Ladyhawke and Amber Peebles shine at Australian music award ceremony

The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards held in

Sydney last night took on a Kiwi flavour with Ladyhawke winning two awards and TV personality Amber Peebles stepping in at the last minute to host.

Amber, an MTV VJ, got the hosting role after former Miss Universe Australia Erin McNaught almost severed her finger in a motorcycle accident.

Ladyhawke, whose real name is Phillipa Brown, was nominated for five awards all up.

She took home breakthrough artist single for 'My Delirium' and breakthrough artist album for her self-titled release.

Though the singer had a four-year stint living in Sydney and Melbourne, her nominations for the Australian music awards caused some backlash because she was born and raised in Wellington and is now based in London.

Before assuming the name Ladyhawke, she formed the band Teenager with Nick Littlemore of Pnau and Empire of the Sun.

The 30-year-old said after accepting the two awards last night that she was happy to now be a mainstream pop star.

"I wanted to write exactly the sort of music I would want to listen to myself," she said.

"I've always been huge pop fan and I wanted to experiment with pop and push myself and see how far I could go.

"I think it's really cool because I never thought of myself as a pop star or a pop type person."

But she said it was a shame her five nominations caused some controversy.

"I was incredibly honoured to be nominated," she said.

"I think it's a shame that there was a bit of a dark shadow cast on it because I didn't mean for that to happen and I didn't want to upset anybody or offend anyone."

It's been a good year for the star who cleaned up at the New Zealand Music Awards, taking home six accolades from seven nominations.

2009 ARIA Awards Winners

Album of the Year: Empire of the Sun, Walking on a Dream (Capitol/EMI Music Australia)
Single of the Year: Empire of the Sun, Walking on a Dream (Capitol/EMI Music Australia)
Breakthrough Artist Album: Ladyhawke, Ladyhawke (Modular Recordings)
Breakthrough Artist Single: Ladyhawke, My Delirium (Modular Recordings)
Best Group: Empire of the Sun, Walking on a Dream (Capitol/EMI Music Australia)
Best Female Artist: Sarah Blasko, As Day Follows Night (Dew Process)
Best Male Artist: Daniel Merriweather, Love & War (Universal Music Australia)
Best Rock Album: AC-DC, Black Ice (Albert Productions/Sony Music Entertainment)
Best Pop Release: Empire of the Sun, Walking on a Dream (Capitol/EMI Music Australia)
Best Urban Release: Hilltop Hoods, State of the Art (Golden Era/Universal Music Australia)
Best Dance Release: The Presets, Talk Like That (Modular Recordings)
Best Blues & Roots Album: C.W. Stoneking, Jungle Blues (King Hokum Records/Shock)
Best Country Album: Troy Cassar-Daley, I Love This Place (Liberation Music)
Best Independent Release: Bertie Blackman, Secrets and Lies (Forum 5/MGM)
Best Adult Contemporary Album: Josh Pyke, Chimneys Afire (Ivy League Records)
Best DVD: Sia, TV is my Parent (Monkey Puzzle/Inertia)
Best Childrens Album: The Wiggles, The Wiggles Go Bananas! (ABC Music)
Best Comedy Release: Hamish and Andy, Unessential Listening (Roadshow Music/Sony Music Entertainment)
Highest Selling Single: Jessica Mauboy, Running Back (Sony)
Highest Selling Album:? AC-C, Black Ice (Albert Productions/Sony Music Entertainment)

Check out the ARIA Awards red carpet gallery below:

Tags Keith Urban Ladyhawke Eskimo Joe Daniel Merriweather Jessica Mauboy The Presets