Brother and sister duo Angus and Julia Stone have capped off "a great year" by dominating the 2010 ARIA Awards.
The acoustic pop pairing, from Sydney's northern beaches, picked up two of the ceremony's most prestigious prizes, Album of the Year for their number one record Down The Way and Single of the Year for its biggest hit Big Jet Plane.
The awards brought to five the total number of ARIAs won by the duo after they previously picked up Best Cover Art, Producer Of The Year and Best Adult Alternative Album at the ARIA Genre and Artisan Awards.
The understated duo were the toast of the glitzy event, just two years after failing to convert a single of their five nominations for the critically acclaimed debut A Book Like This.
"It's been a great year and it feels nice," Julia Stone said.
Washington proved the other big winner at Sunday night's ceremony, held on the Sydney Opera House forecourt, with the
Brisbane-born singer-songwriter taking home her first ever ARIA Awards for Best Female Artist and Best Breakthrough Artist following the success of her debut album I Believe You Liar.
"This feels very surreal and exciting," she told reporters after her first win.
"I'm just really happy for everyone who's worked so hard on my project and this is a lovely milestone for us all."
Another of 2010's hottest new stars, Dan Sultan, was named Male Artist Of The Year, with the 26-year-old seeing off strong competition from Guy Sebastian and John Butler on a night which hinted towards a changing of the musical guard.
Sultan said he had no idea why his rock'n'soul sound had hit such a nerve with the Australian public, but said he had no plans to slack off now he'd hit the heights.
"We write songs for people and I perform in a way I like to see people perform, so this is extremely humbling and very gratifying.
"I'm well aware of my heritage and I've always been brought up to be proud of that but at the end of the day I just want to play rock'n'roll."
Powderfinger bowed out with a further two awards taking their career ARIA count to 18. The much loved band won the publicly-voted prizes for Most Popular Australian Artist and Most Popular Australian Album for Golden Rule less than a week before their final show in Brisbane.
The Temper Trap continued their quest for world domination after being named Best Group for their hit heavy debut album Conditions.
The London-based band also won Most Popular Australian Single for the anthem Sweet Disposition.
Sia scored her second ARIA of the week, with her electro-pop album We Are Born winning Best Independent Release after it was named Best Pop Release at the ARIA Genre Awards.
The singer revealed she had almost turned her back on music after contracting Graves' disease earlier this year but said receiving "presents" was always nice.
"This is one heavy metal present and it's going to hurt when I put it up my bum later," she joked, holding her second ARIA Award.
"I went from being insane, skinny, freaky, shaking, mad, hair falling out, crazy person to I want to sleep 20 hours each day and I put on 20 kilos in the last three months.
"I thought the world was out to get me and didn't want to do this anymore because you're private property."
UK folk revivalists Mumford and Sons were voted Most Popular International Artists by Australian music fans - their tours and a headline set at Splendour In The Grass proving pivotal moments in the band's success.
The awards ceremony was a rock fest with Dan Sultan and INXS teaming up to perform a reimagined version of the band's first hit Just Keep Walking, while Powderfinger opened the show with fan favourite Burn Your Name, and Guy Sebastian closed it with Like It Like That.
But Washington stole the show with a jaw-dropping dance routine inspired by Marilyn Monroe's famous scene from Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend.
The starlet performed atop a grand piano flanked by dancers in tails and top hats who lifted her around the stage and flanked the singer with peacock feathers.
Emerging in a long pink dress, she stripped down to a sexy red corset during her band's rendition of recent hit Sunday Best accompanied by a full brass section.
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