Country music star Kate Cook's tumultuous upbringing

Australia has fondly remembered country music star and former Australian Idol finalist, Kate Cook, who was found dead yesterday at age 36.

Australian Idol finalist and country music star Kate Cook was found dead at age 36. Picture: Christopher Chan GLA070412NITE

AUSTRALIA has fondly remembered country music star and former Australian Idol finalist, Kate Cook, who was found dead yesterday at age 36.

The singer whose body was discovered near her home in Lowood, was best known for making it to the top six in the long-running series, before being eliminated.

Prior to Australian Idol Cook grew up on a property surrounded by music.

"Mum always played the guitar and when I was 10-years old she taught me a couple of chords," she told the Queensland Times in 2013.

"After that I was always taking the guitar out to the paddock to play, which later developed into a passion for songwriting."

Kate Cook sings at The Constellations Project calendar launch in 2011, just after her Australian Idol stint. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Cook auditioned for Australian Idol in 2009 with a song entitled "Make You Stay" which was about her mother, who took her own life when Cook was a teenager.

"Two days before I turned 17 my younger sister and I found her. She committed suicide, so it was pretty tough," she told judges.

"I've had a long road to find myself after being lost for a long time. So I sort found myself through strength and music."

Kate said her life-changing run on Idol helped her realise that she could have a career in music.

"To be honest, when I went to audition for the show, I didn't think I would get through the first round," she said.

"It was such a shock when I did. All of a sudden I was thrust into this new life and going on an amazing adventure with music.

"When I had my first chance to perform in front of a television audience, I knew in that moment that this was where I was supposed to be."

One of five children, Kate and her siblings grew up performing for their parents on their 2ha property in Pine Mountain, later moving to Lowood.

Developing a love of the land, Kate learned to play the guitar from her mother Jennifer and said she had many fond memories of her family gathered around the campfire singing country songs.

Cook went on to release "Make You Stay" independently in 2010 after the show, making it to airwaves in April.

During her time on the show Cook won fans with a slew of memorable performances, which included The Dixie Chicks song "Landslide".

After leaving Idol, Cook toured regional Australia, but told the Queensland Times that it had been difficult to maintain industry momentum after she left the show.

She toured for two years, appearing at country music festivals like Tamworth and the Gympie Muster and working with stars like Troy Cassar-Daley and Beccy Cole.

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But it took its toll on Cook and she decided to take a break from it all in 2013.

She joined younger sister Sam in Rockhampton, working on hydraulics as a trades assistant for CAT trucks and vehicles.

It was there - working with other women in an industry that has long been stigmatised as male-driven - she rediscovered the drive to write and record a new single, "Give the Girl a Spanner".

"It made me realise that there are so many anthems for hard-working men out there; the chicks need one, too," she said.

Having done it all as a former fruit picker, abattoir worker and Outback sheep and cattle station roustabout, Cook's life experience provided all the inspiration she needed to be a prolific country songwriter.

"I'm extremely humbled by what Idol did for me and overwhelmed with how the country music industry has opened its arms to me," she said in 2013.

Tributes have poured in from the public, family and friends for the singer, including former Idol contestants and even Casey Barnes.

Originally published as Country music star Kate Cook's tumultuous upbringing