Kate Alexa
Encyclopedia
Kate Alexa Gudinski is an Australian pop
singer and the daughter of Australian music promoter Michael Gudinski
, AM
. Alexa first hit the spotlight in 2004 when her song "Always There
" was featured in the Channel 7
series Home & Away. The second single was a mediocre success, but after supporting the Backstreet Boys
on their Australia tour, her third single "All I Hear
" shot straight into the ARIA
top ten, and stayed inside the top twenty for eight weeks.
She then went on to sign a record deal
with Liberation Music
(owned by Daddy's company) in mid-2004.
, her debut single, "Always There
", was selected to be the soundtrack to Channel Seven's Home and Away
promos during the 2004 Olympic Games
. This provided valuable promotion for Alexa, with many viewers wanting to know more about the song. This was very rewarding for her as the song was very meaningful to her.
In 2005, Alexa was finishing Year twelve at Melbourne Girls Grammar School
(studying Photography
, English
, Legal Studies and IT) when she released her second single, "My Day Will Come
", a song about seizing the moment, it was another top-thirty hit. Also in 2005 she graduated from high school knowing the importance of finishing school and deciding music is what she wants to do forever.
On her eighteenth birthday in 2006 she released her third single, "All I Hear
". As she celebrated, she found out she had glandular fever and because of this, she was unable to do much promotion for the song. The song peaked at number nine on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and Alexa states "Having a top Ten hit was just an unbelievable feeling. It ment so much to me that people were promoting the song".
On 4 September 2006 Alexa released her fourth single "Somebody Out There
" which was another top-thirty hit for her, and on 23 September 2006, Alexa released her long-awaited debut album Broken & Beautiful and describes the album as a reflection of her life and journey over the past few years and claims that everything on the album is true.
for the television series H2O: Just Add Water
series two, also titled H2O: Just Add Water.
In late 2007, Alexa teamed up with Australian producer Molly Meldrum and American rapper Baby Bash
to record a cover version
of the Womack & Womack song "Teardrops", which was the first single released from Alexa's second studio album in 2008.
In February and March 2008, Kate supported Cyndi Lauper
on her national tour of Australia. Her setlist for the tour confirms three new songs that may appear on her second album, "Nothing Compares", "Cherry Pop", and "Hit by Love".
On 16 April 2008, Broken & Beautiful was released in Japan, with two bonus tracks, "Walk On" and an acoustic version of "Always There". The album did not gather much attention when it was released, and did not chart as a result.
According to a MySpace blog posted by Alexa dated October 2009, her album is now finished and awaiting release. She has bee working with songwriters such as Australian songwriting team DNA Songs
who worked on the H2O: Just Add Water soundtrack with her, as well as new collaborators such as English songwriter Tom Nichols
and Australian singer-songwriter Mandy Kane
.
In January 2010 Alexa was part of the line-up of the "Wet and Wild" festival in Gold Coast
, Queensland
.
The latest news regarding the new album is that the first single "Infatuation" was released on 15 February 2011, with the album due to be released in April 2011. "Infatuation" is also being used in the TV and radio campaign promoting Williams Shoes
.
"Another Now" - featured in H2O: Just Add Water
, Oasis
, Skyhooks and Madonna
. She has also said that she is interested in fashion, designing shoes like ballet flats.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer and the daughter of Australian music promoter Michael Gudinski
Michael Gudinski
Michael Solomon Gudinski, AM is an Australian entrepreneur and businessman currently based in Melbourne who is a leading figure in the Australian music industry...
, AM
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
. Alexa first hit the spotlight in 2004 when her song "Always There
Always There
"Always There" was the first single from Kate Alexa, released in September 2004, when she was sixteen years old. This song is from her debut album, Broken & Beautiful, which was released two years after.-History:...
" was featured in the Channel 7
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
series Home & Away. The second single was a mediocre success, but after supporting the Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...
on their Australia tour, her third single "All I Hear
All I Hear
"All I Hear" was the third single from Kate Alexa, released in March 2006, taken from her debut album, Broken & Beautiful. There are two different versions of the single, one of them is the original and the other is the enhanced limited edition which has two extra tracks...
" shot straight into the ARIA
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
top ten, and stayed inside the top twenty for eight weeks.
Background
Alexa's career began when she was thirteen and wrote her first song, then the following year she started doing demos. "Colors of the Rainbow" was the first song she recorded, stating "It's a really fun song, but I don't think I'm ever going to play it for anyone".She then went on to sign a record deal
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Liberation Music
Liberation Music
Liberation Music is a boutique, independent Australasian record company, started in 1999 by Michael Gudinski and Warren Costello. Its stated aim is to find, nurture and then to develop new talent for a world market while remaining independent in the process...
