Amy Shark

Amy Shark recorded and performed as Amy Cushway from 2008 to 2012.[10] She released two extended plays, I Thought of You Out Loud (2008) and Love's Not Anorexic (2009).[11] In November 2009 she described her early material, "As much as I enjoy writing intricate acoustic ballads, there's nothing better than adding thunderous beats and raw energy to your set."[11] She was living in Varsity Lakes in April 2010 and explained how, "[record companies] did not ask for demos now but just asked what her MySpace page was."[12]

Amy Cushway also released two albums Broadway Gossip (2010)[13] and It's a Happy City (2012).[14] By December 2016 she was no longer using Cushway and material under that name had been deleted from her accounts.[14] In 2007 Shark had met Shane Billings, a New Zealand-born Gold Coast resident; they married on 11 May 2013.[1] Her written material is credited to Amy Louise Billings.[10][15] The couple worked with the local rugby league football club, Gold Coast Titans: Shane as a financial manager and Shark as a video editor.[1][2] She left the job in November 2016.[16] Shane was also Shark's talent manager until she signed with Jaddan Comerford of UNIFIED Music Group.[17] The couple are residents of Broadbeach Waters.

By the end of 2013, the artist started using the stage name, Amy Shark, because Jaws was her favourite film.[5] In February 2014 she independently released a five-track extended play, Nelson (later removed).[16][18] She activated a new YouTube account, as Amy Shark Music, in 2014 and issued a single, "Spits on Girls", in July.[19][20]

Performing live, Los Angeles, June 2017

Shark released her next self-produced single, "Golden Fleece", in October 2015, originally under the name, Little Sleeper.[6][9][21] Chris Singh of The AU Review.com observed, "The song, powerful and penetrating in itself, is given visuals both understated and intense as Little Sleeper stands in darkness with her guitar and is progressively drenched in multi-coloured paint."[9] It won Pop Song of the Year at the Queensland Music Awards in 2016, and Shark embarked on a nationwide tour supporting Sydney band, Tigertown in December.[22][23] She received a grant from her local council, which allowed her to work with more popular producers.[24]

In July 2016 she released her next single, "Adore", with co-production by Shark, M-Phazes and Cam Bluff,[25] in addition to a cover version of Silverchair's "Miss You Love" for Triple J's show Like a Version.[26] "Adore" received significant airplay on Triple J, leading to a bidding war between major labels, which was won by Sony Music Australia. Shark signed with Wonderlick/Sony in November 2016.[27] Two of her earlier singles, "Spits on Girls" and "Golden Fleece", were re-released by Wonderlick/Sony in 2016.[28][29] "Adore" was listed at number 2 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2016, behind Flume's "Never Be like You".[30][31][32]

In March 2017 Shark released "Weekends" followed by another EP, Night Thinker (April), which peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In April she won Artist of the Year and Song of the Year at the Gold Coast Music Awards.[33] In November she was named Apple Music's UpNext artist.[34] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2017 Shark was nominated for 6 awards and won both Best Pop Release and Breakthrough Artist for Night Thinker.[35] She performed "Adore" at the ceremony.[35] On 15 November 2017 she appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden singing "Adore", and performed it again on 13 March 2018 on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Shark performing in Los Angeles, February 2018.

In March 2018 Amy Shark provided, "Sink In", for the film soundtrack of Love, Simon.[36] The related album, by various artists, debuted at No. 37 on the Billboard 200.[37] In the following month she performed at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony on the Gold Coast, in a duet with Archie Roach and an indigenous youth choir for a rendition of Roach's "Let Love Rule".[38][39]

On 11 April 2018 Shark premiered a single, "I Said Hi", on Triple J before releasing it the following day.[40] It received unpaid promotion by comedians, and digital radio show hosts, Luke and Lewis using posters, megaphone and a large home-made sign hung up next to the Fox FM Melbourne station logo.[41] That promotion captured the attention of the singer-songwriter who displayed it on her own Instagram account.[42][43] "I Said Hi" peaked at number 6 on the ARIA charts.

Shark's album, Love Monster, was released on 13 July 2018[44] and it debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Charts. The album provided four additional singles, including "Mess Her Up" (March 2019). At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, the artist won four ARIA Music Awards, with Album of the Year, Best Pop Release and Best Female Artist for Love Monster, and Producer of the Year for Dann Hume and M-Phazes work on "I Said Hi".[35] She was the most nominated artist and equal highest winner in that year.[35]

Shark promoted Love Monster during 2019 on her Regional Australia Tour. In December 2019, the Chainsmokers' single, "The Reaper", featured Shark on vocals.[45] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019 she received four more nominations.[35]

For her forthcoming album, Amy Shark worked with Ed Sheeran,[46] Diplo,[47] Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins,[47] and the Chainsmokers. On 16 February 2020 Shark performed at the Fire Fight Australia fund-raising relief concert in Sydney for the effects of the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season.[48] Her live performance of "I Said Hi" appeared on the related album by various artists, Artists Unite for Fire Fight: Concert for National Bushfire Relief (12 March 2020).[49] Thomas Bleach observed that she was, "euphorically telling the world that Australia says hi and thank you for all the support that has been given."[49]

Also in March she announced a management deal with Redlight's Will Botwin for international markets while Shane continued to manage her for the local market.[50] On 23 October 2020 Shark released a single "C'mon" featuring blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.[51] Alexander Pan of Tone Deaf observed, "[it's] a thumping power-pop ballad that's got a considerable amount of weight behind it."[51] Two days later she performed at the 2020 NRL Grand Final at Stadium Australia, Sydney.[52] At the 2020 ARIA Music Awards she won Best Pop Release for a third time for her single, "Everybody Rise" (June 2020) and performed it at the ceremony in November.[53][54] She also performed as part of an all-female ensemble, singing "I Am Woman", in honour of Helen Reddy (1941–2020).[55] At the ceremony she also won the public-voted category, Best Australian Live Act for her Regional Tour during 2019.[53]

On 4 December 2020, Shark announced her next studio album, Cry Forever, was due for release in April 2021 and would be supported by a headline tour in mid-year.[56] She released a new single, "All the Lies About Me", alongside the album's announcement.[56][57] The singer-songwriter supplied a track list to Rolling Stone (Australia)'s Tyler Jenke.[57]

Notes

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987. Amy Shark has won 8 awards from 22 nominations;[35][53] at the 2018 ceremony she received 9 nominations and won 4, heading up the leader board for the year.[35]

The APRA Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) to recognise composing and song writing skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. Shark was nominated for three categories at the 2018 APRA Awards[86] and at the 2019 awards.[87]

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

The MTV Europe Music Awards is an award presented by Viacom International Media Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture.

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.