LUMI is now available in Australia and New Zealand!
Start your piano-learning journey today with our handy list of homegrown Australasian hits.
Today is a big day for LUMI – we’re finally launching in Australia and New Zealand! That means you can now grab yourself a LUMI Keys in either country, sign up for the LUMI App, and start learning piano the brighter way.
To celebrate, we thought we’d kick off our antipodean adventure with a list of all the hits from Australia and New Zealand that are already available on the app. From Kylie to Kimbra, AC/DC to INXS, there’s more than you might expect – and we’re adding more songs every week. For an up-to-date, categorized list of everything else that’s available, check out the LUMI Song Library here.
Sia
Sia may have made her name as an artist with stints in London and New York, but the “Chandelier” singer is a native of Adelaide. We’ve got the aforementioned 2014 hit waiting for you to learn in the LUMI App, alongside “Cheap Thrills”, “Bird Set Free” and “Snowman”.
Kylie Minogue
One of Oz’s most successful exports of all time, Kylie’s been reinventing pop music – and herself – since the late ‘80s. We at LUMI have a particular soft spot for her early 2000s output though, and that’s reflected in the two songs on offer in the app, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” and “Spinning Around”.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Kylie’s fellow Victorian and one-time collaborator Nick Cave dwells at an altogether darker end of the musical spectrum. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than on the menacing fan-favorite, “Red Right Hand”, which is perhaps best known today as the theme from Peaky Blinders. Whether you’re a fan of the show or The Bad Seeds, you’ll be playing along in no time.
AC/DC
To this day, fans are still debating about the “best” era of AC/DC – with Bon Scott as frontman, or with Brian Johnson, who took over after Scott’s death in 1980. We love both and chose two classic tracks from each frontman for the LUMI library. Rock out with your choice of “Highway to Hell” from Scott’s last record with the band or “Back in Black” from Johnson’s first.
Lorde
The first Kiwi on our list is a two-time Grammy winner and New Zealand’s most streamed artist ever, Lorde. The Pure Heroine single “Royals” which saw her rise to global fame is included in the LUMI library, as is “Team” from the same album. You can also learn 2017’s “Liability” from her follow-up Melodrama.
Men at Work
If you ask a non-Australian to name an Australian artist, this Melbourne band is a likely answer. Ask them to name a song though, and it’ll probably be “Down Under”. Though, we’re partial to 1981’s “Who Can It Be Now” – that sax is hard to argue with.
Crowded House
Crowded House formed in Melbourne, but lead singer Neil Finn hails from New Zealand – making them the perfect band for this list. “Don’t Dream It’s Over” is perhaps their best-known track, and it’s the one we’ve picked for you to learn with LUMI to soak in the smooth 80’s vibes.
Howard Shore
We’re breaking our own rules here, but an exception needs to be made for Canadian Composer Howard Shore and this cue from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The solo male voice here is British actor Richard Armitage, but he’s backed by a choir of the film’s dwarves, which includes several Kiwis – we checked! There’s also a Quick Play version of this track in the LUMI App for instant movie magic.
The Veronicas
Brisbanites twins The Veronicas had a large domestic following by 2007, but “Untouched” became their first true international hit. You know you’ve got a great pop song on your hands when it tops the charts in Sweden – and this one was there for seven weeks straight. Get to grips with its rumbling basslines, silky strings, and catchy synth stabs with LUMI.
INXS
There’s an excess of cheesy synthetic strings in this ‘80s classic, and we love every second of it. Sydney rockers INXS abided by the mantra of “simple is best” for the intro to this one, with the added bonus that you’ll be playing along perfectly in no time at all.
The Kid Laroi
Aussie rapper/singer The Kid Laroi has quickly gained recognition since releasing his debut mixtape in 2020 at just 17 years old. He’s spent the past few years racking up collabs with some of the biggest names in music – Juice Wrld, Justin Bieber, Jungkook to name a few – and this track from that debut is a perfect example. It was remixed and re-released in 2021 with a Miley Cyrus feature that saw it rise to number one in Australia.
Midnight Oil
The Guardian once described Midnight Oil as one of Australia’s favorite bands. The band’s 1987 single “Beds Are Burning” makes it easy to see why. The bass grooves, the guitars sparkle, horns blare, and the chorus is irresistibly catchy – presumably, that’s why the whole band sings along. However, beneath the pop production lies a serious song about Aboriginal land rights that warrants a close listen even today.
Jessica Mauboy
Australian artist Jessica Mauboy rose to prominence on Australian Idol in 2006 and has since become one of the country’s most successful female artists. Nominated for three ARIA awards, including Song of the Year, 2017’s “Fallin’” is a great introduction to her sound. A relatively sparse arrangement lets Mauboy’s vocals shine and leaves plenty of space for the bass to really hit home in the chorus. We challenge you to play this one without nodding along.
Tame Impala
We couldn’t wrap up this list without a nod to Kevin Parker’s Tame Impala project. “Borderline” from the 2020 album “The Slow Rush” is our LUMI library pick – It’s a little lighter on the psychedelics than much of his work, but “Borderline” presents Parker at his yacht-rocking best. Interesting trivia: this song was pulled from streaming services and re-released later with a more prominent bass part – we approve!
Traditional songs
LUMI’s not just filled with contemporary hits – we have plenty of classical music, jazz, and traditional songs to discover. Representing New Zealand in the latter category is Māori love song, Pōkarekare Ana. For the Australians, we have Botany Bay – which, despite its uncertain origins, certainly does seem to be about a voyage to Australia. You’ll also find “Waltzing Matilda” in the library whose history is a little less murky. Written by poet Banjo Paterson at the end of the 19th century, this short bush ballad has deservedly become known as an unofficial anthem for Australia.
Check out the full list of songs available to learn with LUMI in the LUMI Song Library.