The Sit Down with Max Jackson
2025 has been a busy year for Australian singer Max Jackson, as the Coonamble NSW native picked up the Female Artist of the Year and Single of the Year (Little More Country) awards at The Golden Guitars, which she co-hosted with James Johnston; played at CMA Fest in Nashville and on the main stage at CMC Rocks; hit over 20 million views on her Little More Country series on TikTok; and released her covers Little More Country EP. Now Max is giving us some 90s nostalgia with the release of 1990 Somethin’. We fought the UK to Australia time difference with an early morning start to catch up with Max to find out more about the single, her year so far and what we can expect next.
Hey there Max, how are you?
I'm really good, thank you mate, how are you?
Brilliant, thank you for taking the time.
Of course, of course, I've been looking forward to chatting today. Sorry for the early riser, I'm so glad to get to talk.
Obviously, first off, congratulations on 1990 Somethin’ being out.
Oh, thank you so much. It's honestly so exciting. From the moment I had the inspiration for this song, I just knew it was going to be so many things to me. I knew it was going to be the ultimate nostalgia to the music that I grew up on and I was a 90s kid myself, when 90s country was just actually country on the radio and that's what inspired me. I just knew that it was going to be such a fun song to write and now I'm about to step on stage to perform it for the very first time next weekend and I think it's going to take it to a whole new level of love of the song. It's just really exciting to have it out and I've been getting lots of messages from people like, yeah, the 90s nostalgia, yeah, the 90s throwback. I think, like everyone in the world, we're looking for that connection to a simpler time. I love that feeling of going back to the 90s in my mind, so it's cool that other people are enjoying it too.
Has it been nice building it from a studio track into a live performance one?
Performing live is just always my most favourite thing to do. Just building up the live show and imagining the song here and what we're going to do with it live. I'm actually really excited because we are doing like a full 90s moment in the middle where we throw back to some songs I personally loved growing up. I always have the live show in mind regardless when I'm making the music. That's like my number one. I basically just want to make an album's worth of songs that are all able to be played at the show. It's like here is my set list for the next year! That's always my goal, but this one's been particularly fun. I actually came up with the idea for the song when I was standing side stage watching Zach Top at our CMC Rocks Festival here in Australia. I snuck around backstage and I ended up on the side of the stage and I was really excited because I got to experience watching him for the very first time, but like from the side of the stage and feeling in amongst the energy of him being on stage, but also the coolest thing ever was being able to see the crowd. The reason why I got the inspiration for the song is that it felt like people put their phones away for a minute and were all singing along and I was looking out at the crowd and I was like this actually feels like what I imagine it would have felt like to go and see Brooks and Dunn or somebody like that in the 90s when all of that boom was happening. Right now, in country music across the world we're seeing this huge boom and a few people have even said to me that right now sort of feels like the 90s again. It was all of these different inspirations and the energy of that moment definitely bottled up into the song.
You can admit you did the Wayne's World thing, didn't you, where you're like I've got an All-Access Pass, I'm coming through, that's the 90s way to do it!
I love Wayne's World! Sometimes when I put my trucker hat on in the morning, I think do I look too Wayne today or do I look okay? Honestly, I love it.
The track has had some amazing playlist ads in the past week for you and a couple of cover photos too. Do you kind of know the playlist ads are coming or is it you're checking in the numbers and then you're seeing them get out of there?
Honestly, so that's my first ever Fresh Country cover on Spotify and that was just so exciting. I think every artist has got to be lying if they don't say that they would love to have their music on the biggest playlist that everybody tunes into every week to hear new music. To be able to literally open my phone and see my face on the top of the playlist was it was a huge surprise! I had no idea it was happening, and I actually just had my hands on the text trying to message my team and then I was like, hang on, it's 5.30 in the morning. You probably should not message them right now! The funny thing was that I got a message from one of my team members at like 6 a.m. and I wrote straight back saying, I've been waiting this whole half an hour to text you, and you text me! It was honestly just so cool. I mean like I think the equivalent of being on the cover of a playlist now is sort of like being on the cover of a magazine in the 90s. It's pretty cool, yeah, pretty cool to go on. Yesterday I went on to, it was actually a random, but I went on to Noah Cyrus' Spotify and down the bottom of her page I scrolled down and it was my face because one of her songs is on the Fresh Country playlist too. I was like, wow, I'm on Noah Cyrus' page. That's pretty cool.
