggles Inducted Into ARIA HoF
Kylie Minogue and The Wiggles were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame during the Australasian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards.
The ceremony was Nov. 27 at
The London-based Minogue was inducted by the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and record producer and media presenter Ian “Molly” Meldrum.
Initially dismissed by the local music industry as “the singing budgie,” Kylie became the highest-selling Australian-born artist in history, with more than 65 million albums sold.
The Wiggles, who’ve sold 30 million CDs and DVDs globally, were inducted by actor David Wenham.
The members thanked Sydney’s Macquarie University. It was here, while studying early childhood education to become teachers, that they began writing children’s songs as part of a music project.
The Wiggles also took home their 10th ARIA for best children’s album for Ukulele Baby!
The night belonged to Sydney folk-rock act Boy & Bear, which had five wins – including best group and best album – and Melbourne pop performer Goyte, whose tally was three due to the No. 1 success of his single “Somebody That I Used to Know.” The single is a duet with New Zealand-born Kimbra, who herself won the best female category.
Judging was by 1,000 members of the music industry.
The public vote went to Pink (most popular international act), Birds of Tokyo (most popular Australian act) and The Living End (most popular live act).
Performance highlights included Boy & Bear with a string section, Missy Higgins’ duet with blind indigenous platinum singer-songwriter Gurrumul, and Delta Goodrem paying tribute to the Australian artists who died in the past 25 years with a rendition of Wendy Matthews’ “The Day You Went Away.”