Major international artist set to perform at 2025 Logie Awards alongside Guy Sebastian
Richard Marx, who has sold 30 million albums worldwide and is the name behind '80s hits such as What About Me? and Right Here Waiting, will be performing at The Star Sydney on August 3.
The singer-songwriter is set to deliver a medley of his iconic hits to Aussie audiences alongside homegrown star Guy Sebastian, who will sing his new track, Get It Done.
Richard released a statement following the announcement, revealing that his passionate Aussie fans inspired him to bring 'something special' to his Logies performance this year.
'Australians have always been huge supporters of my music and have brought their passion and infectious energy to my live shows across the decades,' he said.
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'It is a privilege to be performing at Aussie TV's biggest night of celebrations. I can't wait to deliver something special for those at home and in the room.'
Also on the musical line-up is beloved Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes, who will headline the night with a repertoire spanning four decades of fan favourites.
Jimmy, who has 21 number-one albums under his belt as well as a place in the ARIA Hall of Fame, revealed he couldn't wait to 'get the party jumping' at the annual awards ceremony.
'I am excited about playing at the Logies, television's big night of nights,' the 69-year-old said.
'It will be great to celebrate all the fantastic talent we have in Australian television, and to play some rock'n'roll music to get the party jumping.'
Richard, Guy and Jimmy will be joined by the likes of Kitty Flanagan, Hamish Blake and Leigh Sales, who are just a few of the presenters expected to wow the crowd.
It has also been revealed that Sam Pang will host the event for the third time.
Sam's cheeky and irreverent comedy as host last year and in 2023 proved to be a big hit with audiences and TV's A-list, as well as a major ratings winner for Seven.
'It's been an honour to host the last two years and I'm looking forward to again celebrating the talented people and amazing shows that combine to make the Australian television industry something everyone can be proud of,' Sam told The Herald Sun.
'I am very excited to return for another Logies and would like to thank Seven for asking me back.'
The Logie nominations were officially announced in June at the Sydney Opera House and Aussies were relieved to see a certain TV icon up for the most coveted category.
Lynne McGranger, who played Irene Roberts on the soap opera Home and Away for over 33 years, has finally scored a Gold Logie nomination for her hard work.
Taking to Instagram, the 72-year-old Aussie star gushed about the milestone moment in her career and urged fans to vote.
'Well this is some fabulous news to get while I'm away!!' she wrote.
'I am so thrilled to be nominated for a Silver Logie for Best Lead Actress in a Drama and the coveted GOLD LOGIE!'
Voting is now open and will remain so until 7pm on Friday August 1.
The ceremony will be available to watch on Seven and 7Plus.
65th TV WEEK LOGIE AWARDS NOMINATIONS
TV WEEK GOLD LOGIE – Most Popular Personality on Australian Television
Ally Langdon - A Current Affair, The Olympic Games Paris 2024, 9Network
Hamish Blake - LEGO Masters Australia, 9Network
Julia Morris - I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Network 10
Lisa Millar - Back Roads, ABC News Breakfast, Muster Dogs: Where Are They Now, Muster Dogs: Collies & Kelpies, ABC
Lynne McGranger - Home and Away, Seven Network
Poh Ling Yeow - MasterChef Australia, Network 10
Sonia Kruger - The Voice, Dancing With The Stars, Logies Red Carpet Show, Seven Network
Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter
Hamish Blake - LEGO Masters Australia, 9Network
Julia Morris - I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Network 10
Ricki-Lee - Australian Idol, Seven Network
Sonia Kruger - The Voice, Dancing With The Stars, Logies Red Carpet Show, Seven Network
Todd Woodbridge - Tipping Point Australia, Australian Open, The Olympic Games Paris 2024, Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, 9Network
Zan Rowe - Take 5 With Zan Rowe, ABC New Year's Eve, ABC
Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent
Guy Montgomery - Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont Spelling Bee, ABC
Hailey Pinto - Home and Away, Seven Network
Jenny Tian - Taskmaster Australia, Network 10
Kate Miller-Heidke - The Voice, Seven Network
Kylah Day - Territory, Netflix
Sofia Levin - MasterChef Australia, Network 10
Ray Martin Award for Most Popular News or Public Affairs Presenter
Ally Langdon - A Current Affair, 9Network
David Speers - Insiders, ABC
Michael Usher - 7NEWS, 7NEWS Spotlight, Seven Network
Peter Overton - 9News, 9Network
Sarah Ferguson - 7.30, ABC
Tara Brown - 60 Minutes, Dangerous Lies: Unmasking Belle Gibson, 9Network
TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Lead Actor in a Drama
Lloyd Griffith - Return To Paradise, ABC
Michael Dorman - Territory, Netflix
Robert Taylor - Territory, Netflix
Sam Corlett - Territory, Netflix
Sam Neill - The Twelve, BINGE / FOXTEL
Tai Hara - Return To Paradise, ABC
TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Lead Actress in a Drama
Alycia Debnam-Carey - Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix
Anna Samson - Return To Paradise, ABC
Anna Torv - Territory, Netflix