That's the quick take a screenshot moment there!
Yes, definitely all the screenshots were taken. I'm just incredibly proud to have my music added to anything like that. You know, I just grew up as a country music fan myself and I love music. There's nothing else I can imagine doing. If I didn't sing, if I couldn't sing in tune, I'd still be as obsessed with music in just a different way that I am right now. So having moments like that is definitely a moment to go, oh, that is really cool. I'm really proud of that.
Don't worry. Not being able to sing in tune is why I'm on this side of the camera.
I got lucky, hey?
Musically I have no musical talent. I was the kid playing the triangle in the school assembly.
You need the person playing the triangle! Thank you for being that person. You know what? I pinch myself every single day that I obviously could just sing a note in tune and went from there and found this passion and now I get to go around and connect with country music fans all over Australia and even further and wider. I'm hoping that I get to come over and visit you guys over there really soon as well.
You do need to come and visit. We're starting to get more and more Australians coming this way in recent year. We get this feeling talking to you guys that the UK and Australia, they're at about that same point of this boom. Are we on your radar?
Oh, you guys are 100% on my radar. Like honestly, it is the goal of my life, particularly in 2026, to take my music as far and wide as I absolutely can. Not only do I want to bring my music to you, but I also just want to come on a holiday and see everything for my very first time. I’ve never ever visited! I've definitely been putting it out to my entire team saying, please get me to the UK in 2026 because I would just die to play on a stage in front of you all and connect with you. I just love seeing this boom of country music all over the world. I've experienced some crazy stuff through my social media over the last few years. I've been doing these songs where I make non-country songs a little more country and that's sort of become a part of my identity, I guess, who I am as an artist and a way that a lot of people have found my music. I have people following me from pockets of the world that I never imagined people would hear my music. I go onto the little back end of my Instagram and my TikTok and I look where everyone's from and I try and figure out in my mind what country music festival is close to that, what country music festival is close to that. I'm going to friend them on Instagram. I'm going to reach out to them and say, if you want a little Aussie girl to come over, please let me know. I'm very across where all my people are and I really want to get to visit you guys in 2026 for sure.
You've had some huge interactions on TikTok and across socials, are there times where you almost are having to look at where some of these countries are! Then maybe a quick check of the best holiday and beach spots!
That's the thing, honestly. There are so many places in the world I've never been and so many places I want to go. I wish I could win the lotto, to be honest. That would be nice so that I could then just travel everywhere and sing for everyone. We are absolutely doing our best. I want to be able to bring my band and show everyone what we do here because we're so lucky to have had so many exciting things happen over the last couple of years. We've got our live show to the point where it is so much fun, and we can now get up on stage and forget about thinking about stuff so much and just get to the enjoying it. I really want to bring that energy with me wherever I go. Fingers crossed I will be there with you really soon and hopefully we'll get to chat in person as well.
That'd be amazing. Definitely a few beers need to be had.
Yes, a few beers. I love a beer.
Even a Fosters!
I've never even had a Foster. I don't even know what it tastes like, but I'll have to try one!
Hey there Max, how are you?
I'm really good, thank you mate, how are you?
Brilliant, thank you for taking the time.
Of course, of course, I've been looking forward to chatting today. Sorry for the early riser, I'm so glad to get to talk.
Obviously, first off, congratulations on 1990 Somethin’ being out.
Oh, thank you so much. It's honestly so exciting. From the moment I had the inspiration for this song, I just knew it was going to be so many things to me. I knew it was going to be the ultimate nostalgia to the music that I grew up on and I was a 90s kid myself, when 90s country was just actually country on the radio and that's what inspired me. I just knew that it was going to be such a fun song to write and now I'm about to step on stage to perform it for the very first time next weekend and I think it's going to take it to a whole new level of love of the song. It's just really exciting to have it out and I've been getting lots of messages from people like, yeah, the 90s nostalgia, yeah, the 90s throwback. I think, like everyone in the world, we're looking for that connection to a simpler time. I love that feeling of going back to the 90s in my mind, so it's cool that other people are enjoying it too.
Has it been nice building it from a studio track into a live performance one?
