Jessica Mauboy: Free Fallin’

Coinciding with her return to the small screen, it’s been smooth sailing for Jessica Mauboy on commercial radio – but she’s tackling some new challenges.

Jessica Mauboy has always dreamed of releasing a country record. With the sounds of Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton and Tim McGraw swelling through her house from a young age, that dream is growing stronger and stronger after years at the forefront of the pop world.

“I grew up as into a lot of country music thanks to both my parents, my Mum especially and her family are all country music lovers,” Mauboy says. “She met Slim Dusty when she was ten years old and sat on his lap and that kind of really impacted her life and her connection with music. Hearing that story as a little girl [has] impacted my life and has allowed me to do what I’m doing.”

Mauboy confirms that developments are already under way on the project. “I am starting to work on it now, but you know, it’s definitely a dream of mine. I definitely want to try and make it happen collaboratively.”

Australia has become well accustomed to hearing Mauboy on our airwaves. 2008 debut single ‘Running Back’ ft. Flo Rida marked the beginning of a large collection of singles to gain the big tick from commercial, peaking at #4 on the TMN Hot 100. Since then, Mauboy’s had eight Top 5s on the chart – equal third-most of any Australian artist.

Recently, her success has extended to the small screen with The Secret Daughter, an Australian television drama series starring Mauboy in the lead. The soundtrack for the first season, released in late 2016, became Mauboy’s first individual #1 ARIA album, and made her the first Australian Indigenous artist to debut at the top of the chart.

Having already experienced a taste of TV/music crossover on Australian Idol, she returns to the scene finding the unification of music and acting worlds a real kickstarter for her creativity, spawning the radio-slaying track ‘Fallin’’ and brand new single ‘Then I Met You’.

“I’ve always been a big dreamer and the visual aspect has always come first,” she tells TMN. “That’s what’s really created the story so I think within music, that’s when I see colours or I hear different sounds. A lot of visuals really kind of turn up and allow me to write music, so that’s kind of where it all begins.

“Radio play is just a bonus!”

But from a broader perspective, Mauboy says getting Australian music played on local radio is just as important for the community as it is for the artist.

“When you have such a small industry in a country I think there’s nothing greater than putting your own talent and your own mob into your community so that they know that their own are trying and making it.”

“It isn’t easy when you’re coming up against major acts,” she continues. “Whether it’s radio or TV, I think there should be the rule of having all Australians come first, before any artists that are coming from overseas.”

Looking at the top half of the latest TMN Hot 100, the problem becomes more and more clear. Mauboy is one of only four Australian lead artists taking up space in the Top 50, alongside Vance Joy, Guy Sebastian and Morgan Evans – it’s obvious Australian music just isn’t getting the love from radio that it deserves.

Mauboy is doing what she can to get more local artists in the limelight, whether that’s on the radio or on her TV show. She teamed up with the late Dr G Yunupingu on The Secret Daughter Season 2 soundtrack with a heartwarming rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’, and it’s only the start of her plans to introduce more Australian and particularly Indigenous artists into the fray.

“I do love celebrating our music, for sure,“ Mauboy says. “I’d love to really expand and evolve the show and get more Indigenous artists … I definitely want to incorporate and collaborate a lot more if there’s an opportunity the next time.”

“Briggs is definitely someone I look up to, I think he’s just a great man. His personality is so bright and celebrated so I’d love to work with him. I love and enjoy listening to Dan Sultan, we’ve definitely crossed paths before during our film Bran Nu Dae, so I’d love to get him back on board and reconnect with him.”

“Christine Anu played a major part in my life growing up and I really identify with her and her style of music. I’d love to reconnect with her as well.”