Billie Eilish will headline this year’s Aria awards, in a coup for organisers made possible by the new normal of live-streamed events.
The singer-songwriter will perform her new single, Therefore I Am, next week at the ceremony for the Australian Recording Industry Association awards, Australia’s answer to the Grammys.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, she will perform from her home town of Los Angeles, and the performance will be streamed to Australian audiences.
Tuesday’s announcement follows news last week that Australian-born Sia would also be performing from Los Angeles for the socially distanced event.
This year’s Arias ceremony will be a much more subdued occasion than the usual lavish affair. While it will still be presented on stage at Sydney’s Star casino and broadcast live to air, there will be no physical audience and no red carpet.
While it is customary for the Arias ceremony to include guest performances from international talent, they are usually restricted by who is available to perform in Australia in person.
Eilish became an international superstar off the back of her 2019 hit song Bad Guy and her debut album – When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? She swept the Grammys earlier this year, taking home five awards including best album and song of the year for Bad Guy.
Eilish is also popular with Australian audiences, and was the first female solo artist to take out the No 1 slot on the Triple J Hottest 100, with Bad Guy voted by the public into the top position for 2019.
She had just launched her second world tour when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Pop duo Lime Cordiale, one-man band Tame Impala and hip-hop powerhouse Sampa the Great have dominated the Aria nominations in a year that has been exceedingly tough for the music industry.
The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday 25 November and will be broadcast by Nine.
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