Performing live is just always my most favourite thing to do. Just building up the live show and imagining the song here and what we're going to do with it live. I'm actually really excited because we are doing like a full 90s moment in the middle where we throw back to some songs I personally loved growing up. I always have the live show in mind regardless when I'm making the music. That's like my number one. I basically just want to make an album's worth of songs that are all able to be played at the show. It's like here is my set list for the next year! That's always my goal, but this one's been particularly fun. I actually came up with the idea for the song when I was standing side stage watching Zach Top at our CMC Rocks Festival here in Australia. I snuck around backstage and I ended up on the side of the stage and I was really excited because I got to experience watching him for the very first time, but like from the side of the stage and feeling in amongst the energy of him being on stage, but also the coolest thing ever was being able to see the crowd. The reason why I got the inspiration for the song is that it felt like people put their phones away for a minute and were all singing along and I was looking out at the crowd and I was like this actually feels like what I imagine it would have felt like to go and see Brooks and Dunn or somebody like that in the 90s when all of that boom was happening. Right now, in country music across the world we're seeing this huge boom and a few people have even said to me that right now sort of feels like the 90s again. It was all of these different inspirations and the energy of that moment definitely bottled up into the song.
You can admit you did the Wayne's World thing, didn't you, where you're like I've got an All-Access Pass, I'm coming through, that's the 90s way to do it!
I love Wayne's World! Sometimes when I put my trucker hat on in the morning, I think do I look too Wayne today or do I look okay? Honestly, I love it.
The track has had some amazing playlist ads in the past week for you and a couple of cover photos too. Do you kind of know the playlist ads are coming or is it you're checking in the numbers and then you're seeing them get out of there?
Honestly, so that's my first ever Fresh Country cover on Spotify and that was just so exciting. I think every artist has got to be lying if they don't say that they would love to have their music on the biggest playlist that everybody tunes into every week to hear new music. To be able to literally open my phone and see my face on the top of the playlist was it was a huge surprise! I had no idea it was happening, and I actually just had my hands on the text trying to message my team and then I was like, hang on, it's 5.30 in the morning. You probably should not message them right now! The funny thing was that I got a message from one of my team members at like 6 a.m. and I wrote straight back saying, I've been waiting this whole half an hour to text you, and you text me! It was honestly just so cool. I mean like I think the equivalent of being on the cover of a playlist now is sort of like being on the cover of a magazine in the 90s. It's pretty cool, yeah, pretty cool to go on. Yesterday I went on to, it was actually a random, but I went on to Noah Cyrus' Spotify and down the bottom of her page I scrolled down and it was my face because one of her songs is on the Fresh Country playlist too. I was like, wow, I'm on Noah Cyrus' page. That's pretty cool.
That's the quick take a screenshot moment there!
Yes, definitely all the screenshots were taken. I'm just incredibly proud to have my music added to anything like that. You know, I just grew up as a country music fan myself and I love music. There's nothing else I can imagine doing. If I didn't sing, if I couldn't sing in tune, I'd still be as obsessed with music in just a different way that I am right now. So having moments like that is definitely a moment to go, oh, that is really cool. I'm really proud of that.
Don't worry. Not being able to sing in tune is why I'm on this side of the camera.
I got lucky, hey?
Musically I have no musical talent. I was the kid playing the triangle in the school assembly.
You need the person playing the triangle! Thank you for being that person. You know what? I pinch myself every single day that I obviously could just sing a note in tune and went from there and found this passion and now I get to go around and connect with country music fans all over Australia and even further and wider. I'm hoping that I get to come over and visit you guys over there really soon as well.
You do need to come and visit. We're starting to get more and more Australians coming this way in recent year. We get this feeling talking to you guys that the UK and Australia, they're at about that same point of this boom. Are we on your radar?