(owned by Daddy's company) in mid-2004.
Broken & Beautiful (2004-2006)
In 2004, when Alexa was in Year eleven of high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, her debut single, "Always There
Always There
"Always There" was the first single from Kate Alexa, released in September 2004, when she was sixteen years old. This song is from her debut album, Broken & Beautiful, which was released two years after.-History:...
", was selected to be the soundtrack to Channel Seven's Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
promos during the 2004 Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. This provided valuable promotion for Alexa, with many viewers wanting to know more about the song. This was very rewarding for her as the song was very meaningful to her.
In 2005, Alexa was finishing Year twelve at Melbourne Girls Grammar School
Melbourne Girls Grammar School
Melbourne Girls Grammar School , is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in South Yarra, an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
(studying Photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, Legal Studies and IT) when she released her second single, "My Day Will Come
My Day Will Come
"My Day Will Come" is the second single from Kate Alexa, released in September 2005. This single is from her debut album, Broken & Beautiful...
", a song about seizing the moment, it was another top-thirty hit. Also in 2005 she graduated from high school knowing the importance of finishing school and deciding music is what she wants to do forever.
On her eighteenth birthday in 2006 she released her third single, "All I Hear
All I Hear
"All I Hear" was the third single from Kate Alexa, released in March 2006, taken from her debut album, Broken & Beautiful. There are two different versions of the single, one of them is the original and the other is the enhanced limited edition which has two extra tracks...
". As she celebrated, she found out she had glandular fever and because of this, she was unable to do much promotion for the song. The song peaked at number nine on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and Alexa states "Having a top Ten hit was just an unbelievable feeling. It ment so much to me that people were promoting the song".
On 4 September 2006 Alexa released her fourth single "Somebody Out There
Somebody out There
"Somebody Out There" is the fourth and lead single from Australian singer Kate Alexa's debut album Broken & Beautiful. It was released in Australia on 4 September 2006 as a CD single and digital download. It became Alexa's fourth top thirty hit in Australia, and its music video was well-received...
" which was another top-thirty hit for her, and on 23 September 2006, Alexa released her long-awaited debut album Broken & Beautiful and describes the album as a reflection of her life and journey over the past few years and claims that everything on the album is true.
Gap between albums (2007–2008)
In 2007, Alexa wrote and recorded twelve original songs plus the theme song "Ordinary Girl" and two songs from Broken & Beautiful for the soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
for the television series H2O: Just Add Water
H2O: Just Add Water
H2O: Just Add Water, also known as H2O, is an Australian television programme for children, pre-teens and teenagers, that is filmed on location at Sea World and other locations on the Gold Coast...
series two, also titled H2O: Just Add Water.
In late 2007, Alexa teamed up with Australian producer Molly Meldrum and American rapper Baby Bash
Baby Bash
Ronnie Ray Bryant , better known by his stage name Baby Bash , is a Mexican-American rapper. From 1995 to 1998, he performed under the stage name Baby Beesh, as part of the Vallejo, California group Potna Duece, after which he changed the last part of the name to Bash...
to record a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Womack & Womack song "Teardrops", which was the first single released from Alexa's second studio album in 2008.
In February and March 2008, Kate supported Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
on her national tour of Australia. Her setlist for the tour confirms three new songs that may appear on her second album, "Nothing Compares", "Cherry Pop", and "Hit by Love".
On 16 April 2008, Broken & Beautiful was released in Japan, with two bonus tracks, "Walk On" and an acoustic version of "Always There". The album did not gather much attention when it was released, and did not chart as a result.
Second studio album (2009-present)
As of early 2008, Alexa has been working on her second studio album rumored to be titled Addict, supposedly set for release in late 2008 but is now tentatively set for release in early 2011. Her official website states that she has come up with a new sound which she has described as "pop with an edge."According to a MySpace blog posted by Alexa dated October 2009, her album is now finished and awaiting release. She has bee working with songwriters such as Australian songwriting team DNA Songs
DNA Songs
DNA Songs is a songwriting and production company founded by Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci in Australia in 2004 and have worked with a variety of famous Australian artists over the past few years including Guy Sebastian, Amy Pearson, Kate Alexa, Ricki-Lee and many others.-Stan Walker:*"Music...
who worked on the H2O: Just Add Water soundtrack with her, as well as new collaborators such as English songwriter Tom Nichols
Tom Nichols
Tom Nichols is an ASCAP Award–winning Songwriter/producerLiving in London and New York.His first release, Black Coffee, by All Saints went to No.1...
and Australian singer-songwriter Mandy Kane
Mandy Kane
Mandy Kane is an Australian singer, songwriter, producer and remixer. Mandy has been on the Australian music scene for over 9 years.-Early career:...
