Natalie Imbruglia performs a tribute to Olivia Newton-John during the 2022 ARIA Awards. Photo / Getty Images
Natalie Imbruglia performs a tribute to Olivia Newton-John during the 2022 ARIA Awards. Photo / Getty Images
Fans have expressed their disappointment following a tribute to Olivia Newton-John at the 2022 ARIA Awards.
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is the biggest night in Australian music but fans were left less than impressed following a tribute performance to Newton-John who passed away earlier this year.
Daily Mail reported Natalie Imbruglia led a medley of the late singer’s greatest hits later being joined by Tones & I, Peking Duk and other top Australian musicians to perform a melody of Hopelessly Devoted to You, You’re the One That I Want and Xanadu.
Now fans are saying the tribute was not enough for the Aussie star who was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2002.
Taking to Twitter one fan said, “Olivia Newton John deserved better than this,” with another saying, “that was terrible.”
A third said, “the ONJ tribute, who allowed this?”
However, not everyone agreed and many were fans of the performance. One fan countered the negative tweets and said, “‘Beautifully done. Pleased it was all about the joy,” another said, “We’re all hopelessly devoted to you #olivianewtonjohn (and how good is Tones & I).”
Newton-John’s daughter Chloe Lattanzi paid an emotional tribute to her mum at the awards.
Olivia Newton-John died in August after a lengthy battle with cancer. Photo / Getty Images
Breaking down in tears, the 36-year-old remembered her mother - who sadly died in August aged 73 after a decades-long battle with breast cancer.
She said: “Thank you so much for doing this beautiful tribute to my mum. She was so grateful and so moved by all of the support that she received from Australia during her cancer battle.”
She appeared choked up and held her hand to her heart before continuing with her heartbreaking speech adding: “Excuse me. I just wanted to say thank you so much for remembering her so beautifully and I ask that you continue to remember my mum and honour her by supporting the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre so that my mum’s dream can come true. A world without cancer.
“Please enjoy the world without cancer. Please enjoy the night, live it up, have fun, enjoy the tribute and enjoy life like my mum did. Thank you so much.”
Newton-John’s breast cancer started in 1992 when she was 44, with the disease returning twice, in 2013 and 2017.
She spent 30 years sharing her turbulent battle against the illness, along with her treatments and hope for survival.
The Physical singer’s husband John Easterling announced the sad news of the Hollywood legend’s death in August.
He said of the actress, who was propelled to fame after playing Sandy in 1978 musical Grease: “Our love for each other transcends our understanding. Every day we expressed our gratitude for this love that could be so deep, so real, so natural.
“We never had to ‘work’ on it. We were in awe of this great mystery and accepted the experience of our love as past, present and forever.”
