Why singer Amy Shark almost said no to Australian Idol gig
Amy Shark had to overcome years of rejection, knock-backs and ‘nos’ to rise to the top of the music world. That’s one reason she’s back as a judge on Australian Idol – a gig she almost said no to.
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Singer Amy Shark almost didn’t return to Australian Idol as a judge this year. She didn’t want to be “that person”, the one that shoots down the dreams of wide-eyed hopefuls like she was 15 years ago.
It’s a big responsibility, determining someone’s future.
But she’s glad she signed up for another go, because this year’s talent on Seven’s Idol is the best Aussie audiences have seen since the show produced the likes of Guy Sebastian 21 years ago or Jessica Mauboy in 2006 – and like fellow judges Kyle Sandilands and Marcia Hines – Shark is invested.
“I think I’ve got a grip of it a lot better this season – because I really struggled that first year, to the point where I was like, ‘I don’t think I can do this again’,” Shark says.
“Because I don’t know how to critique, and I’m too scared to damage anyone, because I was so damaged for so many years, and still probably am – just from feeling so worthless and feeling very invisible.
“I just never wanted to be a part in someone’s story that they look back and go, ‘Amy said no’, or ‘Amy said this’ – so it was really difficult.’’
What changed Shark’s mind was a view that hearing ‘no’, and rejection, is part of the journey – as long as it’s done constructively.
“I think I’ve got a grip on how to be the person that – I might say no, but I’m always going to try and give you a takeaway that helped me,’’ she says.
“Because those ‘nos’ are crucial.
“I didn’t think it when it was happening … I was angry and bitter and everything, but when you look back, you’re like, ‘Wow, if I didn’t have all those knock-backs, I just wouldn’t have the thick skin that I have now – not everyone likes you and I get torn apart online and I get all this shit … but it just really doesn’t bother me.
“It does not affect me at all, and I think that’s because I just have been through so much.
“So when I just try and mentally tell myself that this contest, although it’s a really shitty day for them, if they want it bad enough, as much as I did, they’ll work for it, and they won’t let this stop them.”
For Shark, who was born Amy Cushway, the person who got her through the difficult times was husband and New Zealand native Shane Billings. They met 17 years ago on the Gold Coast, where they both lived. He knew she was talented as a songwriter and musician. He saw it, when even she didn’t. And, she reasons – that’s all you need.
That one person.
“I’m pretty lucky that I found someone that cared as much as I did – maybe even more at some stages,” the 37-year-old laughs.
“But you can’t have everything.
“I didn’t have parents that pushed me into music, I didn’t have much support – I didn’t even have heaps of friends that came to shows – I had to beg them and all of them would pull out and not be there.
“It was really difficult to get a fan base starting from nothing.
“So Shane was it.
“And I love that because I tell so many people who feel like they have no one in their corner – I’m like, ‘Hey, man, just find one. Just find a bestie, just one person that believes in you so you can lean on them as a crutch when times get really tough.’’’
Shark says it was Billings that kept her going when she was ready to give up.
“The amount of times Shane said to me, ‘You gotta keep writing’ … and I was like, ‘I’m done. I’m sick of it. I’m really sick of pushing my songs on people who don’t want to hear them,’’’ she says.
“And the reason I kept going was purely just because I love writing songs, and I would do it anyway – and he was the one that just kept sending them to people and not giving up.
“I wouldn’t be here without him and he wouldn’t be here without me.
“It’s been a struggle, it’s been no bed of roses, that’s for sure, but we balance each other out, so it’s nice.”
It’s that work ethic, that drive to keep creating music, that saw Shark release new song Beautiful Eyes in January.
She wrote it back in 2022 when she was on the road for a 42-stop regional tour – and it just came out, as all the best ones do. Don’t tell anyone, but it’s definitely her favourite song yet.
“At the time I wrote it, I was on a really big regional tour and it was kind of defeating me at the time,” she explains.
“And I hadn’t written anything that I was really excited about … and for that song in particular, a lot of my songs tell a story from start to finish, whereas that one I kind of blacked out and just let it happen, which is a lot of the time, when some of my best songs happen.
“You know, when you’re not really trying. It just felt really effortless.
“And songs are hard – you only get those lightning strike moments every now and then … and I haven’t really got a song that really belts as hard as this one – in the best possible way.
“It’s not like it’s hard to reach the notes or anything, it’s just very anthemic, and really soars … so to fall into it just felt really nice, and I’ve just been excited to release it ever since I wrote it, so it feels good to have it out and sing it live.
“And I can’t wait to play more shows and have it in the set.”
Fans will be happy to know a tour is in the works too. At the end of the year, she’s hopeful – and there will be more new work to add to her setlist.
“It hasn’t been released yet, but towards the end of the year, 100 per cent,” she says of upcoming tour dates.
“I’ve always been a bit ‘ahead’ – and I’m not saying that to sound like a dick or anything – but I’m always writing, so I’ve always got songs up my sleeve.
“My label’s never going to tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘Hey, where’s the album?’ – I’ve always got an album’s worth of songs.
“But in regards to the stories of them, I told myself early on that if I start editing my songs too much, then I’m gonna lose what people were attracted to at the start.
“Because I think that’s what people like hearing, people like the vulnerability and the storytelling – I even figure myself out through the songs.’’
