Aussie rockers You Am I deliver emotional speech as they’re inducted into ARIA Hall of Fame

Aussie rocker Tim Rogers held back tears as You Am I was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, with the likes of Anthony Albanese, Jimmy Barnes and Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron paying tribute to the iconic band.

The 2025 ARIA Music Awards, held at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion, had some of the country’s best homegrown talent battle it out for nearly 30 award categories.

Sydney band You Am I, who got together in the late ‘80s, collected 10 ARIA awards over the years before they were finally invited to sit at the “parents table” at the 2025 ARIA Music Awards on Wednesday night.

“Very grateful to be asked to sit at the parents table – your canapes are delicious,” frontman Tim Rogers told the crowd.

Rogers appeared to be holding back tears as he talked the audience through his emotional musical journey.

“Thirty-six years ago I was extremely sick and had no prospects to do anything, and my brother and my best friend asked me to join their band, and it gave me a life,” Rogers said.

“At the start of this year I was sick again in hospital and my mate Andy Kent called me and said ‘let’s get the band back together’ … well, we’ve never broken up, but ‘let’s go back on tour’.

“And for the 100th time, it gave me the opportunity to have a life.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese congratulated the band on their latest accolade in a prerecorded video played as part of a massive tribute to the band.

“Guys, whether you’re in the studio or on the stage, particularly at the Enmore, you’ve been coming to us for decades with truth, with wit, and vulnerability. And along the way, you’ve added to who we are,” Mr Albanese said.

Silverchair’s Daniel Johns expressed his love for the band during the video, saying “there would be no Silverchair without Berlin Chair”.

Jimmy Barnes, Matt Cameron (Soundgarden), Tex Perkins (The Cruel Sea), Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger), Nic Cester (Jet), Sarah McLeod and Sarah Blasko were among others who sang You Am I’s praises.

Rogers thanked his bandmates for taking his “abject and miserable” songs and turning them into something enjoyable for the public during his speech on Wednesday evening.

He also took the opportunity to urge Aussies to take a chance on local gigs.

“By buying a ticket and going to those shows and taking a punt on something, something that you’ve never heard of – you may be in a crowd of 12 people, but by doing that, you’re part of this great art experiment,” Rogers said.

“You’re not necessarily a fan, but you are a fan, which I think is the most noble thing of all, to be passionate about something.

“I know, because we’re just fans who dress considerably better,” he laughed.

The band closed out the night by performing Heavy Heart and Berlin Chair, the audience on their feet as they bashed out the familiar beats.

Amyl and the Sniffers win big

Global stars Amyl and the Sniffers cleaned up at the biggest night in Australian music, with frontwoman Amy Taylor seizing the moments to work in a cheeky quip or two.

Melbourne rockers Amyl and the Sniffers secured Best Group, Best Cover Art, Best Rock Album and Album of the Year, with frontwoman Amy Taylor joking the photographers only liked the cover of their album Cartoon Darkness because she flashed her tits.

“Hey everyone, John who took the photo couldn’t be here and said he’d write something but he didn’t, so I just wanna say big ups to John and big ups to Tom who worked on it,” Taylor said.

“And I know you just liked it because I was flashing my titties.”

Taylor said they weren’t the best at speeches while accepting the award for Best Rock Album, flipping the bird and finishing with “f**k the world” before bassist Gus Romer chimed in to thank his mum.

Accepting Album of the Year, Taylor went for a political jest.

“As the new prime minister of Australia I would like to say all immigrants welcome,” Taylor said.

“I’d like to say land back, the dole’s going up, and every pub gets a million dollars!”

Speaking of how the album had changed all their lives, Taylor pointed out she probably won’t have to work at IGA ever again.

The group exploded onto Australia’s music scene with hits like Security and Hertz, with their most recent album Cartoon Darkness featuring U Should Not Be Doing That and the explicit Jerkin’, which quickly went viral online.

Frontwoman Amy Taylor, bassist Gus Romer, drummer Bryce Wilson and guitarist Declan Mehrtens make up the band, whose rise to global stardom was most recently evidenced after their free gig at Melbourne’s Federation Square shutdown last week when eager fans knocked down fences once the iconic venue hit capacity.

The band fronted a $35,000 bar tab at various local venues to make up for the blunder,

Taylor found it difficult to find the right words while accepting the Best Group award earlier in the evening.

“It’s hard to figure out what to say when there’s so much going on in the world and you want to draw attention to so many different things,” Taylor said.

“I think being human is really hard across the board … we’re all really lucky in here.”

The group were also nominated Best Video and Best Australian Live Act.

Also taking out multiple gongs is Ninajirachi, who snagged the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist, Best Independent Release, and Best Solo Artist awards.

Dom Dolla’s message to aspiring artists

DJ Dom Dolla made history on Wednesday evening, becoming the first to receive the brand new Global Impact Award.

He told the audience he could think of many other artists who should have received the award long ago, and used the moment to urge aspiring artists to “just show up every single day and do it because you enjoy it, and for no other reason”.

“I played birthday parties and bowling alleys, and it’s all the f**king same,” he said.