Oh, you guys are 100% on my radar. Like honestly, it is the goal of my life, particularly in 2026, to take my music as far and wide as I absolutely can. Not only do I want to bring my music to you, but I also just want to come on a holiday and see everything for my very first time. I’ve never ever visited! I've definitely been putting it out to my entire team saying, please get me to the UK in 2026 because I would just die to play on a stage in front of you all and connect with you. I just love seeing this boom of country music all over the world. I've experienced some crazy stuff through my social media over the last few years. I've been doing these songs where I make non-country songs a little more country and that's sort of become a part of my identity, I guess, who I am as an artist and a way that a lot of people have found my music. I have people following me from pockets of the world that I never imagined people would hear my music. I go onto the little back end of my Instagram and my TikTok and I look where everyone's from and I try and figure out in my mind what country music festival is close to that, what country music festival is close to that. I'm going to friend them on Instagram. I'm going to reach out to them and say, if you want a little Aussie girl to come over, please let me know. I'm very across where all my people are and I really want to get to visit you guys in 2026 for sure.
You've had some huge interactions on TikTok and across socials, are there times where you almost are having to look at where some of these countries are! Then maybe a quick check of the best holiday and beach spots!
That's the thing, honestly. There are so many places in the world I've never been and so many places I want to go. I wish I could win the lotto, to be honest. That would be nice so that I could then just travel everywhere and sing for everyone. We are absolutely doing our best. I want to be able to bring my band and show everyone what we do here because we're so lucky to have had so many exciting things happen over the last couple of years. We've got our live show to the point where it is so much fun, and we can now get up on stage and forget about thinking about stuff so much and just get to the enjoying it. I really want to bring that energy with me wherever I go. Fingers crossed I will be there with you really soon and hopefully we'll get to chat in person as well.
That'd be amazing. Definitely a few beers need to be had.
Yes, a few beers. I love a beer.
Even a Fosters!
I've never even had a Foster. I don't even know what it tastes like, but I'll have to try one!
2025 must be the kind of year you don't want to end because so much has happened, but then at the same time there must be so much you're looking forward to in 2026. You must be this huge end of year crossroads.
Honestly, like in so many ways, 2025 has been very, very kind to me and very exciting. We've worked ourselves as hard as we can possibly work to get around to as many places as we possibly can. The end of this year is like jam packed. We're about to just go and play again as I think we've got like eight festivals over the next seven weekends coming up. We've got so many festivals with so many flights and things coming up, but I love this year so much. I'm a really nostalgic person and at the end of every year, I'm like, I don't know, how can the next one be as good as like this? This is the best! I want to stay in this moment forever. Honestly, every year over the past few years has been proving me that it can continue to get better and can continue to get more fun. I'm definitely just staying very positive about next year and what it's going to bring. I can't wait for it. Even little things like I just bought a house, so it's like I'm going to be living in my first house that I've ever bought, so on a personal level too, it's an exciting year ahead.
And then you kind of have A Little More Country being the single that just kind of keeps on giving for you as well.
Honestly, that song! It's such a weird song because when we wrote it, it was so much fun to write. I wrote it with my good mates, Gavin and Nolan, and we just jumped on Zoom. I think we were jumping on Zoom every Monday for like 12 weeks in a row or something and just writing a song every Monday. We just wrote it like any other day, and we were like, that was really fun. That was like pretty easy to write. We all love it? Cool. Put it in the Dropbox. Then I was sending things off to all the people who helped me try and figure out what on earth I'm going to put out next and everyone was like; it's got to be Little More Country. I'm like, oh, yeah, I sort of forgot about that song! I was like, it was really fun to write, let me go back and have a listen to it. I was listening to it, and I was like, yeah, this is actually pretty cool, isn't it? Maybe this is the one. Anyway, we record the song, do the whole series across social media where I do the covers and everything and that just went crazy. I'm like, wow, I've never had that sort of response before to a song. Still to this day, it came out in November 2023 and it's still getting played on radio stations all the time. It blows my mind. It's the song at every show people are like, are you going to play Little More Country? I'm like, I would be crazy if I didn't play it! Are you kidding? I'd play it twice if I could. But no, I'm so grateful for that song. It was just a really nice moment for Gavin and Nolan and I as a team as well. We won a golden guitar for Single of the Year for that song too and it was a really nice moment because we spent so much time writing songs together. Look, I'd taken up so many hours of their days on Zooms writing songs and we were always having so much fun, but it was just a massive win for our team. For the three of us together as a team, it's been a massive win, and it constantly is. I'm very grateful for that song.
