Jasmine Rae rediscovers her strength after painful lawsuit

The country singer-songwriter returns with fifth album Lion Side, a set of songs about finding her strength.

‘I copped hate for things I didn’t do, and it affected me in a way that I wasn’t expecting,’ says country music singer-songwriter Jasmine Rae. Picture: John Feder

While many of us found the COVID-19 lockdown a shock to the system, country singer-songwriter Jasmine Rae was already well-versed in self-isolation, having spent most of the past two years out of the public eye after scrutiny surrounding a legal action brought by two of her collaborators.

In January 2018, songwriters Sean Carey and Beau Golden brought a copyright lawsuit seeking $US5m from several parties, including British pop star Ed Sheeran.

The Australian pair alleged the overseas writers had plagiarised Rae’s 2015 single, When I Found You, with the release of The Rest of Our Life, the title track to the 2017 collaborative album by married US country music stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

“People who were close to me were saying, ‘You should definitely be in the lawsuit. You’re an idiot, you’ve got to make millions, you’re crazy!’ ” said Rae, 32. “But I chose not to because I didn’t want to sue people who weren’t involved in the songwriting. I didn’t think it was right.”

Rae’s decision not to join the legal action — which was ultimately settled out of court near the end of 2018 — was overlooked by online detractors who assumed that because she was the face of the song, she was also suing Sheeran, McGraw and Hill.

“I’ve copped hate before for things I have done,” said Rae. “You don’t like my music? Sure, hate on it — that’s my music, and I put that out there. But I copped hate for things I didn’t do, and it affected me in a way that I wasn’t expecting.

“I kind of stopped trusting everyone, and stopped wanting to write with people, because it was a co-write that made this whole situation occur.”

On Friday, Sydney-based Rae will release her fifth album, Lion Side, which features an uplifting single inspired by the painful events of recent years. “I don’t do it for the haters / It’s the love that does it for me,” she sings in the chorus of a song that acts as a reminder to focus on her fans rather than those who wish her ill.

Rae will perform for the first time since January at an intimate piano duo show in Brisbane on Saturday, followed by Sydney on Sunday and Tamworth next week. Despite the seven-month gap between gigs, she returns to the stage armed with a set of new songs centred on finding — and keeping — her strength.