Ayesha Madon - Heartbreak High, Netflix
Kaitlyn Dever - Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix
Lynne McGranger - Home and Away, Seven Network
TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Lead Actor in a Comedy
Aaron Chen - Fisk, ABC
Ben Miller - Austin, ABC
Clancy Brown - Good Cop/Bad Cop, Stan
Luke Cook - Good Cop/Bad Cop, Stan
Michael Theo - Austin, ABC
Patrick Brammall - Colin From Accounts, BINGE / FOXTEL
TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Lead Actress in a Comedy
Harriet Dyer - Colin From Accounts, BINGE / FOXTEL
Jenna Owen - Nugget is Dead: A Christmas Story, Stan
Kitty Flanagan - Fisk, ABC
Leighton Meester - Good Cop/Bad Cop, Stan
Sally Phillips, Austin - ABC
Vic Zerbst - Nugget is Dead: A Christmas Story, Stan
TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Supporting Actor
Ashley Zukerman - Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix
Darren Gilshenan - Colin From Accounts, BINGE / FOXTEL
Glenn Butcher - Fisk, ABC
Mark Coles Smith - Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix
Matt Nable - Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix
Sam Delich - Territory, Netflix
TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Supporting Actress
Aisha Dee - Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix
Chloé Hayden - Heartbreak High, Netflix
Julia Zemiro - Fisk, ABC
Marg Downey - The Newsreader, ABC
Michelle Lim Davidson - The Newsreader, ABC
Tilda Cobham-Hervey - Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix
Best Drama Program
Bump - Stan
Heartbreak High - Netflix
Return To Paradise - ABC
Territory - Netflix
The Newsreader - ABC
The Twelve - BINGE / FOXTEL
Best Miniseries or Telemovie
Apple Cider Vinegar - Netflix
Critical Incident - Stan
Fake - Paramount+
How To Make Gravy - BINGE / FOXTEL
Human Error - 9Network
Plum - ABC
Best Entertainment Program
ABC New Year's Eve - ABC
Australian Idol - Seven Network
Countdown 50 Years On - ABC
Dancing With The Stars - Seven Network
The Voice - Seven Network
Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight - 9Network
Best Current Affairs Program
60 Minutes - 9Network
7.30 - ABC
7NEWS Spotlight - Seven Network
A Current Affair - 9Network
Australian Story - ABC
Four Corners - ABC
Best Scripted Comedy Program
Austin - ABC
Colin From Accounts - BINGE / FOXTEL
Fisk - ABC
Good Cop/Bad Cop - Stan
Melbourne International Comedy Festival - ABC
Optics - ABC
Best Comedy Entertainment Program
Gruen - ABC
Hard Quiz - ABC
Have You Been Paying Attention? - Network 10
Sam Pang Tonight - Network 10
Thank God You're Here - Network 10
The Weekly with Charlie Pickering - ABC
Best Competition Reality Program
Alone Australia - SBS
Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn II - Network 10
LEGO Masters Australia - 9Network
MasterChef Australia - Network 10
My Kitchen Rules - Seven Network
The Block - 9Network
Best Structured Reality Program
Farmer Wants A Wife - Seven Network
Gogglebox Australia - Network 10
Married At First Sight - 9Network
Muster Dogs: Collies & Kelpies - ABC
Shark Tank Australia - Network 10
The Real Housewives of Sydney - BINGE / FOXTEL
Best Lifestyle Program
Better Homes and Gardens - Seven Network
Do You Want To Live Forever? - 9Network
Gardening Australia - ABC
Grand Designs Australia - ABC
Restoration Australia - ABC
Travel Guides - 9Network
Best News Coverage or Public Affairs Report
Betrayal of Trust, Four Corners - ABC
Building Bad, 60 Minutes - 9Network
Courage & Science, A Current Affair - 9Network
Cyclone Alfred, 7NEWS - Seven Network
Melbourne Protests, Sunrise - Seven Network
Trump Assassination Attempt, 7NEWS - Seven Network
Best Factual or Documentary Program
Big Miracles - 9Network
Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story - Seven Network
Miriam Margolyes Impossibly Australian - ABC
The Assembly - ABC
Tsunami: 20 Years On - 9Network
Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story - 9Network
Best Sports Coverage
2024 AFL Finals Series - Seven Network
2024 State of Origin - 9Network
2025 Australian Open Finals - 9Network
Australia v India: Border – Gavaskar Trophy - Kayo Sports / FOXTEL
CommBank Matildas V China PR - Network 10
The Olympic Games Paris 2024 - 9Network / Stan Sport
Best Children's Program
Bluey - ABC
Ginger and the Vegesaurs - ABC
Hard Quiz Kids - ABC
Little J & Big Cuz - NITV / ABC
Play School - ABC
Rock Island Mysteries - Network 10
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His mother's moods swung between depression and euphoria, and she was 'probably bipolar', according to Joel's older sister, Judy Molinari, but 'no matter how poor we were, she knew Billy had to have his piano lessons'. Their father was a frustrated classical concert pianist, who once knocked Joel unconscious for rocking up Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. 'He was a very dark man,' recalls Joel. 