Honestly, like in so many ways, 2025 has been very, very kind to me and very exciting. We've worked ourselves as hard as we can possibly work to get around to as many places as we possibly can. The end of this year is like jam packed. We're about to just go and play again as I think we've got like eight festivals over the next seven weekends coming up. We've got so many festivals with so many flights and things coming up, but I love this year so much. I'm a really nostalgic person and at the end of every year, I'm like, I don't know, how can the next one be as good as like this? This is the best! I want to stay in this moment forever. Honestly, every year over the past few years has been proving me that it can continue to get better and can continue to get more fun. I'm definitely just staying very positive about next year and what it's going to bring. I can't wait for it. Even little things like I just bought a house, so it's like I'm going to be living in my first house that I've ever bought, so on a personal level too, it's an exciting year ahead.
And then you kind of have A Little More Country being the single that just kind of keeps on giving for you as well.
Honestly, that song! It's such a weird song because when we wrote it, it was so much fun to write. I wrote it with my good mates, Gavin and Nolan, and we just jumped on Zoom. I think we were jumping on Zoom every Monday for like 12 weeks in a row or something and just writing a song every Monday. We just wrote it like any other day, and we were like, that was really fun. That was like pretty easy to write. We all love it? Cool. Put it in the Dropbox. Then I was sending things off to all the people who helped me try and figure out what on earth I'm going to put out next and everyone was like; it's got to be Little More Country. I'm like, oh, yeah, I sort of forgot about that song! I was like, it was really fun to write, let me go back and have a listen to it. I was listening to it, and I was like, yeah, this is actually pretty cool, isn't it? Maybe this is the one. Anyway, we record the song, do the whole series across social media where I do the covers and everything and that just went crazy. I'm like, wow, I've never had that sort of response before to a song. Still to this day, it came out in November 2023 and it's still getting played on radio stations all the time. It blows my mind. It's the song at every show people are like, are you going to play Little More Country? I'm like, I would be crazy if I didn't play it! Are you kidding? I'd play it twice if I could. But no, I'm so grateful for that song. It was just a really nice moment for Gavin and Nolan and I as a team as well. We won a golden guitar for Single of the Year for that song too and it was a really nice moment because we spent so much time writing songs together. Look, I'd taken up so many hours of their days on Zooms writing songs and we were always having so much fun, but it was just a massive win for our team. For the three of us together as a team, it's been a massive win, and it constantly is. I'm very grateful for that song.
Obviously two Golden Guitars this year must be kind of up there as a highlight. But you also got a nomination in Canada for your duet with Dan and Tim.
Honestly, that was really, really cool. I was beyond excited when Dan called me up and said, do you want to be on this song? And Tim Hicks is going to be on it. I was like, heck yeah, that sounds like so much fun. I mean, again, I never imagined that I'd be collaborating with people overseas. That is so cool. I've met them both now and they're both bloody lovely guys. I really hope that we get to spend a bunch more time hanging out somewhere across the world or at a country music festival. It was really cool to be a part of it and then Dan sends me the text. With time difference, it was really early in the morning, and I was waking up to get to a flight. I think it was one of those 3 a.m. wake ups and I had a text saying, you just got your first international award nomination. I was like, am I reading that correctly? I was like, what is going on? Then because I have really bad sense of time, I felt like that song had come out 12 years ago! I have the worst sense of time. I was like, hang on. Is that song eligible for an award? Oh, my gosh, that's so cool. Then I'm like looking into it, I'm going like, is this real? So, so cool. I had everyone calling me that day about being so excited. I did everything in my power to try and get there. I mean, we were so lucky. We had an awesome festival booked here the same day before I even knew that I was nominated and we played the festival here. I was obviously there in spirit and I'm going to do my best to get there next year as well, fingers crossed.
No, I just think you all need to meet in the middle, and we can say that's London. So that's perfect.
We should meet in London. I think that sounds iconic.
I think I've made a cunning plan here! I’ll let them know!
I like that idea. Honestly, I'm on board.
