Delta Scores Big At The ARIA #1 Chart Awards

The ARIA #1 Chart Awards have been a regular event on the Australian music industry calendar for the past four years. They were established to both promote and support Australian music, while also giving due recognition to the strength and skill of our local talent and record labels, who despite tremendous competition from international acts, attained the coveted #1 spot on the ARIA Charts.

The last Awards event, held in August 2004, capped off a history making year for local music artists with a record number of Australian performers being honoured. Thirteen Australian performers, some with multiple entries at the #1 position, were recognised for their achievements in front of members of ARIA and the media.

The 2005 ARIA #1 Chart Awards, which are the first to acknowledged No.1 Music DVDs, again underscore the exceptional performance of local acts on the Australian charts. In total, an impressive 22 individual Australian artists successfully reached the pinnacle of the ARIA Singles, Album or DVD Chart with 30 separate releases.

In particular, this year sees multiple #1 Awards being presented to four artists - Delta Goodrem (Out Of The Blue, Almost Here and Mistaken Identity), Shannon Noll (Shine and Lift), Anthony Callea (The Prayer, Rain/Bridge Over Troubled Water and his self titled album) and Missy Higgins (Scar, The Sound Of White and I'll Tell You Mine if You Tell Me Yours) Other artists debuting at the top of the charts over the past 16 months include Guy Sebastian (Out With My Baby), Casey Donovan (Listen With Your Heart), Pete Murray (See The Sun) The Cat Empire (Two Shoes), Jimmy Barnes (Double Happiness), Bernard Fanning (Tea & Sympathy), Cosima (When The War Is Over/One Night Without You).

Australian music legends also returned to the top of the charts with John Farnham (Together in Concert with Tom Jones), Cold Chisel (Ringside/The Movie and Last Stand) and AC/DC (Family Jewels) all reaching the No.1 spot on the DVD chart, as did Jet (Right! Right! Right!), Powderfinger (These Days: Powderfinger Live In Concert), Keith Urban (Livin? Right Now), Concert for Slim, Hillsong (God He Reigns) and Wave Aid DVDs. In total Australian releases were at the top of the DVD chart for 28 weeks over the eligibility period.

"Over the past four years, the ARIA No.1 Chart Awards have celebrated the spectacular chart achievements of local artists and record companies," comments Denis Handlin, ARIA Chairman and Sony BMG Music Entertainment Australia Chairman and CEO. "All of today's No.1 Award recipients, from breakthrough talent to established acts, continue to demonstrate the diversity, depth and strength of the Australian music scene."

"With the #1's event now permanently scheduled for November, future ARIA No.1 Awards will be more representative of the chart performance of Australian artists during the calendar year," comments John O'Donnell, ARIA Chart and Marketing Committee Chairman and EMI Music Australia Managing Director. "It will also provide a great opportunity to once again profile fantastic Australian music in the lead up to Christmas."

SONY BMG ARIA #1 Award Winners:

Delta Goodrem - Out Of The Blue (single), October 18 + 25, November 1 2004
Almost Here (single), March 14, 2005
Mistaken Identity (album), November 15, 2004
Anthony Callea - The Prayer (single), December 20 + 27, 2004, January 3, 10 + 17, 2005
Rain/Bridge Over Troubled Water (single), March 21 + 28, 2005
Anthony Callea (album), April 4, 11 + 18, 2005
Guy Sebastian - Out With My Baby (single), October 4, 2004
Casey Donovan - Listen With Your Heart (single), December 6 + 13, 2004
Paulini - One Determined Heart (album), August 9, 2004
John Farnham - Together In Concert With Tom Jones (DVD), May 2 + 9, 2005
Shannon Noll - Shine (single), October 3, 2005
Lift (album) - October 23, 2005
Pete Murray - See The Sun (album), October 3, 10, + 17, 2005

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