One-time busker wins big at Australia’s most prestigious
music ceremony, with major prizes also going to Dean Lewis and Guy Sebastian
It’s only been six months since Dance Monkey, Toni Watson’s second single, was released. It’s now been streamed close to 1bn times – and after she was nominated for six
Australian Recording Industry Association (Aria) awards, Watson has won four of them.
The one-time Byron Bay busker has become an international household name. Dance Monkey has spent 16 weeks at No 1 on the Australian charts so far, breaking the record previously set by Ed Sheeran. It’s still at No 1 in the
UK, too, after eight weeks, and has hit the top of the charts in
New Zealand, Israel,
Japan,
South Africa and all over Europe – quite an achievement for an artist whose first single, Johnny Run Away, was only plucked from Triple J Unearthed in March.