Vintage Advantage
Hopelessly devoted to Saint Olivia
AMONG Australia’s older performing artists, Olivia Newton-John is in “a saintly zone”, said Mark Pope, event producer for the ARIA Awards.
Because of her worldwide fame for films including Grease, Newton-John has gained stature as an Australian icon and creative ambassador. But the singer retains a great interest in the local music industry, showing her support for younger musicians by attending this year’s songwriting awards held by the Australasian Performing Right Association.
Newton-John was a guest presenter at the awards ceremony in Melbourne, an event that reflected the growing respect between younger and older artists within the Australian industry.
Not only did the presence of Newton-John create a buzz among the gathered crowd, the singer genuinely seemed to enjoy the opportunity to listen to new local sounds.
She was grooving away to the brassy sounds of the Cat Empire, and was openly thrilled by John Butler’s performance of Zebra. It was evidence that many older artists are willing to embrace and enjoy new music being created by younger artists.
Judging by the respectful balance between the old and new at the APRA awards, the diversity so craved by listeners might be closer than we think.