What happened when Amy Shark met Nicole Kidman
Australian singer Amy Shark has celebrity friends in high places. And an Oscar-winning actor is the surprising link.
Stellar
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Amy Shark’s Instagram page serves up the kind of A-List celebrities you’d find on a Hollywood red carpet. In the past 12 months, the singer has posted photos with the likes of Rebel Wilson, Sir Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Nicole Kidman and Deborra-lee Furness.
When Stellar points out her roll call of famous friends, the down-to-earth singer shakes her head in disbelief. “Half of those are Russell stories,” she says. “He’s out of control!”
That’s “Russell” as in Russell Crowe, Oscar-winning actor and fervent fan-turned-friend, who reached out on social media after Shark released her ARIA Award-winning album Love Monster in 2018.
The 34-year-old singer munches on a croissant as she shares one of those “Russell stories” with Stellar. “I just happened to be in New York working and he was like, ‘Hey, before you go home, there’s someone in town that wants to meet you…’ He has these dinner parties, and I went to his beautiful penthouse and Deborra-lee Furness was there and he knows I love theatre, so I thought she was my guest. We’re having the best time, and then the doorbell rang and he said, ‘Oh, your guest is here.’ Nicole [Kidman] just comes in and before I knew it, she was sitting next to me and saying hi.”
These days everyone wants an introduction to the Gold Coast-born, now Sydney-based singer, but that wasn’t always the case. Those familiar with her hit 2018 song ‘I Said Hi’ know fame and success didn’t come easy for Shark. The lyrics cover the period of her life when she started to gain some traction and all the music-industry identities who had ignored her approaches for years suddenly found the time to return her calls.
When Stellar asks Shark if this theme is further explored on her forthcoming sophomore album, she smiles wryly and says, “Could be, yeah. If you want to know what I’ve been through in the past two or three years in the industry and dealing with my life personally, then this is the album to listen to. I haven’t filtered much. I’m probably more honest on this one … if you can get there.”
Still, she admits to some pre-release jitters. “I’ve got the same nerves about certain people hearing it. They all come from a real situation that has happened to me quite recently. So maybe I’ll be even more worried. But in regard to good songs and strong songwriting, I think it’s better than Love Monster. Is it weird to just be so proud of it?”
As adept as she is at taking her real-life heartbreaks and disappointments, and turning them into stories told through raw and edgy alt-pop songs, it is sometimes to her detriment. She admits, “Last time, I accidentally went a little too hard and forgot that the songs had real-life characters. I will never be able to be more sorry for that.”
Despite this realisation, this Shark still has bite.
“I’ve learnt to be more respectful. I’m lucky I’m able to get it off of my chest, but I kind of forget that the other people have to hear it and they don’t have the space to reply. I guess, being a songwriter, when you’re a good person – which I think that I am – I don’t want to publicly bash anyone. And then if I do, it’s like, ‘Well, you shouldn’t have pissed me off.’”
And it is precisely that gritty songwriting that catches those A-listers’ attention. After his recent Australian tour, Sir Elton John invited Shark to appear on his popular Apple Music Rocket Hour podcast.
“Firstly, the fact that he even knows my name is incredible,” Shark marvels. “But he really makes it his job to know who’s coming up in the industry. That was a big moment for me.”
John isn’t the only British superstar Shark has spent time with in the past year. She and husband Shane Billings found themselves having a steak dinner with Ed Sheeran and his wife Cherry at their home, another introduction that came courtesy of Crowe.
Shark explains, “Russell was championing everything, and he really loved the album, so he decided to send it to Ed. Next thing, he tells me, ‘Amy, Ed loves it. He wants to do a session with you next time you’re in England.’ I heard from Ed within 48 hours and then we organised a time.
Ed knows I’m from an alternative background and I think he was kind of testing me when he asked, ‘Are you ready to do a big song?’ And I said, ‘Ed, I wouldn’t be here if I just wanted to stay in that space. It’s in my DNA to keep on wanting to do more, and I wouldn’t have signed with a major label if I didn’t want to take on the world.’”
‘Everybody Rise’ by Amy Shark is available to buy, stream and download now.