Ricki-Lee opens up about the musical influence of her Maori heritage

She’s been known as a proud Gold Coaster since shooting to fame on Australian Idol, but Ricki-Lee has opened up about the importance of her Maori heritage

Singer Ricki-Lee has opened up about the influence of her Maori heritage on her music.

While she has always been known as a Gold Coast singer, having moved from New Zealand with her mother when she was just three months old, the now 36-year-old spent much of her upbringing travelling to stay with family in Auckland and further north in Kaitaia.

“It’s always been a huge part of my life, even with music. Music is such a huge part of Maori culture and I’ve been surrounded by that my whole life, singing Maori songs and everyone singing in harmony,” she said.

“Some of my family are on farms and I would go over there growing up and see them shearing sheep and herding cattle and I’d get to see all that stuff that in Australia, that was not part of life.”

Singer Ricki-Lee is working with Tourism New Zealand for their Secret (Travel) Agent campaign. Photo: Supplied

Ricki-Lee, who has Maori heritage on both sides of her family, began performing music on the Gold Coast at 15 and rose to fame on Australian Idol in 2004, enjoying a successful career in Australian music and television since then – currently in Sydney hosting new Australia’s Got Talent.

“A lot of people wouldn’t know (about my Maori influence) but … I grew up with everyone sitting around singing,” she said.

“Some of my fondest memories are growing up with my cousins and uncles and aunties and singing Maori songs while someone is strumming guitar. It’s a really beautiful part of my life.”

Due to the Covid pandemic, which had also postponed filming of AGT for two years, Ricki-Lee has not been able to return to New Zealand since late 2018 and plans to leave the moment filming wraps in Sydney.

Ricki-Lee Coulter as a five-year-old on the Gold Coast

She was this week announced as part of Tourism New Zealand’s new campaign of secret (travel) agents, alongside Stan Walker, Melanie Bracewell and Richard Wilkins, encouraging Aussies to make a trip to Aetoeroa now that borders are open.

“I’m very proud that I was born in New Zealand but I’m also a very proud Australian,” she said, adding with a laugh: “If you want to call me a hero for spending my whole life encouraging people to go to New Zealand and successfully completing missions for 30 something years then, whatever, you can call me a hero, that’s fine.”

Grounded in Australia, Ricki-Lee used the pandemic to slow her life down, guilt free, and has spent the last six months refining a new sound for music she hopes to release soon.

“I’m really enjoying, after a couple of years off, starting to discover what that is and where I’m going to go musically,” she said.

“I think I’m onto something now, it’s taken six months to get there but I think I’ve found the sound and the direction and I started to write some really great songs that I’m really excited to get out to people.

“It’s been a long time.”