With just under four weeks until the 25th Anniversary ARIA Awards, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) today announced further details of what will be a massive celebration of Australian music at the 2011 ARIA Awards to be staged at Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park, on Sunday, 27 November, 2011.
The ARIA Hall of Fame is a wonderful club that is growing bigger each year. This year, another two worthy recipients will join the ranks of those illustrious artists already inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, a list that includes bona fide music legends such as AC/DC, Dame Joan Sutherland, Olivia Newton John, Johnny O‟Keefe, Paul Kelly, John Farnham, INXS, Slim Dusty, Jimmy Little and many more.
For 2011, ARIA is proud to announce the impending induction of two true icons of the Australian music industry – Kylie Minogue and The Wiggles.
You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of "pop" artists who‟ve lasted more than a decade, let alone more than two: Kylie Minogue will be celebrating her twenty fifth year in music next year!
It was back It was back in July 1987 that Kylie released her first single, a remake of the 1962 Little Eva hit Locomotion, which went on to win Kylie her very first ARIA Award in 1988.
Since then, Kylie has been nominated thirty five times and gone on to win nine ARIA Awards and three Outstanding Achievement Awards.
Kylie Minogue truly is an extraordinarily versatile performer. Since 1987, she has released eleven studio albums, two live CDs and eight live concert DVD‟s (plus her Greatest Hits and the Ultimate Kylie double album and multiple video packages), starred in movies and on our television screens and put on some of the most spectacular concert tours the world has seen.
As well as undertaking one of the most extensive tours of her career, 2011 also saw Kylie release her ninth perfume "Dazzling Darling‟ and release another best selling range of linens, candles, diffusers and towels from her "Kylie Minogue at Home‟ brand of homewares. Is there anything Dr (!) Kylie Minogue, OBE can‟t do?
Our second ARIA Hall of Fame inductee for 2011 are arguably the world‟s most popular children‟s entertainers and it is fitting that in the year they are celebrating their 20th year together, we welcome The Wiggles into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
Founding members of The Wiggles, Anthony Field (blue), Murray Cook (red) and Greg Page (yellow), met while studying Early Childhood Education at Sydney's Macquarie University.
Anthony had an idea to record an album of children's music, as he thought it might help him get a job as a teacher. He enlisted the assistance of Murray and Greg, as well as Jeff Fatt, who played with Anthony in the popular 1980s band The Cockroaches, and The Wiggles were born.
The Wiggles took the finished tape to ABC Music, who released a self-titled album in 1991 and things wiggled from there! In 2006, yellow Wiggle Greg Page stepped down due to illness and was replaced by Sam Moran who had been his understudy on more than 150 occasions.
The university training The Wiggles share continues to influence the band‟s approach to their shows, albums and movies. From the very beginning, The Wiggles were judged by the most discerning critics of all – the kids themselves – and proved to be on the right track. An enormous, global fan base now snaps up tickets within minutes of them going on sale and their extraordinary tickets sales rival the biggest acts in the entertainment industry.
Their achievements are history making. In 2003, The Wiggles performed 12 sold out shows at Madison Square Garden, New York. In 2005, a multi-million dollar amusement park, Wiggles World, opened at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, with more Wiggles Worlds following in the United States at six destinations in the Six Flags Theme Park Group.
The Wiggles were invited to perform in New York's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on three occasions; something no other Australian artist has ever done. They courageously performed in New York City and Washington weeks after the attacks of 9/11, at a time when most acts cancelled tours.
The State of Louisiana and the City of New York presented The Wiggles with awards for their contribution to the entertainment and education of children. Their television shows screen in 147 countries, they have combined sales of more than 30 million DVDs and CDs worldwide, and perform to an average of more than a million people a year! In their illustrious career, The Wiggles have been nominated for fifteen ARIA Awards, winning nine BEST CHILDREN‟S ALBUM Awards and they are excited to be adding a gold Hall of Fame trophy to their mantles.
On their impending induction, Murray Cook (Red Wiggle) said, "It’s quite amazing to us that we’ve been together 20 years! We thought in the beginning we’d record a one off album. We had no thoughts of it being a career and here we are still going strong and still really enjoying it.
It’s an amazing milestone for us because we didn’t think there would be one year, let alone 20! When I heard that we were to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame I looked up past recipients and read a virtual roll call of all the bands and artists that I grew up watching and listening to. It is quite overwhelming to think that we will be given the enormous honour of joining that company".
Fans of Australian music will get to watch all the action of the 2011 ARIA Awards with the announcement that the Awards will screen on the No. 1 digital channel, GO!, from 7.30pm on Sunday, 27 November.
The Nine Network said: "Nine Entertainment Co. are excited to share this important Australian music event with fans and viewers on our multichannel GO!" ARIA will be keeping fans updated right up until and including the big night, with ARIA facebook, twitter and the newly-launched ARIA YouTube Channel providing a hub for Awards enthusiasts, with all the latest news, trivia, competitions and exclusives available around the clock.
Stay tuned for further announcements of performers, presenters and hosts for the 25th Anniversary ARIA Awards in coming weeks. As part of ARIA‟s 25th Anniversary celebrations, Australian music fans have also been given the chance to have their say in Australian music‟s night of nights by casting a vote in three Public Voted categories MOST POPULAR AUSTRALIAN ARTIST, MOST POPULAR INTERNATIONAL ARTIST and MOST POPULAR AUSTRALIAN LIVE ARTIST, brought to you by HP and Intel.
Fans can now go to www.ariaawards.com.au/hpmostpopular and cast their vote to determine the Most Popular Voted ARIA Awards across all three categories. Fans can also vote from www.facebook.com/aria.official or www.facebook.com/Hpaustralia
The 2011 ARIA Awards are proudly supported by the NSW Government through Destination NSW and are a key creative industries event on the NSW Events Calendar, reinforcing Sydney‟s position as the creative capital of Australia.
For the latest ARIA Awards news and details of all this year‟s ARIA Awards nominees, check the official website: www.ariaawards.com.au
2011 ARIA Awards Sunday, 27 November, 2011
Allphones Arena Sydney Olympic Park Broadcast on GO! from 7.3pm on Sunday, 27 November
GENERAL PUBLIC TICKETS: On sale NOW from Ticketek – www.ticketek.com.au or phone 132 849 Ticket Price – $75.00 *All prices include GST and booking fees, but transaction fees & credit card charges may apply
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