.
In January 2010 Alexa was part of the line-up of the "Wet and Wild" festival in Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.
The latest news regarding the new album is that the first single "Infatuation" was released on 15 February 2011, with the album due to be released in April 2011. "Infatuation" is also being used in the TV and radio campaign promoting Williams Shoes
Williams
-People:* Williams , a surname English in origin, but popular in Wales, 3rd most common in the United Kingdom* "Williams", the pseudonym of racing driver and SOE agent William Grover-Williams-United States:Communities*Williams, Arizona...
.
Tracks recorded for second album
- "Addict" (Kate Alexa, Tom Nichols, Tim Baxter)
"Another Now" - featured in H2O: Just Add Water
- "Cherry Pop" (Kate Alexa, Anthony Egizii, David MusumeciDNA SongsDNA Songs is a songwriting and production company founded by Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci in Australia in 2004 and have worked with a variety of famous Australian artists over the past few years including Guy Sebastian, Amy Pearson, Kate Alexa, Ricki-Lee and many others.-Stan Walker:*"Music...
) - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Kate Alexa, Tom NicholsTom NicholsTom Nichols is an ASCAP Award–winning Songwriter/producerLiving in London and New York.His first release, Black Coffee, by All Saints went to No.1...
, Georgios Nakas, Klas Wahl) - "Destiny" (Kate Alexa, Tom NicholsTom NicholsTom Nichols is an ASCAP Award–winning Songwriter/producerLiving in London and New York.His first release, Black Coffee, by All Saints went to No.1...
, Georgios Nakas) - "Don't Think So" (Kate Alexa, Tom NicholsTom NicholsTom Nichols is an ASCAP Award–winning Songwriter/producerLiving in London and New York.His first release, Black Coffee, by All Saints went to No.1...
, Georgios Nakas) - "Electro Love" (Kate Alexa, Jay Cabrera, Yshrael Pascual)
- "Face Goodbye" (Kate Alexa, Guy Erez, Emerson Swinford)
- "Fucked Up Me" (Kate Alexa, Patrick Bianco, Michael Beck, Tom Nichols, Steve Young)
- "Hazard" (Kate Alexa, Jay Cabrera)
- "Heartbeat" (Kate Alexa, James Kempster)
- "I Deny" (Kate Alexa, Tom NicholsTom NicholsTom Nichols is an ASCAP Award–winning Songwriter/producerLiving in London and New York.His first release, Black Coffee, by All Saints went to No.1...
, Georgios Nakas) - "I'm Falling" (Kate Alexa, Kara DioGuardiKara DioGuardiKara Elizabeth DioGuardi is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, composer and TV personality. She writes music primarily in the light pop-rock, dance, and R&B genres. DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists; her songs have appeared on more than 159...
, Stuart Critchton) - "Infatuation"
- "Katie" (Kate Alexa, Tom Nichols, Luc Leroy, Yann Mace)
- "LA Sunrise" (Kate Alexa, Luc Leroy, Yann Mace, Tom NicholsTom NicholsTom Nichols is an ASCAP Award–winning Songwriter/producerLiving in London and New York.His first release, Black Coffee, by All Saints went to No.1...
) - "Not Enough" (Kate Alexa, Tom Nichols, Kyösti Salokorpi)
- "Something You Say" (Kate Alexa, Tom Nichols, Steve Young (Guitar))
- "To Be True" (Kate Alexa, Tom NicholsTom NicholsTom Nichols is an ASCAP Award–winning Songwriter/producerLiving in London and New York.His first release, Black Coffee, by All Saints went to No.1...
, Georgios Nakas) - "Turn It Around" (Kate Alexa, Niklas Bergwall, Soervaag Fredriksen, Niclas Kings)
- "Turning Away" (Kate Alexa, Mandy KaneMandy KaneMandy Kane is an Australian singer, songwriter, producer and remixer. Mandy has been on the Australian music scene for over 9 years.-Early career:...
) - "Wake Up Call" (Kate Alexa, Brian Canham)
- "We're Not Ready" (Kate Alexa, Tom Nichols, Steve Young (Guitar))
- "X Rated" (Kate Alexa, Tom Nichols, Steve Young (Guitar))
Personal life
Kate can play the piano and is teaching herself guitar, and she has said that Photography was a hobby of hers while she was in school. She listens to artists such as Alanis MorissetteAlanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, Skyhooks and Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
. She has also said that she is interested in fashion, designing shoes like ballet flats.
Discography
- 2006: Broken & Beautiful
- 2007: H2O: Just Add Water