1990s
The 1990s saw the continued expansion and then popularity of alternative music. It also saw a renaissance in music festivals, with some dozen or more being established and holding their own. Several expanded to cover multiple cities (Homebake, Big Day Out, Livid). The trend was kicked off by the establishment of the Big Day Out in 1992 in Sydney. Grunge had become huge in Australia after the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain in 1994, and Silverchair were the chief beneficiaries, with huge success both locally and within the US (1996).
Alternative going mainstream was confirmed in 1994, when the Cruel Sea dominated the ARIA Music Awards with their album The Honeymoon Is Over. Nick Cave experienced wider commercial success, and You Am I had three successive albums debut at #1. Other stalwarts of the 90s have been Regurgitator, Magic Dirt and Spiderbait.
The baby boomer's rock scene, by the 90s, translated into adult contemporary, with Wendy Matthews, Daryl Braithwaite and the Screaming Jets finding success.
In the late 90s, pop broke out all over. Savage Garden hit the US#1 with their single "Truly Madly Deeply" and their debut album sold over 8 million copies. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999) Tina Arena and Natalie Imbruglia also had big chart success.
The 1990s also saw a rise in popular Australian music and videos for young children, particularly The Wiggles and Hi-5.
Triple J's influence in possible success for a band was clearer than ever, with the station breaking Grinspoon, Missy Higgins and largely responsible for promoting the Whitlams, who after winning Triple J's Hottest 100 poll in 1997 with their "No Aphrodisiac", went on to win Song of the Year at the 1998 ARIA music awards.
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Trends In Australian Music