'He told me once as a kid 'life is a cesspool.'' Following his parent's divorce in 1957, Joel didn't see his father for 16 years. One of his greatest songs, Vienna, was inspired by an ultimately frustrating reunion with his father, whom he tracked down in Austria with a second family (he has a half brother, Alexander Joel, who grew up to become a respected orchestral conductor). It was there he learnt the devastating history of the Joel family, formerly wealthy German industrialists who lost everything during the rise of the Nazis and were mostly wiped out in the Holocaust. Joel reveals a love-hate relationship with his own art. He describes songwriting as 'a lonely job', and confesses 'I see the piano as this big black box with 88 teeth trying to bite my hands off.' Each episode is two and a half hours long, and, frankly, five hours in the company of Billy Joel is a lot. It is leavened by humour, thankfully, and not all of it based around the physical appearance of a pop superstar who always manages to look like he hates getting his picture taken. He looks positively ill during his first wedding, to Elizabeth Weber in 1973 ('I had reservations,' he admits). His second wife, supermodel Christie Brinkley, admits that she was almost put off by his 'Long Island bubble hair' and terrible clothes. He is a pop star who never had a good haircut – the pictures of Joel wearing chainmail and sporting shaggy ringlets and a droopy moustache in short-lived early Seventies heavy metal duo Attila have to be seen to be believed. By the end of the documentary, you might conclude that baldness is the kindest thing ever to happen to him. Episode one is the most compelling but also the saddest, with a huge romantic arc, following the love affair that drove his career, and broke both their hearts. Joel met Elizabeth Weber-Small when she was married to his best friend and Attila bandmate, Jon Small. He was so ashamed of their burgeoning love affair he twice attempted suicide (first with pills, then with furniture polish) and wound up in a mental hospital. He wrote the whole of his tender 1971 solo debut album, Cold Spring Harbor, in a state of romantic longing. When they eventually got together, Weber became the driving force in his career, taking on the role of his manager. She is the subject of such deathlessly romantic ballads as Just the Way You Are and Always a Woman, as well as the less flattering Stiletto. Interviewed for the documentary, Weber talks about Joel with tenderness and insight, revealing that she left him because of his heavy drinking and the near-suicidal behaviour that led to a life-threatening motorcycle crash in 1982. 'I would have stayed,' she reveals. 'Like so many women before me, make that accommodation for someone you love. But there was no way I could stand by and watch him kill himself. I didn't have it in me. I felt very strongly that's where it was going.' 'It was sad,' is the most Joel can admit on the subject. The second episode is a lot of fun, packed with delightful home footage shot by his second great love, the eternally bright-spirited Brinkley, who inspired Joel's most upbeat album, An Innocent Man, in 1983. There's a lot of witty patter, goofy backstage carry-on and fantastic music, with domestic bliss breaking out as the couple marry in 1985 and have a daughter, Alexa (also interviewed for the documentary). But it all goes sour when his new manger (his ex-wife's brother, whom she warned him against) defrauds him of multi-millions, Joel starts drinking again, quits songwriting and breaks up with Brinkley. She gets emotional recalling the moment she told him how unhappy she was, and his response was to just snap, 'Yeah, fine, go.' 'It was a very sad time for me,' admits Joel now. 'I was so devastated.' At which point viewers may realise they still have an hour to go of stints in rehab, falling out with Elton John (conspicuously absent from the documentary) over Joel's destructively heavy drinking during co-headlining tours, and another failed marriage, before we leave Joel in his fourth marriage (to Alexis Roderick, an equestrian and lawyer 30 years his junior, in 2015), with two young daughters (Della and Remy), sailing his beloved boat Alexa out to sea, and proclaiming hope for a future that we already know is about to be dashed by illness. I met Joel in a hotel bar after a concert in Detroit in 1990 and spent a long and increasingly drunken night in his company. I really liked him. He was funny, self-deprecating and the life of our spontaneous party, getting on a hotel piano and leading a rowdy sing-along into the small hours. The next day, his tour manager accused me of having led him astray and revealed that Joel had lost his voice and would have to cancel that night's concert. I realise now that was during a period when things were starting to go south again for Joel, who told me Brinkley had gone to stay with her parents in Hawaii. 'You can't have a fight with your wife when her parents own a beautiful beach house in Hawaii,' he joked. 'It's like any excuse to pack your bags and run home to momma.' That humour percolates through And So It Goes, but so does the self-absorption and melancholy that seem to have haunted him all his life. His songwriting seems to have been a vital outlet for his deepest feelings, but he cut off that part of himself in 1993, exhausted by artistic struggle. As Sting admiringly points out, Joel is a master of song structure, and the documentary explores his compositional roots in European classical music, which Joel adores. 'I realised I've never forgiven myself for not being Beethoven,' he confesses. It's clear that Joel's songs sprang from a deep well of often troubled emotions and experiences, reflecting the life of a man for whom music was a vocation, a burden and, perhaps, salvation. 'Everything I've done, everything I've lived through, has somehow found a way into my music,' says Joel. His place as an all-time great singer-songwriter cannot really be in doubt.
