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Vance Joy joins The 1,000,000,000 List for ‘Riptide’

Media Published Wednesday 11 March 2020
Vance Joy attending the 2015 APRA Music Awards . Photo by Marc Grimwade
  • Vance Joy’s 2013 track has officially been added to the 1,000,000,000 List, honouring its major success around the world
  • Riptide was one of the first Australian songs to reach the one billion streams milestone, and it is 9 times certified platinum in Australia

Vance Joy became a household name thanks to his record-breaking song ‘Riptide’. The song was one of the first Australian songs to reach the one billion streams milestone, and has been recognised on APRA AMCOS’ The 1,000,000,000 List. The song appeared on his debut EP God Loves You When You’re Dancing and is also featured on his debut studio album Dream Your Life Away.

The accolades for ‘Riptide’ are vast, having been number one on Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2013, breaking the top ten in the UK, and peaking at number one on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart. ‘Riptide’ took out APRA Pop Work of the Year and APRA Song of the Year in 2014, and APRA Most Played Australian Work Overseas in 2017.

In May 2015, it broke the record for the longest-charting song in ARIA history, with ‘Riptide’ sitting in the top 100 for 107 weeks, overtaking Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face.’ It still holds this record with a total of 120 consecutive weeks.

The dreamy track did not lack global attention, appearing in The Inbetweeners 2 film, the TV series Stalker, and in episodes on Grey’s Anatomy, Hawaii Five-0, Neighbours and Home and Away as well as being covered by Taylor Swift on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge in 2014. Vance performed the 9 times platinum single at the ARIA Music Awards in 2013.

The 1,000,000,000 List Award for ‘Riptide’ was presented to Vance Joy, and his publishers UNIFIED Music Publishing and Mushroom Music.

The 1,000,000,000 List takes into account streaming numbers from major services Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. It is the first award of its kind to recognise a songwriter’s achievement.

Vance Joy - Riptide

Vance Joy - Riptide performed at the 2013 ARIA Awards

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