Your Guide To The 2021 ARIA Awards

The 2021 ARIA Awards are almost here! And after the past two years that the industry has had to endure, another huge celebration of some of the country’s best established and emerging artists is sorely needed.

In anticipation of the main event, we’ve compiled a guide to tonight’s festivities.

The ceremony kicks off from 7:30pm AEDT, November 24, at Sydney’s iconic Taronga Zoo on Cammeraigal land and will be live-streamed via YouTube and broadcast on 9Now.

For those tuning in from across the globe, here’s a time zone breakdown:

NEW ZEALAND - 09:30 PM NZDT

CANADA - 03:30 AM EST

UNITED STATES - 02:30 AM CST / 12:30 AM PST

LONDON - 08:30 AM GMT

INDONESIA - 03:30 PM WIB / 04:30 PM WITA

CHINA - 04:30 PM CST

INDIA - 02:00 PM IST

JAPAN - 05:30 PM JST

KOREA - 05:30 PM ICT

PHILIPPINES - 04:30 PM PHST

SINGAPORE - 04:30 PM SGT

THAILAND - 03:30 PM ICT

As always, the live performance line-up promises an exciting evening, with The Kid LAROI’s final recorded performance before his hiatus leading the bill, while 2021’s two most nominated artists, Amy Shark and Genesis Owusu, will also perform during the event, joined by fellow nominees Budjerah, RÜFÜS DU SOL and Gretta Ray.

As if that wasn’t enough, the ARIAs have confirmed a star-studded line-up of special presenters:

Baker Boy

Brooke Boney

Charlie XCX

Ebony & Bryce

Ed Sheeran

Lime Cordiale

Peaches PRC

Ruel

Troye Sivan

Vera Blue

Sheeran will be presenting the inaugural Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist award, paying tribute to the late Australian music legend following his passing earlier this year.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to celebrate this incredible year of creativity, dedication and perseverance from our music industry with such an outstanding line-up of stars from home and abroad,” ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd said of this year’s line-up.

“It is, of course, another different year for the Awards and Australian music at large, but we’re very proud that it hasn’t stopped us from delivering the world-class event our industry deserves, and at the absolutely stunning Taronga Zoo no less. Thank you to everyone who has helped us to this point, we can’t wait to see you live from YouTube!” 

As mentioned above Amy Shark and Genesis Owusu are both nominated for the most awards this year, each vying for six.

They’re both in the running for Best Artist, which this year replaces Best Female Artist and Best Male Artist, a change established to “reflect and embrace equality and the true diversity of the music industry in 2021”.

That category now features 10 nominees, with Budjerah, Keith Urban, Kylie Minogue, Masked Wolf, Ngaiire, The Kid LAROI, Tones & I and Vance Joy also in the running.

On the 2021 nominees, Herd noted: "In the face of such adversity, we can all be proud to say Australia’s creative heart is still alive and beating. That is exactly what the 2021 ARIA Awards, in partnership with YouTube Music, plan to celebrate. 

“To all of this year’s amazing nominees, thank you for continuing to share your stories and brighten the lives of music fans across the globe, thank you to all the teams who have worked so hard behind the scenes, and thank you to the fans for continuing to show their love and support for this amazing and dedicated industry."

There’s tough competition across every award category this year and you can check out all the nominees here.

You can follow all the action tonight on socials via #ARIAs and watch the awards unfold via the below YouTube stream.

In the meanwhile, check out the 2020 winners here.