Katie Underwood | |
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Background information | |
Born | Adelaide, South Australia | 23 December 1975
Genres |
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Occupations |
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Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 1999–present |
Formerly of | Bardot |
Katie 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".
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, she 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 No. 1 hit "Poison" and its No. 1 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, she 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.
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 its follow-up "Magic". She released her first solo single "Danger" in September 2003 which peaked at No. 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 No. 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 November 2009, Underwood self-released her debut studio album called Ain't Nobody's Baby. [2]
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]
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. [3] 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. [4]
In 2002, Underwood appeared on the series Undercover Angels , a reality TV show which aimed to give a helping hand to people in need.
In 2007, Underwood confirmed her plans to star in a new musical called Dark Angels, based on the story of a bisexual burlesque star, and a lesbian film called Submerge. She said she would have no problem with the leading roles because of her own lesbian experimentation. [5] Dark Angels played in Melbourne during 2007. [6] Submerge, directed by Sophie O'Connor, was due to be shot in January 2009. [7]
In 2009, Underwood toured in a new musical, David Tydd's Valentino (about Rudolph Valentino), with fellow Bardot member Tiffani Wood and Normie Rowe. [8]
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. [5]
In July 2011, Underwood gave birth to twin daughters. She currently lives in Melbourne and is a meditation teacher and remedial massage therapist. [1] [9]
Title | Album details |
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Ain't Nobody's Baby |
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Madrigal |
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Journey to Mantra |
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Awaken |
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Elevate |
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Title | Album details |
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Mantra Dreaming |
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Mantra Rising |
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Single | Year | AUS peak position [10] | Certification | Album |
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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" | — | |||
As featured artist | ||||
"Don't Be Afraid" (Terra Ferma featuring Katie Ashley) | 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 |
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"Twelve Days of Christmas" (with Dreamtime Christmas All-Stars) | 2004 | 26 | Non-album singles | |
"Broken Hearted" (with Ka'Bel) | 2021 | — | ||
"Heartstrings" (with Ka'Bel) | 2022 | — | ||
"Follow" (with Ka'Bel) | 2023 | — | ||
"One In a Million" (with Ka'Bel) | 2024 | — |
Song | Year | Album |
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"Halfway" (with Evoletah) | 2013 | We Ache For the Moon |
"Time" (with Evoletah) | ||
"Guillotine" (with Evoletah) | ||
"Black & Blue" (with Evoletah) | ||
Tiffany "Tiffani" Jane Wood is an Australian singer and songwriter, and former member of female pop group Bardot.
Bardot was an Australian pop girl group which formed in 1999, consisting of Belinda Chapple, Sophie Monk, Sally Polihronas, Katie Underwood and Tiffani Wood. The group formed on the Australian reality television series Popstars, which attracted high ratings and significant media exposure. This resulted in the instant success of Bardot's debut single "Poison" and debut album Bardot (2000), both which entered the Australian and New Zealand charts at number 1.
Popstars Live was an Australian music talent show television program similar to Australian Idol that aired on the Seven Network in early 2004. It was an evolution of the original Popstars TV show which aired between 2000 and 2002 on Seven. The show spawned a single and album that made the ARIA charts in April that year.
Scandal'us were the winners of the Australian Popstars 2 in 2001. They won an ARIA chart award for their No. 1 debut single "Me, Myself & I". Their second and final single, "Make Me Crazy", only reached No. 30. Their debut album, Startin' Somethin', debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The group disbanded in 2002.
Bardot is the debut studio album by Australian pop group Bardot, released by Warner Music Australia on May 1 2000.
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Disco Montego was an Australian R&B and dance music trio. The Dowlut brothers Dennis and Darren, together with Tony Vass formed Kaylan in Melbourne in 1995. They released an R&B album No Commandments in 2000, which reached No. 23 in Australia and spawned three top 50 singles. In May 2001, they became the studio based group Disco Montego, and released further singles followed by Disco Montego in September 2002. Their production work included remixing Mariah Carey's "Boy " in 2004.
Emily Williams is a New Zealand-born Australian singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in 2005 on the third season of Australian Idol and became the runner-up of the competition. After Idol, Williams signed with Sony BMG Australia and enjoyed commercial success as a member of the Australian girl group Young Divas. The group released two top-ten albums, Young Divas (2006) and New Attitude (2007), and achieved three top-fifteen singles, including the hugely successful "This Time I Know It's for Real". After the Young Divas disbanded in 2008 and Williams' contract with Sony BMG ended, she began releasing her solo music independently. Williams' debut solo single "Spellbound" was released in 2010, followed by the release of her debut solo album Uncovered in 2012.
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"Poison" is a pop song by Australian female group Bardot and was the first single released from their self-titled debut album (2000). It was written by Darryl Sims and Michael Szumowski, who also produced the track. The single attracted much attention due to its inclusion on the high-rating Popstars program.
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Belinda Barbara Chapple is an Australian singer, creative director and interior designer. She is a former member of female pop group Bardot.
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"Beautiful" is a song by Australian musical duo Disco Montego featuring guest vocals by Australian singer-songwriter Katie Underwood. It was released as the second single from the duo's second studio album, Disco Montego (2002), on 6 May 2002. The song reached No. 9 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold. "Beautiful" was nominated for "Best Pop Release" at the 2002 ARIA Music Awards but lost to Kylie Minogue's Fever. The Michael Spiccia and Prodigy Films direct video was nominated for Best Video.
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"Magic" is a song by Australian musical duo Disco Montego featuring guest vocals from Australian singer-songwriter Katie Underwood. It was released as the third single from the duo's second album, Disco Montego (2002), on 12 August 2002. The song reached No. 22 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart that September.
"Danger" is the debut single from Australian singer songwriter, Katie Underwood. The single was released in September 2003 and peaked at number 33 in Australia. It was the only solo single Underwood recorded, as the record label collapsed soon after its release. In a 2014 interview, Underwood said; “I kind of gave up for a while after that, I really just lost my mojo and thought "Oh what’s the point, I’m creating my guts out over here. Meanwhile my fate’s in the hands of a guy who can’t decide whether to run a record label or not"".