Country music has evolved over time from folk music a genre that stretches back hundreds and hundreds of years, from countries all over the world, some typical examples include Irish and Scottish traditional folk music. In light of this evolution I recalled an up and coming Australian artists that is a little bit country with a whole lot of folk!
You may remember Lisa Mitchell from one of the many reality television programs sweeping our networks. Lisa was a contestant in Australian Idol in the year 2006. Lisa was different from most contestants for a number of reasons; firstly she was the youngest contestant at only sixteen years of age, she could write and play her own music and showed that she can perform exceptionally well in her preferred genres of folk and country music.
Play the video below to watch her on Ausrtalian Idol 2006
Lisa is now seventeen years old and resides in her hometown Albury; she is most certainly one of the up and comers to lookout for. On May 21 Lisa launched her new EP called ‘Welcome to the Afternoon’, since Australian Idol she has moved more into the folk genre than the country genre, but she is an exceptional Australian artist that should be exposed to the Country music and mainstream charts.
In my opinion Lisa possess a country type voice and comprises lyrics and music typical of the country and folk genres. Lisa Mitchell maybe the answer country/folk music has been waiting for, she’s young she’s talented, the youths of Australia will relate to her, it is possible that someone of her character could open up the flood gates and push country/folk music into the mainstream. Lisa’s best asset is her unique sound, which is emphasised through her subtlety nasal vocals. I think it is her subtle combination of country/folk and pop that will see her break into the mainstream, whether this will help other country and folk artists; time will tell. Lisa Mitchell is definitely someone to get behind and lookout for in the future.
Play the video below to see her song ‘Incomplete Lulluby’
Post by: Ryan Witt
Its interesting how carrie underwood mentioned in other blogs/comments is also an idol star who shot to fame in country from winning a pop contest, however from what I remember of Lisa Mitchell on Australian Idol is all the critisizm she got from not trying other styles, constantly singing the same way.,…. in other words… not conforming! Its good to see she stayed true to her self and has launched an EP away from what she was trying to be constructed as on idol… she is a beautifuly talented girl who i think will go far!!!
Definetly, I think you hit the nail right on the head! Idol did try to stop Lisa from being herself, but shes more than fine just the way she is! I think Idol does that to alot of potential artists look a guy sebastians career as an example; the first few years he was signed to an Idol winners label and had to conform to what they thought his product should be, more recently guy has been able to restucture his genre a bit as he is more of a free agent these days. Personally I think it is foolish to win Idol unless your as amazing as kelly clarkson. In Australia second place has had so much more sucess, look a shannon Nolls efforts compared to Guy Sebastians. Yes both are talented signers, but i think Guys label really ruined his credibility as a artist, due to the stuff they made him sing. Shannon on the otherhand was able to do basically what ever he wanted with in his country/pop genre, now he’s killing Guy Sebastian in the popularity contest!
Exactly, well wheres Casey Donovon these days???? They structure who the winner will be becuase they will make money off them initially through telling them what to do, its always better to come second. lol Shows how very commercially driven the music industry can be as just a popularity contest through who we are told to vote for! At least the country music genre shines through on its own, and can prove to be strong even though industry executives try and force it into the shadows!
Casey Donovan….that rings a bell…who is she again??? Casey Donovan’s impact on the music scene was shorter than an afternoon coffee break… in fact she is a good example of why Idol doesn’t work, does Australia or at least the people voting know who is going to be a good artist for the country, I think not… The article below proves that Idol had it all wrong in 2004/5!
Article: Casey’s heart’s hardly in it
January 6, 2005
IN the latest embarrassment for Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan, she has been overtaken on the charts by an dol contestant who didn’t even manage to make the finals.
Not only is Donovan being outstripped two-to-one by Idol runner-up Anthony Callea, her single Listen With Your Heart is this week sitting at No. 8 on the national ARIA singles chart, one place below Idol beatboxer Joel Turner’s track These Kids.
Donovan’s album For You is poised to drop out of the top 20. It has slipped dramatically down the charts after debuting at No. 2 three weeks ago and is sitting in 18th spot.
Source: news.com.au
There are a lot of good singers that go through Idol I’m just not sure that the product they have to offer at the end is always going to be a successful venture. Damien Leith for instance is incredible as an artist in his own right, but Idol a mass media television program aimed at popular music culture, has created a product that did not have much impact on the top 40. Who is his market, I’m not sure, but I hope they know! Idol creates a novelty, forcing the winner to release a song written by them, which is always a terrible ballad about how much they’ve grown or how much they are thankful for the opportunity, here’s a thought for Idol, let them write their own stuff and perform it, like Lisa Mitchell, I think the chances of success and fame will be better! Hopefully the most recent Idol winner Natalie Gauci will stick to her guns and shrug the Idol writers as soon as possible so she can write her own stuff, cause it will be astonishing.