Kate Wilson
It’s not often that contestants perform their own songs on The Voice Australia – let alone an original track written about one of the show’s stars! But for Kiwi country/pop singer Kaylee Bell, performing her tribute to judge Keith Urban on the hit reality series has changed her life.
“Playing my song Keith on the show in front of the actual Keith was such a cool moment – very surreal,” remembers the 33-year-old singer-songwriter, who grew up listening to the Voice coach’s music in the small South Island town of Waimate. “I had no idea how he was going to react, so it was pretty scary but really cool to have the chance to sing something I’d written.”
Appearing on the reality singing show wasn’t Kaylee’s first taste of success. After winning prestigious Aussie country music competition Toyota Starmaker at the age of 21 and releasing her first album a few years later, for the past decade, Kaylee has been dividing her time between New Zealand, Australia and Nashville, writing and performing her music as much as possible.
But even though she has been the most-streamed female country artist in Australasia for the past four years, when COVID hit, Kaylee found herself in a sticky situation.
“Suddenly, I was losing every gig and opportunity I’d worked the last 10 years for, like everyone else in the industry,” tells Kaylee, who lost much of her livelihood when life-saving pandemic restrictions cancelled so many live gigs.
“The year 2020 seemed like it was going to be a big one for a lot of musicians I know and then it was just disappointment after disappointment.
Kaylee singing her song Keith to the Whangārei-born superstar on the blind auditions.
“I got to a point where I was like, ‘I need to take some control back of my life and do something positive – look for opportunities that are maybe out of my comfort zone.’ Then The Voice Australia
came along!”
After two years without performing, even the nerve-wracking task of singing in front of her idol couldn’t dampen Kaylee’s joy in being in front of a live crowd.
“Just to be back up on the stage was amazing,” says the Aotearoa Music Award winner. “I walked away thinking, ‘God, I’ve missed this.’ It was just one of those moments of like, ‘OK, this is definitely what I want to be doing with my life.'”
Kaylee had met Keith on the country circuit years before. She says, “He has such a feel about his music that I really love.
After her TV performance, Kaylee’s song Keith became a viral sensation. “It blew up on TikTok the day after The Voice,” enthuses Kaylee. “I think I had like 400 followers and I went to like 100,000 overnight. It was insane.”
With over 30 million plays on TikTok and nine million on Spotify, Kaylee was shocked by the response. “Even when I was in Nashville, people were coming up to me like, ‘Oh, I saw you on TikTok.’ It was amazing to know the global reach that it had,” says the Auckland-based star. “It’s been pretty amazing to see what a song can do in a moment.”
The song’s popularity truly hit home for Kaylee at the recent CMC Rocks event, Australia’s largest country music festival.
“When I played Keith, the crowd was singing back the words,” tells Kaylee, smiling.
“I had goosebumps. When that kind of magic stuff happens, it makes it all worth it. That’s been one of the best things from The Voice, seeing it translate into people showing up to shows, singing my songs. It’s crazy.”
With live music finally back on the menu, Kaylee has a busy schedule ahead with a series of local shows. As well as playing gigs supporting artists like US country music superstar Brad Paisley and beloved Kiwi band Six60, Kaylee has an upcoming show of her own, headlining top Auckland venue The Tuning Fork.
Kaylee’s overjoyed to get to share her music with Kiwi audiences. “It’s been a long time coming,” she explains. “With things like Spotify, there’s been a shift in New Zealand with country music. I can’t
wait to spread the word and introduce new people to it.”
Despite all her overseas hype and success, Aotearoa is home for Kaylee, who still finds inspiration in her rural Southland roots.
“My latest single Small Town Friday Night is inspired by the little town that I grew up in,” she tells. “Anyone who comes from a small town knows the significance of a Friday night – you live all week for it. In our town, after playing touch footy or basketball, everyone went out together. There’s an amazing sense of community. I’ve always wanted to write a song about that.”
Kaylee concludes, “I’d love to play back in some small towns around New Zealand. I feel like that would be a really cool way to celebrate the song.”
Kaylee performs Wednesday 23 November at The Tuning Fork in Auckland. Tickets are on sale now at moshtix.co.nz.
The Voice Australia screens 7.30pm Fridays on TVNZ 2
