ARIA Awards Banking On Superstar Appeal

With the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) prepped to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its awards at the Star Sydney Nov. 23, local media are speculating which international superstars are being approached to perform.

Photo: © Hub Dautzenberg

Pinkpop Festival, Megaland, Landgraaf, Netherlands

According to Rupert Murdoch’s stable of News Corp newspapers, Robbie Williams is at the top of the wishlist. The British singer continues to be a drawcard Down Under, with two shows last year in Sydney alone drawing 50,000.

Other names mooted are Pink, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and Michael Bublé. In the running for wins this year are Flume, Sia, Keith Urban, Jimmy Barnes, Troye Sivan and The Avalanches. In 2016, a record 20 domestic acts topped the ARIA charts, the latest being hardcore band The Amity Affliction on the chart issued Aug. 20. The awards are telecast in Australia on the live-to-air Ten Network and through Asia on STAR World.

Last year the awards were top rating with the 16-39 demographic and generated 109 million Twitter impressions around the world. In the run-up to the awards, ARIA Week holds live shows, workshops and conferences in Sydney, with funding from the NSW government.