While Yolngu rapper Baker Boy emerged as the big winner at the 2022 ARIA Awards on Thursday (November 24) at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion with five awards, there were other awards of note in categories of interest to Rhythms readers.
Joseph Tawadros won the award for Best World Album with William Barton for History Has A Heartbeat. (It is Tawadros’s third ARIA award in the past three years). Midlife won the Best Jazz Album Award for Live From South Channel Island, William Crighton won the Best Blues & Roots Album Award for Water & Dust and Archie Roach won the Award for Best Independent Release for One Song as well as being honoured along with Olivia Newton John, Judith Durham and Uncle Jack Charles.
While The Wiggles unsurprisingly won the Best Children’s Album, it might have been more of a shock when they were awarded Best Australian Live Act ahead of Midnight Oil and others!
In the ARIA Awards honouring the memory of those who passed away this year, Budjerah, Jessica Mauboy and Thelma Plum performed Archie Roach’s ‘One Song’, and Casey Donovan and Dami Im covered Judith Durham.Tones and I, Imbruglia, KYE and Peking Duk performed a medley of Olivia Newton-John‘s hits.
BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE
Archie Roach – One Song
BEST BLUES & ROOTS ALBUM
William Crighton – Water And Dust
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
Casey Barnes – Light It Up
BEST WORLD ALBUM
Joseph Tawadros with William Barton – History Has A Heartbeat
BEST JAZZ ALBUM
Mildlife – Live From South Channel Island
BEST AUSTRALIAN LIVE ACT
The Wiggles – The OG Wiggles Reunion / Fruit Salad TV Big Show Tour
MICHAEL GUDINSKI BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
King Stingray – King Stingray
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Baker Boy – Gela
BEST SOLO ARTIST
Baker Boy – ‘Gela’
BEST GROUP
Amyl and the Sniffers – ‘Comfort To Me’
BEST POP RELEASE
The Kid LAROI – ‘Thousand Miles’
BEST HIP-HOP RELEASE
Baker Boy – ‘Gela’
BEST SOUL/R&B RELEASE
Budjerah – ‘Conversations’ ’
BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC RELEASE
Luude feat. Colin Hay – ‘Down Under’
BEST ROCK ALBUM
Amyl and the Sniffers – Comfort To Me
BEST HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL ALBUM
The Chats – Get Fucked
BEST ADULT CONTEMPORARY ALBUM
Julia Jacklin – Pre Pleasure
BEST CHILDREN’S ALBUM
The Wiggles – Rewiggled
BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis – The Enchanted Loom: Orchestral Works By Carl Vine
BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK OR MUSICAL THEATRE CAST ALBUM
Australian Chamber Orchestra and Richard Tognetti – ‘River (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’
BEST VIDEO
William Bleakley – ‘Every Side Of You’ (Vance Joy)
SONG OF THE YEAR
Tones and I – ‘Cloudy Day’
MOST POPULAR INTERNATIONAL ARTIST
Harry Styles – Harry’s House’
MUSIC TEACHER AWARD
Matt Orchard (Apollo Bay P-12 College)
BEST COVER ART
Adnate – Gela (Baker Boy)
BEST MIXED ALBUM
Pip Norman, Andrei Eremin & Dave Hammer – Gela (Baker Boy)
BEST PRODUCED ALBUM
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Surrender (RÜFÜS DU SOL)