Katie Underwood
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Katie Ashley Underwood (born 23 December 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter and meditation teacher. She is best known for being a member of Bardot, winners of the first Australian series of Popstars in 2000.
Since departing the group in 2001, her solo career has included numerous vocal appearances on dance tracks such as the Disco Montego Top 10 single "Beautiful",[1] and dance act T-Funk single "Be Together".
Career
1999–2001: Early career and Bardot
In February 1999 in London, Underwood recorded a dance track with UK trance act Terra Ferma, releasing her first single "Don't Be Afraid" through Platipus Records in the UK. She also recorded three more tracks which were included on the Terra Ferma album, released in early 2000. After returning from the UK to Melbourne, Underwood began working with singer/songwriter Charlie Rooke (formerly of The Sharp) and they formed a jazz-swing band called Corduroy Lounge.
In October 1999, Underwood auditioned for the TV show Popstars, making it through to the final five. As a result, she was selected to join the girl group Bardot.[1] The group achieved instant success with the number one hit "Poison" and number one debut album, headlined its own national tour and performed at the 2000 ARIA Awards in which it was nominated for three awards. Underwood travelled to New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and the UK, promoting with Bardot.
In early 2001, Underwood decided to leave the group in pursuit of a role in the Harry M. Miller's production of Hair.[1] Unfortunately for Underwood, the production fell through due to financial problems. Underwood later spoke of the deep depression she fell into as a result of what most people thought was a foolish career decision, despite the fact that Bardot's commercial success after her departure was muted. She subsequently turned the tables and made a successful comeback, earning respect from entertainment critics for her resilience.
2002–2010: Collaborations and solo releases
Focusing on her passion for the clubbing scene and dance music, Underwood returned to the spotlight in May 2002, collaborating with Australian dance duo Disco Montego, resulting in the top 10 ARIA hit "Beautiful" and further singles, "Magic" and "Good Times". During that same year, she starred in the reality television series Undercover Angels, which aimed to give a helping hand to people in need.
She released her first solo single "Danger" in September 2003 which peaked at number 33 on the singles chart and took a two-year break in which no music was released.
In June 2006, Underwood re-emerged with dance act T-Funk on the track "Be Together", topping the ARIA Club charts for five consecutive weeks. It peaked at number 31 on the mainstream singles chart. The music video of this track directed by Bangladeshi born Australian director Zayed Rizwan AKA Silk was nominated in the best music video category in Aria Awards 2007. In 2007, Underwood starred in a musical called Dark Angels, based on the story of a bisexual burlesque star.[2][3]
In 2009, Underwood toured in a new musical, David Tydd's Valentino (about Rudolph Valentino), with fellow Bardot member Tiffani Wood and Normie Rowe.[4]
In November 2009, Underwood self-released her debut studio album called Ain't Nobody's Baby.[5]
During the 2010s, Underwood stepped out of the public spotlight and only made rare musical appearances in Melbourne.[1] During this period she received multiple invites to appear as a contestant on The Voice; to humour the producers Underwood eventually accepted the invite but before reaching the blind auditions she refused to sign the contract that would have put her on the show.[1]
During this decade, she established her own meditation business and released several meditative albums.
2020–present: Ka'bel
In April 2020, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the release of their debut single "Poison", Underwood and Bardot bandmates Tiffani Wood and Belinda Chapple reunited remotely online to perform the song.[6] In September 2021, it was announced that Underwood and Chapple would professionally reunite as a duo under the name Ka'Bel, with their debut single "Broken Hearted" released on 15 October 2021.[7]
In 2023, Underwood released two solo singles, "Feels So Good" and a re-recording of her 2003 Disco Montego collaboration, "Beautiful".
Personal life
Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Underwood sang in a girls choir, and later studied Maths and Computer Science at University of Adelaide. After three years at university she dropped out and moved to Melbourne.
In June 2007, The Sydney Morning Herald printed an interview with Underwood about her bisexuality.[2]
In July 2011, Underwood gave birth to twin daughters. She currently lives in Melbourne and is a meditation teacher and remedial massage therapist.[1][8]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Ain't Nobody's Baby |
|
| Madrigal |
|
| Journey to Mantra |
|
| Awaken |
|
| Elevate |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Mantra Dreaming |
|
| Mantra Rising |
|
Singles
| Single | Year | AUS peak position [9] |
Certification | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As lead artist | ||||
| "Danger" | 2003 | 33 | Non-album single | |
| "Awaken" (featuring Tikal De Meru) | 2019 | — | Awaken | |
| "Feels So Good" | 2023 | — | Non-album single | |
| "Beautiful 2023"[2] | — | |||
| As featured artist | ||||
| "Don't Be Afraid" (Terra Ferma featuring Katie Ashley)[3] | 1999 | — | The Adventures of... | |
| "Beautiful" (Disco Montego featuring Katie Underwood) | 2002 | 9 | Disco Montego | |
| "Magic" (Disco Montego featuring Katie Underwood) | 22 | |||
| "Good Times" (Disco Montego featuring Selwyn, Katie Underwood, Peta Morris and Jeremy Gregory) | 52 | Non-album singles | ||
| "Be Together" (T-Funk featuring Katie Underwood) | 2006 | 31 | ||
| "Element" (Southlight featuring Katie Underwood) | 2014 | — | ||
| "...Baby One More Time" (Greg Gould and Katie Underwood) | 2022 | — | 1998 | |
| As part of a group | ||||
| "Poison" (with Bardot) | 2000 | 1 |
|
Bardot |
| "I Should've Never Let You Go" (with Bardot) | 14 |
| ||
| "These Days (with Bardot) | 19 |
| ||
| "Twelve Days of Christmas" (with Dreamtime Christmas All-Stars) | 2004 | 26 | Non-album singles | |
| "Broken Hearted" (with Ka'Bel)[4] | 2021 | — | ||
| "Heartstrings" (with Ka'Bel) | 2022 | — | ||
| "Follow" (with Ka'Bel) | 2023 | — | ||
| "One In a Million" (with Ka'Bel) | 2024 | — | ||
Other appearances
| Song | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Halfway" (with Evoletah) | 2013 | We Ache For the Moon |
| "Time" (with Evoletah) | ||
| "Guillotine" (with Evoletah) | ||
| "Black & Blue" (with Evoletah) |
Notes
- 1.<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^ Underwood released a re-recorded solo version of "Beautiful" to mark its 20 year anniversary.
- 2.<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^ Underwood was credited as Katie Ashley for "Don't Be Afraid".
- 3.<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^ Ka'Bel is a collaboration between Underwood and Belinda Chapple.
References
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- ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Katie casually comes out – The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 June 2007
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- ↑ 5 January 2009 Bardot's Tiffani and Katie unite The Daily Telegraph
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External links
- Official Site
- Template:Trim/ Katie Underwood at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Empire Records
- Studio 52
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- Pages with script errors
- 1975 births
- Living people
- APRA Award winners
- Australian dance musicians
- Australian women singer-songwriters
- Bardot (Australian band) members
- Australian bisexual women
- Australian bisexual musicians
- Bisexual singers
- Bisexual songwriters
- Bisexual women musicians
- Australian LGBTQ singers
- Australian LGBTQ songwriters
- Musicians from Adelaide
- Singers from Melbourne
- LGBTQ people from South Australia
- 21st-century Australian women singers
- 20th-century Australian LGBTQ people
- 21st-century Australian LGBTQ people
- 21st-century Australian singer-songwriters
- LGBTQ women singers