Mackay’s Joey Bagley releases hit single after performing on cruise ships across the world

Mackay export Joey Bagley has performed onstage around the world, and now she's undertaking the next chapter of her career with the launch of a brand new single which features a magical performance by a young girl.

Growing up in a regional town, the starry lights of international success can seem far away – but one Mackay export says access to the region’s creative circles and social media can be just the ticket.

Joey Bagley, born in Mackay, spent her youth enamoured with the stage.

Growing up with an equally starry-eyed father, musical actor and Linus Bagley, Ms Bagley quickly began to make her own mark on Mackay’s entertainment scene.

She rubbed shoulders with the town’s creatives at the Mackay Comedy Players and completed a Bachelor of Musical Theatre at Mackay’s Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music.

“While I was in Mackay I was the narrator in ‘Joseph and His Technicolour Raincoat’, I played Mary in ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, Eponine in ‘Les Miserables’, and the witch in ‘Into the Woods’,” Ms Bagley said.

Ms Bagley then packed her bags in 2003 and spent three years as a lead singer and soloist for P & O Cruises Australia.

From there she went on to perform as a lead singer for Saga Holidays in the United Kingdom, and a soloist for Germany’s AIDA Cruises.

In 2016, she settled down on the Gold Coast and launched her own singing and vocal teaching business, Vocal Elevation.

Now, Ms Bagley has reached another milestone with the release of her first single, ‘What If I’, which was released on all platforms including Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, on November 4 2021.

“This song is beautiful. It’s sung by 11-year-old Lyla Edwards,” Ms Bagley said.

“It’s about karma and how the effects of our actions will come back to us, but it’s also about what you can do if you send out good karma. The possibilities will make us limitless.

“I just started playing and it came out.

“I compare it to a Disney animation vibe, it’s more musical. I’d like to see it in one – preferably with someone high profile.”

Releasing her own music had always be one of Ms Bagley’s dreams, and after a stellar career travelling the world and visiting places like Barcelona, New York and Brazil, the songwriter has decided to continue to release her own music.

“We only live once and you don’t know when your expiry date is,” she said.

“(If you have a passion) you’ve just got to give it a go.

“ (Covid-19) has proven you can do anything from being in isolation … anything is possible.”

Listen to ‘What If I’ here.