Top US Newspaper Tips Five Aussie Acts For Greatness

30 April 2014 | 3:52 pm | Staff Writer

USA Today gets on board with what we all already knew in our hearts

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For almost a century, Australia and the United States of America have had a strange relationship with each other, based seemingly equally in both light-hearted mockery and genuine affection.

We tease them for their perceived excess, but love everything it represents; likewise, they – like any emancipated child does their sibling – make fun of us for pretty much everything, but also have an undeniable soft spot for all things wonderful from Down Under…ful

Thus, it's not overly surprising that prominent American newspaper USA Today – which you might remember as the esteemed publication that broke the imprisonment of Marty McFly's kid in Back to the Future II – has run a story highlighting five Australian acts their readers need to know now (right now).

Nor, as it turns out, are their selections overly surprising, as three of the paper's choices – Boy & Bear, Vance Joy and Birds Of Tokyo had already been mentioned by The Music as solid bets to crack the US market in the then-near future.

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USA Today rounds out their tips with the so-hot-right-now Iggy Azalea and One Direction BFFs 5 Seconds Of Summer, two more quickly rising local acts noted for their dominant chart performances abroad.

While many at home, including us, have tipped these five acts as being some of Australia's next biggest stateside prospects, the fact that a publication of USA Today's standing is reporting on them – and excitedly, at that – can only indicate good things for Aussie music at large.

With a growing number of local artists making inroads overseas through the magic of modern media and appearances at events such as Coachella and South by Southwest, Australia's day in the sun as a globally recognised hotbed of musical creativity and innovation can't be that far off, as more eyes and ears around the world take notice of what this country has to offer.

In fact, yeah, that's the go – throw on some Riptide (“one of Australia's biggest native hits last year”!), or your noted-artist's-song-of-choice, and get your party face on in honour of some local artists breaking through – and the fact that we totally called it.