Just like not giving up on Idol, Shark never gave up on herself either, and her years of trying to find her place in the world led her to the very best in the business.
Her seven times Platinum single Adore put her on the map in 2016, and two years later her debut number one album Love Monster saw her take home four ARIA Awards. It went on to become the highest selling album by an Australian artist that year. Two years after that, her Platinum accredited single Everybody Rise spent 12 weeks in the top 10 Australian airplay chart.
She’s opened for Coldplay. She’s written songs with Ed Sheeran and blink 182’s Travis Barker, as well as our own adopted Aussie Grammy Award winner, Keith Urban.
She picked up a Logie for Idol last year and, today, has had close to one billion combined global streams. Yes. That’s billion, with a ‘b’ – and the gravity of that isn’t lost on her.
“I think about it all the time – like, all the time,” she says of where her life is now.
“It’s usually on planes for some reason.
“Every time I’m on a plane, I look out the window – and it’s probably a time that I don’t have Wi-Fi or anything and just have my own thoughts … and I just think ‘Wow’.
“And I’ll take myself back to when I was with Ed and just little things that I learned and I try and implement into my routine or my life, like how hard a worker he is.
“And like Chris and the guys from Coldplay – just the effort they put into their shows, and I just cherry pick all these beautiful things that I’ve found in these epic humans that I’ve been able to hang out with, and just learn from them. So it’s been incredible.’’
“I often think about my old life and … I feel like I’m 1000 years old.
“I feel like I’ve had so many lifetimes – it’s really crazy.”
So what music will drop next, and when? Well that’s up for discussion. But she finally feels free to do it her way.
“We’re pivoting all the time, but I’ve got a team that really trusts me and believes in me, so I feel free all the time,” she explains.
“And I think that’s why they get the best out of me – because I always feel like I’m in control, and I’m always proud of the art that I put out.
“And I’m allowed to do what I want now, because I feel like I did the hard time.
“So this next round of music is – every artist says it, but it’s definitely another step up of what I thought I was capable of – and always gonna be in the same ‘Amy vein’ – I’m not gonna just turn into a DJ,” she laughs.
“So it’s still very ‘me’ – there’s a lot of guitaring and a lot of acoustic stuff.
“I just feel like I get better at songwriting, better at expressing the feeling and the story a bit better in melody, and also in production as well.
“I feel like I’m getting better at making the music feel the pain, or feel the happiness or feel the love, as much as the words.”
The long time Gold Coast girl now calls Sydney home – a good thing, she assures me – most of the time.
“It feels really good, but every now and then I’ll have days where I’m like, ‘Wow, I really wish I could just go down to the beach’ – because I used to live so close to the beach on the Gold Coast,” she says.
“And people keep telling me that Sydney beaches are awesome, but when you’ve lived on the Gold Coast, it’s really hard to get your head around that … but there are still great beaches here,” she back-pedals.
“I’ve just got to get out a bit more. I’m a bit of a city rat at the moment. Idol takes up a lot of time and they’re long days, but they’re so fun.
“And Kyle and Marcia are the best people.”
So what made her come back for another season? Well it fitted nicely in her calendar, for one. And she had more left to do.
“By the end of it, I was really getting the hang of it,” she says.
“And there’s such a good team there, and the producers – I’ve never felt like I was made to say things that I don’t want to say – it’s all very non scripted.
“It’s really up to you, which was scary at the start, but then in the end, I was like well, I’m just gonna lean into what I would normally say – who I am and what I know.
“I’m not going to pretend. I’m not going to start talking about things that I don’t know, I’m just gonna be me.
“So the second that clicked, it just felt right.”
She says with the departure of Meghan Trainor and Harry Connick Jr, having just three judges – and all Aussies – changed the dynamic on set too.
“As much as I miss Meghan because she used to crack me up and so did Harry – I learned so much from both of them – but just having three judges now, it feels like there’s a little more room up there just to really think about what (you want to say),” she says.
“Because I don’t just want to throw out words.
“I want to give these contestants something – and something they can learn from or take away and make something better.
“I also think the way this format is this year, it’s very contestant focused, which is important because people are getting to know them, so they’re building fan bases, which is what the show is all about.
“I’d way rather see a contestant on a bus or a billboard than my head, or Kyle’s head, or Marcia’s – we’ve kind of had all that.
“As much as I love a billboard, what the show is about, is breaking artists.
“And I see kids really attaching themselves to the show, so it feels really youthful and exciting again, so I’m just super proud of it this season.”
Between Idol and creating music though, she’s just like us. Give her a swim in the ocean, a good series and a good book and she’s happy.
“I like to watch Binge – I watch a lot of crime, listen to a lot of podcasts – I’m obsessed with Colleen Hoover so I read a lot of her books … and then I’m addicted to realestate.com so that’s about it,” she laughs.
“And red wine and spaghetti.”
But now, her goal is the same for Idol hopefuls as it was for her – that moment you never forget.
“At the end of all this, someone is going to be able to do exactly what I remember doing – and that’s walking into my old job and being like, ‘Hey, I have to resign because I just signed a record deal.’
“You can’t even explain that feeling – it doesn’t even feel real.”
Beautiful Eyes is out now.
The Australian Idol Top 6 will perform on Sunday at 7pm with live results on Monday at 7.30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus, before the season’s grand finale on March 25.
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