With nine nominations, Amy Shark leads the pack heading into the 2018 ARIA Awards, to be held Nov. 28 at The Star Event Centre in Sydney.
Circling close behind is singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett with eight nods, late indigenous artist Gurrumul and electronic trio Pnau with seven each, and Tash Sultana, the multi-instrumentalist, loopologist and singer, who scores six.
Shark, the Gold Coast-raised singer and songwriter, has enjoyed an explosive two years, during which time her breakthrough “Adore” came in at No. 2 on the Triple J Hottest 100 poll, her debut album Love Monster topped the ARIA Albums Chart and her single “I Said Hi” reached double-platinum status.
A two-time ARIA Award winner last year, Shark is up for album of the year, best Australian live act, best female artist, best pop release, best video, song of the year, producer of the year, engineer of the year and best cover art.
“Being a musician can be tough, there are painful low moments that can be scary. But it’s nice to be recognised. Thank U ARIA for the nominations and congrats to the other artists nominated,” Shark tweeted today. “It’s our job to provide hope to emerging artists that anything is possible.”
OMG I have been nominated for 9 ARIA Awards! If a big yellow school bus hits me tomorrow please know I’m so so happy up there! I love you so much Australia —- @ARIA_Official pic.twitter.com/JDwjfzwatL
— Amy Shark (@AmySharkMusic) October 10, 2018
Being a musician can be tough, there are painful low moments that can be scary. But it’s nice to be recognised. ThankU @ARIA_Official for the nominations and congrats to the other artists nominated. It’s our job to provide hope to emerging artists that anything is possible —
— Amy Shark (@AmySharkMusic) October 11, 2018
Also in with a strong chance is “Be Alright” singer Dean Lewis and electronic dance music duo Peking Duk, who both collect five nods, while 5 Seconds Of Summer and Troye Sivan both have four chances for ARIAs silverware.
Now in its 32nd year, the Australian recorded music industry’s flagship awards ceremony will be beamed around the country on the free-to-air Nine Network and hosted by Keith Urban.
ARIA invites the public to vote in the categories of best international act, best Australian live act, best video and song of the year, which fans can help determine streaming by streaming their favorite shortlisted track on Apple Music. Visit ariaawards.com.au/public-voting for more information.
Nominations for the awards gala were announced Thursday (Oct. 11) at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where ARIA handed out trophies for fine arts, artisan and best comedy.
During the ceremony, Gurrumul posthumously won two ARIA Awards, best world music album and best cover art, for his album Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow), which debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA survey in April, making chart history by becoming the first Indigenous language album in these parts to do so.
See the full list of nominations here.