Amyl and the Sniffers were the big winners at the 2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards, presented Wednesday night, April 9th, in central Sydney, while ICEHOUSE received the coveted Icon Award.
Fresh from a rare nod at the BRIT Awards, Amy Taylor and co. doubled up with RS awards for Best Live Act and Best LP/EP for Cartoon Darkness.
The current Rolling Stone AU/NZ cover stars came in at No. 1 on the title’s list of best Australian albums released in 2024 for Cartoon Darkness, their hit third album.
The collection peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Chart, No. 9 on the Official UK Albums Chart, and tickled the Billboard 200, and was critically-lauded, scoring nominations for the J Award for Australian Album of the Year and the Australian Music Prize.
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Also on the night, Dom Dolla won the Global Award. The high-flying Australian electronic music DJ and producer is coming off a year for the books, which included a Grammy Award nomination, a record-breaking tour of Australia, hits, huge spots on international festivals, and bookings for multiple residencies. The world can’t get enough of Dom.
“I’m absolutely shattered that I can’t be there tonight to accept the Global Award,” he remarked in a pre-recorded speech. “But very fittingly I’m not there…greetings from America”.
Meanwhile, First Nations hip-hop “supergroup” 3% nabbed Best New Artist, capping a remarkable 12 months.
The trio closed out the night with a two-song performance from their debut album Kill the Dead, which last year grabbed a brace of ARIA Awards, including Best Hip-Hop/Rap Release, and was lauded with a five-star review from Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
Best Single was presented to Thelma Plum, the singer-songwriter and proud Gamilaraay woman, for “Freckles”, a standout from her ARIA Top 10 second album, I’m Sorry, Now Say It Back.
Adam Hyde, whose solo project is known as Keli Holiday, was selected by Rolling Stone AU/NZ readers for the Readers’ Choice Award, beating out a strong field that included Crowded House, Delta Goodrem, G Flip, Thelma Plum, The Rions, Radio Free Alice, SPEED, Pond, and Gut Health.
Hyde and his partner Abbie Chatfield were among the 850 guests at the fifth annual show, hosted by Nic Kelly, whose SCA’s show The Hot Hits with Nic & Loren plays across the Hit Network on weeknights. Rising star Becca Hatch was also among the performers on the night.
The biggest cheers on the night were reserved for Iva Davies and ICEHOUSE, the new wave legends who enjoyed global success through the 1980s, and were, at a time, the biggest Australian band in the world. The group performed two classics on the night, “Crazy”, a US top 10 hit, and the anthemic “Great Southern Land”. ICEHOUSE now join the likes of Tina Arena and Neil Finn’s Crowded House as the third Icon.
Presented at the ivy, Sydney, the 2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards were supported by headline partner American Apparel, as well as returning sponsors Shure and JMC Academy.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ is published by Vinyl Media, whose network of premium brands now surpasses 160 million monthly page views and reaches 10 million unique Australian users per month – positioning the ASX-listed company as Australia’s largest creator of premium youth content and events.
2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards (winners in bold)
Best New Artist
3%
CYRIL
Becca Hatch
Mia Wray
Gut Health
9lives
Best Single
Amyl and the Sniffers – “U Should Not Be Doing That”
Empire of the Sun – “Changes”
Dom Dolla – “girl$”
Thelma Plum – “Freckles”
CYRIL – “Stumblin’ in”
Baker Boy – “KING”
Best LP/EP
Amyl and the Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Inhale/Exhale
Lime Cordiale – Enough of the Sweet Talk
Missy Higgins – The Second Act
Amy Shark – Sunday Sadness
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Wild God
Best Live Act
Amyl and the Sniffers
Confidence Man
Tones and I
Dom Dolla
Parkway Drive
Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
Readers’ Choice
[Vote here until March 28th]
Radio Free Alice
Thelma Plum
SPEED
Pond
Gut Health
G Flip
The Rions
Delta Goodrem
Crowded House
Keli Holiday
Rolling Stone Global Award
Dom Dolla
Kylie Minogue
Amyl and the Sniffers
Confidence Man
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Empire of the Sun
Icon Award
ICEHOUSE
