Genesis Owusu and Tame Impala lead the 2026 ARIA Awards nominations with eight each, and Melbourne's Ecca Vandal is next with seven, in the list released on Thursday for the awards' 40th year.
All three are up for Album of the Year. Owusu's REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE debuted at No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart and at No. 1 on the Australian Albums chart. Tame Impala's fifth album, Deadbeat, carries the single Dracula, which spent 18 weeks in the ARIA Singles top 10 and peaked at No. 4, Kevin Parker's highest-charting single. BOY SODA's Soulstar and DMA'S' self-titled record fill out the category.
Vandal's run is the one to watch. Looking For People to Unfollow, her second album, earned her a first solo nomination, and she also appears in the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist category alongside aleksiah, Rachael Fahim, Way Dynamic and WILSN.
Owusu, 28, has won Album of the Year with each of his first two records. Parker already has 15 ARIAs. Baker Boy, BOY SODA, G Flip, Miss Kaninna and Ninajirachi have five nominations each, while DMA'S, Dom Dolla and Troye Sivan have four.
Best Alternative Release returns for the first time since 2016. Older names are back as well, with Kylie Minogue, Paul Kelly, Keith Urban, Vika & Linda and Hilltop Hoods on the list.
ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd used the announcement to take a position on AI. Her statement referred to "the relentless assault on our copyright laws by foreign AI companies". The Albanese government has said it will legislate to stop companies training AI on Australian music and other work without the creator's control. "Anything less, is theft," the Prime Minister said in a speech at the University of Sydney in July.
The awards have their own foreign platform partner. They run "in partnership with Spotify" for a second year. Spotify presents the Breakthrough Artist award and hosts the public vote, which decides four of the 29 categories: Song of the Year, Best Video, Best Australian Live Act and Most Popular International Artist. Voting runs on Spotify and the ARIA website from Thursday until 9 November. The NSW Government's tourism agency, Destination NSW, also backs the event.
Winners will be announced on Wednesday 18 November at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. The ceremony will stream live on Paramount+ and air on 10.