“I really hope to be doing this for a really f**king long time. I think if Angus Young is anything to go by, I’ll have white hair ripping it out on the dance floor in like 50 years from now.”

‘Don’t give a f**k’: Missy Higgins’ realisation

Missy Higgins was announced as the winner of the Best Adult Contemporary Album immediately after performing Complicated Truth.

“That’s quite intense, coming out of that song and this,” Higgins said.

She said while singing about divorce and single parenting may not be the sexiest thing to do, it had sparked a realisation.

“Women my age don’t give a f**k about sexy, we just wanna feel heard,” Higgins said.

“We wanna feel seen, and I feel so grateful to be able to tell your stories. And I hope that I continue to be able to tell your stories for the rest of my career.

“This is to all the single mums, and to my babies!”

Keli Holiday drops c-bomb

Aussie star Keli Holiday earlier dropped the c-bomb at Australia’s biggest night in music.

Adam Hyde, who goes by Keli Holiday, opened the ceremony with his smash hit Dancing2.

He managed to get what looked like the entire room on their feet, encouraging them to “stand up for Australian music”.

He was joined by Baker Boy, G-Flip, and Teen Jesus and The Jean Teaser’s Neve van Boxsel, who respectively played the didgeridoo, saxophone and drums.

The hit won the Best Video award shortly afterwards, with Hyde first handing over to director Ryan Saue before taking a moment to thank his girlfriend, Abbie Chatfield.

“I really want to thank Abbie, my beautiful Abbie, because without her this song would not exist at all,” Hyde said.

He thanked his whole crew before dropping the night’s first c-bomb.

“And (I thank) every single person in this room that supports Australian music, you’re a sick c**t,” he said.

Thelma Plum took out the award for Best Pop Release, telling the crowd it was a nice feeling after working in the industry for about 13 years, since the age of 17.

She took to the stage to perform before accepting her award, wearing a corset emblazoned with the words “You wouldn’t steal a land”.

The words reference the old “You Wouldn’t Steal a Car” public announcements.

Olivia Dean will also take the stage during the ceremony on Wednesday evening.

Taylor Swift was crowned the Most Popular International Artist, with New Zealand comedian Melanie Bracewell accepting the award on Swift’s behalf.

“Taylor was unable to be here tonight so they’ve made me accept the award on her behalf,” Bracewell said.“What an honour — she requested the tallest woman in town, whose dressed as a goon sack … shoutout to Travis!”

The winners

Amyl and the Sniffers – Best Group, Best Rock Album, Best Cover Art, and Best Album

Ninajirachi – Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist, Best Independent Release, Best Solo Artist

Missy Higgins – Best Adult Contemporary Album

The Teskey Brothers – Best Blues & Roots Album

Emma Memma – Best Children’s Album

Kasey Chambers – Best Country Album

Dom Dolla – Best Dance/Electronic Album

Thelma Plum – Best Pop Release

Thornhill – Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album

Barkaa – Best Hip Hope/Rap Release

Boy Soda – Best Soul/R&B Release

Ryan Sauer – Best Video

Troye Sivan – Best Australian Live Act

Laneway Festival – Best Music Festival

Andrea Lam – Best Classical Album

Lucy Clifford – Best Jazz Album

Gurrumul – Best World Music Album

How to Make Gravy – Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album

Kevin Parker – Engineer, Best Engineered Release

Kevin Parker – Producer, Best Produced Release

Taylor Swift – Most Popular International Artist

3% – Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement

The Kid Laroi – Song of the Year

Controversy over Spotify collab

The ceremony drew controversy earlier this year with the announcement of streaming platform Spotify as a partner.

Melbourne band Gut Health criticised the move via a statement posted to social media.

The group were nominated for the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist award, which was ultimately awarded to Ninajirachi.

“We’re thankful for the nomination, but it’s a shame that the ARIAs have chosen to collaborate with Spotify for the next three years. We want to be honest about this experience of ‘breaking through’ as an artist in today’s world. We can acknowledge the global reach of the platform while also recognising the inherent ethical issues at play here,” the statement read.

The statement attacked Spotify’s royalties system, however it’s understood Spotify does not pay artists per stream, but instead pays rights holders, who then pay artists based on their individual agreements.

Spotify AUNZ Managing Director Mikaela Lancaster previously said the partnership reflected the company’s commitment to putting Aussie artists “front and centre”, and that the company was keen to elevate more Aussie artists on the international stage.

ARIA chief executive officer Annabelle Herd said Spotify had success in driving recognition for BRITs nominees and winners.

“The ARIA Awards are a critical platform for local artists, but success today means reaching beyond Australia. By leveraging Spotify’s global scale and expertise in music discovery, we’re making sure ARIA nominees and winners aren’t just celebrated on the night at home but are positioned for long-term international success,” Ms Herd said.

Push to spotlight Aussie music

Last year’s award ceremony saw a push for a spotlight on Aussie music, with Missy Higgins taking the opportunity to push for local artists to be platformed on streaming algorithms and playlists after she was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Grinspoon singer Phil Jamieson also called for quotas to be legislated at last year’s awards.

While legislation for local content requirements on streaming services was recently announced by the federal government, no such announcements have been made to tackle audio quotas for streaming platforms.

More to come …