ARIA Awards 2026 nominations: all the gays and theys

It’s ARIA season baby, and the list of nominations has been released. But why read all the other lists when I’ve gone through and picked out the publicly out LGBTQIA+ artists you want to know about?

This year is the 40th anniversary of the ARIA Awards, which will be taking place at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday, 18 November.

The 2026 nominees are spread out across 29 categories, with Genesis Owusu and Tame Impala leading the charge with eight nominations each, followed by Ecca Vandal with seven.

The milestone celebrations began earlier this year with six legendary acts inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame: Gurrumul, Jenny Morris, Kate Ceberano, Spiderbait, The Living End, and Vika & Linda.

But enough about everyone else, below is a non-exhaustive list of the publicly out LGBTQIA+ artists nominated for 2026 ARIAs.

And just to reiterate: out of respect for people and their identities, we only include those who have publicly self-identified as queer or part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Related Content:

Your queer ARIA list

G Flip

Queer, non-binary pop powerhouse G Flip is back in the ARIA nominations with five nominations for Dream Ride and its singles. Their nominations include: Best Solo Artist, Best Pop Release, Best Video, Best Australian Live Act, Song of the Year.

Troye Sivan

Australia’s most globally recognised gay pop star is up for four awards this year: Best Solo Artist, Best Pop Release, Engineer – Best Engineered Release, Producer – Best Produced Release.

Miss Kaninna

The queer, First Nations artist has picked up five nominations for her debut album BLACKPRINT and its music. She’s represented across some of the ARIAs’ biggest genre categories, including Best Solo Artist, Best Hip Hop / Rap Release, Best Soul / R&B Release, Best Independent Release, Best Video.

Courtney Barnett

Lesbian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett returns to the ARIA nominations with Creature Of Habit, which is in the running for Best Rock Album.

aleksiah

Queer indie-pop artist aleksiah is in the running for the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist award for her album Good On Paper.

Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers

These Canberra punk-rockers are double nominees this year, with Glory earning recognition in both Best Group and Best Rock Album.

2charm

Queer pop duo 2charm are nominated for Best Independent Release for boyfriend, their sultry collaboration between Cub Sport members Tim Nelson and Sam Netterfield.

DEVAURA

The queer Aotearoa-born, Western Sydney-based singer and rapper has earned her first ARIA nomination (Best Hip Hop / Rap Release) for Vol. 2 If You Don’t Laugh, You’ll Cry.

Mo’Ju

First Nations (Wiradyuri), Second generation (Filipinx) singer-songwriter, Mo’JU, is nominated for Best World Music Album alongside Nicholas Buc and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for Double J Live at the Wireless – Hamer Hall, Melbourne 2023.