Honestly, that was really, really cool. I was beyond excited when Dan called me up and said, do you want to be on this song? And Tim Hicks is going to be on it. I was like, heck yeah, that sounds like so much fun. I mean, again, I never imagined that I'd be collaborating with people overseas. That is so cool. I've met them both now and they're both bloody lovely guys. I really hope that we get to spend a bunch more time hanging out somewhere across the world or at a country music festival. It was really cool to be a part of it and then Dan sends me the text. With time difference, it was really early in the morning, and I was waking up to get to a flight. I think it was one of those 3 a.m. wake ups and I had a text saying, you just got your first international award nomination. I was like, am I reading that correctly? I was like, what is going on? Then because I have really bad sense of time, I felt like that song had come out 12 years ago! I have the worst sense of time. I was like, hang on. Is that song eligible for an award? Oh, my gosh, that's so cool. Then I'm like looking into it, I'm going like, is this real? So, so cool. I had everyone calling me that day about being so excited. I did everything in my power to try and get there. I mean, we were so lucky. We had an awesome festival booked here the same day before I even knew that I was nominated and we played the festival here. I was obviously there in spirit and I'm going to do my best to get there next year as well, fingers crossed.
No, I just think you all need to meet in the middle, and we can say that's London. So that's perfect.
We should meet in London. I think that sounds iconic.
I think I've made a cunning plan here! I’ll let them know!
I like that idea. Honestly, I'm on board.
Now, dare I mention the year 2020 because if you could go back five years when you released your debut album about the February time and then March everything goes to pot! How do you look back at that now as it’s possible you have got into things like TikTok and your social media presence if that hadn't happened?
Yeah, honestly, at the time it completely sucked, obviously. It was like the worst time ever and I'm thinking am I ever going to be able to stand back on a stage? When I look back at it, so much of my perspective shifted in that time including the type of artist I wanted to be, the type of stages I wanted to play, the kind of messages that I wanted to put out to people and, you know, all of a sudden I was like, oh, music is like one of the things that is keeping people really happy in this time. I was connecting more with people online and thinking, well, if this is the only way we can do it, you know, let's get on here all the time, talk to people, hopefully share a bit of love and positivity and good vibes out there. I really lent on that time to keep me happy to be able to share music with other people. Before then, I would say I was more like a behind-the-scenes singer-songwriter. I was a singer-songwriter with my guitar all the time, writing songs for other people a lot and things like that. It was in that time where I was like am I ever going to be able to go on stage again? I was like, oh, being on stage is the only thing I want to do right now. Okay, when I get back on stage, what sort of songs do I want to play, what sort of energy do I want to bring to the stage? I want to bring so much fun to the stage, and I want everyone to be able to be together again and have everyone come up the front of the stage and have a great time and dance and sing along. It shaped who I am on stage today by trying to make that one hour of people's lives the most fun, the most interactive, and let people forget about everything else in your life that it can possibly be. I look back on that time now and I go, you know, I guess without that everything stopping and having that moment to really think about what it is that I wanted to put out there in the world, I probably wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now. I'd probably be sitting behind the guitar still hiding away. I don't even know why I was doing that for so long. I'm very sad about so much that happened in that time, but also grateful for the positive things that came out of it.
Can you look back now and feel like it has probably carved your career path?
Yeah, it's honestly changed so much about life. I also think it really like makes you grateful for the things that we're able to do. I remember the first time I got back up on a stage, it was actually the Toyota Starmaker Grand Final, which was a massive turning point in my career by winning that competition. It was like in a massive park with thousands of people. I just remember having this overwhelming feeling of like, wow, it's actually happening, this thing that I was like, is this ever going to happen again? What is the rest of existence looking like at this point in time? Just that excitement of, oh, we get to do the thing that we love again and we all get to be together and all of those things is the best feeling in the world. I'm extra grateful now when I get to go and do all the things that we are lucky enough to be able to do all the time.
With 2026 just around the corner, are you in album cycle mode?
I'm in the studio right now, as you can probably tell, there's a microphone here. I sing just over there, and I am in here working on a collection of music, which you could call an album, that will be out in the not too distant future, like sooner than you would imagine. I don't have an exact date, but as soon as there's an exact date, it'll be, you will know all about it.
You won't be able to keep a secret for long, you mean?
