Troye Sivan and Royel Otis celebrate big wins at ARIA Awards 2024

THE ARIA Awards 2024 lit up Sydney's Hordern Pavilion on November 20, celebrating the best of Australian music—but it was Troye Sivan and Sydney duo Royel Otis who were the night's big winners.

Headlining the SWEAT tour with Charli XCX, Sivan dominated for the second year in a row, taking home three major awards: album of the Year and Best Pop Release for Something to Give Each Other and Best Solo Artist. It follows his impressive performance at the 2023 ARIAs, where he collected four trophies, including Song of the Year.

The pop powerhouse said when accepting the coveted award for album of the year, “I literally have nothing to say. Honestly, totally, totally speechless, thank you guys, so much,” before delving into the deeply personal inspiration behind his record.

“This album has completely, completely changed my life. It was inspired by the moments between lockdowns in Melbourne. I was single, and really depressed and lonely, and then those little glimmers of hope in between. I just started going out and hooking up with random people,” Sivan said.

The crowd erupted in cheers, but the camera quickly panned to his mother, who was seen covering her ears in mock horror. Sivan laughed and apologized, “Oh my mom, I'm sorry mom! Guys, my mom has seen the craziest things – at my shows, it's like, nothing for her.”

He went on to talk about a particular encounter that shaped the direction of the album: “Well, I was going through a breakup, really, really depressed, and I met this guy. I have this one-night stand with him, right? And we have this incredible, incredible connection. And I'm like, oh my god, I thought hooking up could only look like one thing, you know? And then I started to realize how many people there are in the world and how many incredible connections each kind can feel and how it can present itself in all these different ways.”

Sivan added that he wrote the album “for this random stranger I never saw again.” However, she later met the same man at a wine bar in Melbourne after the album was released.

“The album is out at this point and it's doing really well,” he said. “And then the crazy thing is, I told him – the album's out at this point and it's doing really well – and I said, just so you know, it's kind of for you,” adding that the man said the album had helped him overcome a separation.

The singer concluded: “Well, the music is very, very nice. So yeah, go have a one-night stand with someone – you never know what might happen!”

Sivan's latest album has been hailed as a defining moment in the pop powerhouse's career. The record debuted at No. 1 in ARIA Albums Chartmarking his first chart-topping album in Australia. It has amassed nearly 250 million streams worldwide, earned two Grammy nominations and was shortlisted for the prestigious Australian Music Award.

“Rush” not only debuted at No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 — marking Sivan's first solo appearance on that chart since 2018 — but also topped the Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs and Dance/Electronic Song Sales charts, amassing over 23.4 million worldwide streams to date .

As Sivan prepares for his Something to give each other a tourhis momentum shows no signs of slowing down. The tour, which begins in late 2024, includes stops in Australia and New Zealand, with highlights including back-to-back performances at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt on November 28 and 29, marking the artist's homecoming.

Beyond Troye Sivan's big night, the 2024 ARIA Awards offered plenty of standout moments. Royel Otis, consisting of Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, won an impressive string of four awards, for Best Group Presented by Stan, Best Rock album, Engineer – Best Engineered Release (Chris Collins) and Producer – Best Produced Release (Chris Collins) .

First Nations hip-hop trio 3% — consisting of Nooky, Dallas Woods and Angus Field — won Best Hip Hop/Rap Release for “KILL THE DEAD” and Best Cover (Daniel Boyd and Nomad Create).

Sydney hard rock band SPEED, who are set to headline Coachella 2025, took out the gong for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal album.

Teenage Jesus and the Jean Teasers won the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist Award and Dom Dolla won Best Dance/Electronic Release for “Saving Up,” marking his third ARIA Award. Meanwhile, Angie McMahon proved her indie prowess, winning best independent release for Light, Darkness, Light Again.

The night also saw Missy Higgins inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, a heartfelt moment celebrating her incredible legacy, capped off by her win for Best Australian Live Act Presented by Destination NSW. G Flip struck a chord with fans, winning song of the year for “The Worst Person Alive,” while Taylor Swift's global dominance continued as she was crowned the most popular international artist.

The 2024 ARIA Awards were packed with jaw-dropping performances, showcasing the incredible talent and diversity of Australian music. Troy Cassar-Daley brought the crowd to their feet with a heartfelt performance featuring US country star Kane Brown and a surprise appearance from Casey Chambers. Jessica Mauboy teamed up with hip-hop standouts 3% and Presets' Julian Hamilton for a high-energy rendition of “Won't Stop” and “Our People.”

The night wasn't short on surprises either—CYRIL, Becca Hatch and Budjerah created an emotional moment blending the genre that lit up Australia's rising stars, while The Kid LAROI brought the house down with his high-energy set. Ava Max lit up the stage with a medley of her hits and the Pixies surprised with a surprise, world-exclusive televised performance of 'Where Is My Mind' in support of Ausmusic T-Shirt Day.

Topping it all off in style was a performance by Missy Higgins, along with Amy Shark, Angie McMahon, Gretta Ray and G Flip, who won Song of the Year for 'The Worst Person Alive'.

More winners on the night included Tkay Maidza for Best Soul/R&B Release, Emily Wurramara for Best Adult Contemporary album, Mia Dyson for Best Blues & Roots album, Bluey for Best Children's album, Tones And I (Nick Kozakis and Sela Vai) for Best Video presented by YouTube, Missy Higgins for Best Australian Live Act presented by Destination NSW, Taylor Swift for Most Popular International Artist, Midlife for Best album jazz and DOBBY for best world music album.

ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said of the evening: “All of us at The ARIAs are so proud of this truly global industry that tonight proved just how proud Australia should be when it comes to homegrown music. I am very excited for the future of Australian music after seeing the incredible talent of the winners, performers and nominees at this year's Awards. Thanks to YouTube, DNSW, all our partners and the incredible team at ARIA, especially broadcasting EP Craig Campbell and event producer Brendan Maher. Here's to another incredible year of Ausmusic in 2025!”

Mel Silva, Vice President of Google Australia on behalf of YouTube added: “Year after year, the ARIA Awards prove to be an incredible celebration of Australian music. Huge congratulations to all of this year's winners and nominees – you're absolutely crushing it! YouTube is honored to continue our partnership with ARIA and help fans around the world with their favorite artists – from Red Carpet mirror-selfies, incredible artist-created content, to showcasing unforgettable performances and amazing talents like Missy Higgins Hall of Fame induction. You can see it all on YouTube.”

See all the The 2024 ARIA Award winners here.