Country crooner Amber Lawrence hits the right note with her pad by the beach

This country crooner hits the right note by the beach

Award-winning singer-songwriter Amber Lawrence at her mother’s home in Mascot. Pictures: John Fotiadis

• Who: Country singer and Golden Guitar winner Amber Lawrence

• Where: Mascot with her mum, while she renovates a Coogee apartment with her boyfriend Marty Newman

• Favourite thing: This Maton Guitar has done more than 1000 gigs. I wrote my first album with it, it has travelled the world and I’ve never had a problem with it. It’s such a work horse, and it’s never meant to be cleaned, so the more bush and dirt and make-up on it, the better it sounds

• Inspiration: I like to have inspirational quotes around me in the home. It’s the motivation to work hard and not to give up on your dreams. Even if they don’t work, you won’t be looking back in 10 years’ time thinking, I should’ve given that a shot

• Home is: the apartment in Coogee with Marty. We bought it together and it’s the first time I will be living in something that is mine

LUCKY for Amber Lawrence she is a risk-taker, otherwise she’d still be desk-bound working as a financial analyst at Qantas.

Instead, the talented country singer has grown her own wings with a career that has taken her to all corners of the globe, including Egypt and Afghanistan to entertain troops.

Amber is also the proud recipient of a Golden Guitar, the top country music award in Australia.

She was raised in Mascot, and a singing teacher steered Amber towards the genre which changed her life.

“My singing teacher said, ‘find a style of music you haven’t heard before’, so I bought the LeAnn Rimes album Blue,” she says. “It had a yodel in the break, and I just loved that.”

She competed at the Road To Tamworth country music competition, coming second to a teenage Jessica Mauboy. Years later and she has just released her fifth studio album, Happy Ever After.

AT HOME WITH SARAH TODD

The popular country crooner spends much of the year on the road, which leaves her very little time to put down roots — until now.

“I might find a great place to rent, but then I’d go on tour for months, so it wasn’t worth it. After the tour, I’d move back home with Mum. Now I’ll have a place of my own.”

Amber and boyfriend Marty Newman recently purchased an apartment in Coogee and are in the throes of renovating, beginning with knocking out the wall between the living room and kitchen.

“Music is my first love, but cooking is a close second,” says Amber. “I’m not a recipe follower. I just find whatever is in the cupboard and throw it all together.”

More Amber Lawrence, amberlawrence.com.au

Amber: The candle, Scent of Amber, is from my sister, and the Michael Kors perfume, Sexy Amber, is from my aunty. I hated my name as a kid, I wanted to be called Karen, or something normal like that. I like it now, and people always get me Amber-related presents.

Jewellery: I bought the bracelet from Egypt after entertaining the troops. We had to ride in a bus for 8 hours with bulletproof vests and helmets, and I just wanted to take something home to remind me of that experience. I wore the cicada ring to the Golden Guitars in 2015 and before the ceremony I was introduced to a lady who saw the ring and said, ‘You’re going to win tonight, that ring means change’.

Portable turntable: This was a gift from Social Family Records when I signed my most recent contract. I’m drawn to the colour and look of it and I’ll play my mum’s old Ella Fitzgerald albums on it. The sound is not up to scratch for today, but I love the feel of it.

Songwriting books: I have at least 30 books and the majority of the lyrics I would never use. About one page out of 100 pages would turn into a song, but I keep all the books from 2004. It’s really funny to look back and see how I felt on a particular day. Was I really that sad? Did he break my heart that badly?

Alice In Wonderland quote: It’s good to be bonkers when you do what I do. I wouldn’t have it any other way and I am looking forward to what’s to come.

Golden Guitar: I didn’t think I would win it when I did. I was up against Casey Chambers, and she is an idol of mine. We all use the same cliches about awards, but when you win, it does matter. It’s a validation that all that hard work is paying off and the self-doubt needs to stop.

Photo: This was the last family photo we took with Dad in it. It was Mum’s 60th birthday and he passed away eight months later. We didn’t know he was sick at the time, and in hindsight it was just lucky we took an endless amount of photos together that day.

Kate Spade bag: I’m not a person who spends lots of money on possessions. I like to look good and be presentable, but I like to be classy. Not overdone. This was the first present Marty ever bought me.