I cannot keep secrets. I'm like, what is the point in secrets? I just want all my people to know what's going on. I am so excited. You know, I grew up listening to albums, saving money and pulling up at the service station and buying the CD from the service station. I remember buying Taking the Long Way, The Chicks album, with my own money and putting it in the CD player and the feeling of I purchased this music and now I'm listening to this music, and I can keep playing it and it's so cool. The actual album is really important to me, even down to physical printing; having booklets with the lyrics in it because the lyrics are important to me; the messages of the thank yous; and the way that songs flow into the next song. I know that people just go and listen to whatever they want to listen to now, but I'm just putting it out there when we release said potential album in said not too distant future, I hope that you might listen to it in order because there might be some cool reasoning as to why it's in that order. I love all that stuff and I'm loving working on the rest of this collection of music, and I can't wait to have it out.
I for one cannot wait to hear more and will be counting down to a full album. Thank you so much for your time this morning.
Thanks, Ian. Thank you so much.
Yeah, honestly, at the time it completely sucked, obviously. It was like the worst time ever and I'm thinking am I ever going to be able to stand back on a stage? When I look back at it, so much of my perspective shifted in that time including the type of artist I wanted to be, the type of stages I wanted to play, the kind of messages that I wanted to put out to people and, you know, all of a sudden I was like, oh, music is like one of the things that is keeping people really happy in this time. I was connecting more with people online and thinking, well, if this is the only way we can do it, you know, let's get on here all the time, talk to people, hopefully share a bit of love and positivity and good vibes out there. I really lent on that time to keep me happy to be able to share music with other people. Before then, I would say I was more like a behind-the-scenes singer-songwriter. I was a singer-songwriter with my guitar all the time, writing songs for other people a lot and things like that. It was in that time where I was like am I ever going to be able to go on stage again? I was like, oh, being on stage is the only thing I want to do right now. Okay, when I get back on stage, what sort of songs do I want to play, what sort of energy do I want to bring to the stage? I want to bring so much fun to the stage, and I want everyone to be able to be together again and have everyone come up the front of the stage and have a great time and dance and sing along. It shaped who I am on stage today by trying to make that one hour of people's lives the most fun, the most interactive, and let people forget about everything else in your life that it can possibly be. I look back on that time now and I go, you know, I guess without that everything stopping and having that moment to really think about what it is that I wanted to put out there in the world, I probably wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now. I'd probably be sitting behind the guitar still hiding away. I don't even know why I was doing that for so long. I'm very sad about so much that happened in that time, but also grateful for the positive things that came out of it.
Can you look back now and feel like it has probably carved your career path?
Yeah, it's honestly changed so much about life. I also think it really like makes you grateful for the things that we're able to do. I remember the first time I got back up on a stage, it was actually the Toyota Starmaker Grand Final, which was a massive turning point in my career by winning that competition. It was like in a massive park with thousands of people. I just remember having this overwhelming feeling of like, wow, it's actually happening, this thing that I was like, is this ever going to happen again? What is the rest of existence looking like at this point in time? Just that excitement of, oh, we get to do the thing that we love again and we all get to be together and all of those things is the best feeling in the world. I'm extra grateful now when I get to go and do all the things that we are lucky enough to be able to do all the time.
With 2026 just around the corner, are you in album cycle mode?
I'm in the studio right now, as you can probably tell, there's a microphone here. I sing just over there, and I am in here working on a collection of music, which you could call an album, that will be out in the not too distant future, like sooner than you would imagine. I don't have an exact date, but as soon as there's an exact date, it'll be, you will know all about it.
You won't be able to keep a secret for long, you mean?
I cannot keep secrets. I'm like, what is the point in secrets? I just want all my people to know what's going on. I am so excited. You know, I grew up listening to albums, saving money and pulling up at the service station and buying the CD from the service station. I remember buying Taking the Long Way, The Chicks album, with my own money and putting it in the CD player and the feeling of I purchased this music and now I'm listening to this music, and I can keep playing it and it's so cool. The actual album is really important to me, even down to physical printing; having booklets with the lyrics in it because the lyrics are important to me; the messages of the thank yous; and the way that songs flow into the next song. I know that people just go and listen to whatever they want to listen to now, but I'm just putting it out there when we release said potential album in said not too distant future, I hope that you might listen to it in order because there might be some cool reasoning as to why it's in that order. I love all that stuff and I'm loving working on the rest of this collection of music, and I can't wait to have it out.
I for one cannot wait to hear more and will be counting down to a full album. Thank you so much for your time this morning.
Thanks, Ian. Thank you so much.
