Darren Hayes Honoured at Sydney's Music In The House: Excellence Award and a Billion-Stream Milestone

Darren Hayes received two honours at the 17th annual Music In The House event on August 27 in Sydney: the Excellence in Community Award and induction into APRA AMCOS's Billions Club, recognising more than one billion streams for "Truly Madly Deeply." The event, a fundraiser for Support Act — the Australian music industry's charity for musicians and music workers facing hardship or ill health — was held at The Linseed House, The Grounds of Alexandria. Billboard

Broadcaster Osher Günsberg emceed the evening. Journalist Claire Marshall presented Hayes with the Excellence in Community Award, while APRA chair Jenny Morris presented the Billions Club honour. APRA AMCOS is the Australasian performing rights body that collects and distributes songwriting royalties; its Billions Club recognises songs that have surpassed one billion streams across platforms.

Support Act CEO Clive Miller commented on Hayes's receipt of the Excellence in Community Award, according to Billboard. The award sits within an event designed to raise funds for the organisation's work supporting music workers through financial difficulty, mental health challenges, and serious illness.

"Truly Madly Deeply," released in 1997 by Savage Garden — the duo Hayes fronted with Daniel Jones — became one of the defining pop singles of the late 1990s. Its passage past one billion streams places it among a small group of songs that have sustained listening at that scale across the streaming era.

Hayes was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2019 for his services to the music industry, as noted in Billboard's report. The honour is part of Australia's national honours system, recognising individuals for service to the community or a particular field.

Hayes is scheduled to perform live with José Carreras and Friends on December 5, 2026, according to the artist's official social media accounts. Facebook Instagram

The dual recognition at Music In The House — one award for community contribution, one for streaming scale — places a volunteer ethos and a commercial milestone side by side. Support Act's fundraiser format means the event doubles as both celebration and practical fundraising: the money raised goes toward the charity's frontline work with music workers in need.

For Hayes, who has spent nearly three decades in the public eye since Savage Garden's debut, the evening compressed that trajectory into a single room. A song first released when streaming did not yet exist now carries a billion plays, and the artist behind it was honoured not for sales alone but for what he has given back to the community around him.