For Amy Shark, New Zealand is more than somewhere she just performs – it’s her favourite place for adventures with her Kiwi husband Shane Billings, with the pair memorably exploring the South Island in his dad’s van, sleeping on a mattress in the back.
It was also Shane, now her manager, who helped her believe she had something special to share. “I never grew up thinking I could sing,” admits Amy, 40. “No one ever told me I could sing.”
Now, with her fourth album Soft Pop, the Gold Coast-born musician is looking back fondly (with only a tinge of embarrassment!) at the days of her younger self with fresh perspective. Here, Amy opens up about the man who championed her music, the less glamorous side of fame and why Aotearoa will always feel like a second home…
How did your love for New Zealand begin?
Well, it actually started pretty young. My auntie lived here. She married a Kiwi, so when I was around nine, I started coming to Auckland to see her. It was always super-fun. Then I met Shane and we started dating. He’s like, “Have you not seen the South Island?” I got taken to Nelson, where his parents lived for a bit. We got in the back of his dad’s van, chucked a mattress in the back and went all around. It was amazing. I f*cking love Auckland, but Queenstown is just a magical place that shouldn’t really exist. It’s insane. It should be a dream!
You’ve joked that you owe a lot to New Zealand because Shane supported your career from the beginning…
I do. Aussies can be really self-deprecating and I never grew up thinking I could sing. No one ever told me I could sing. I didn’t think I could until he said, “These songs are really good,” and that’s kind of all I needed. Shane was a few years older and he was a cool guy, so I respected his judgment on music. That’s when I was like, “Maybe I’m OK at this.” It was so fun for me. He just took it by the reins and really fought for me.
What are Kiwi audiences like compared to Aussie ones?
When I first started playing small clubs here, it had a different energy. It felt really special having New Zealanders come to my shows and hearing my songs played on the radio here.
What do you look forward to most when you visit?
Food is better here because the produce is better. Even landing here, I was just like, “Holy sh*t, this place really is God’s country.” It’s just so green and lush. It’s beautiful.
Are there any Kiwi artists you’d love to work with?
I really like Teeks. His new album is so sexy and I’d love to work on something with him. I also love the boys from Coterie. It’s funny because Lorde is probably overplayed here, just as everyone thinks I’m overplayed in Australia, but when Royals came out, it really gave me hope that real music was coming back. I always pay homage to her any time I can because I just think that was such an awesome time when her first EP came out.
Your latest album Soft Pop is very personal. What’s it like putting your heart on your sleeve when so many people are listening?
I’m pretty well versed in it now because this is album four and I always make sure I dig as deep as I can. But back at the start, I didn’t really take it seriously how many people were listening and would want to know the stories behind songs. I’d be lying if I said there isn’t a little bit of me asking myself, “Are you OK to talk about that or for other people to hear that?” But I try really hard to not let that hinder me.
Four albums in, what still excites you about making music?
For Soft Pop, everything was really different. I decided I didn’t want any big-production drums or beats – it was just going to be really stripped back and I wanted to see how creative we could get.
I wrote the whole thing by myself in an apartment in a month. I’d had a deadline and I was like, “Let’s just make this one fast and snappy.” It was torture because there were some days that I thought I had nothing to say. But it was cool to do things differently. I was writing about topics I’d touched on in the past, but because I’m more stable now, it was a bunch of insecure songs written from a more secure person. I could really play with it a bit and not fall apart. Some songs are really cheeky.
Was it difficult looking back at those insecure moments?
It can be embarrassing, like, “Oh, God, I was so desperate and lame and heartbroken and sad and clingy!” But I was OK to talk about it because now I’m like, “Thank God I’m not there. Thank God that was just a version of me.” It’s fun to write about that. At the core of it, when I was first starting out in music, I knew I was better than some people that were getting more success than me, so it was about wanting to prove that I could do it. Now I just make music because I love it. I get off on it! It makes me so happy. Whether people love it or hate it, I love the whole process. I did it for so long without getting any recognition or getting any payment.
Has your idea of success changed?
It’s taken me 10 years to get to this place I’m at now. It’s so easy to get lost in why you do everything. I wanted pats on the back and when I got them, it felt good, but you just can’t do it for that. Now I see artists and I’m like, “You’re so, so good. I hope you just stay pure and don’t give a f*ck when it turns,” because it does. No one’s trajectory is just up. But it just makes for a cooler career.
What are the hard aspects of fame?
God, everything. It’s lucky that I love my job so much and it’s really fulfilling, but I’ve really sacrificed a lot. There’s so much I’ve missed out on and people can be a bit weird. I’ve seen the ugliest side of people. That’s just what fame and money can do. It’s made my social circles a lot smaller. When you’re not the new kid and you’re being hyped, that’s when the real challenge starts. Fame changes your life in every single way.
What was it like performing that emotional tribute to Jai Arrow at the NRL Grand Final?
Oh, man. Firstly, there was no notice. We had four days to pull something together and I knew I was walking into the fire. But my connection to the NRL is so strong – I used to work for a club for years. I know Jai and it’s been really sad. I just wanted to go about it very differently. It was a tribute, but I wanted to try to pump the crowd up as much as we could. I called a bunch of mates and they did it all for free. It was a crazy time and an honour to be the person who could make something out of nothing. It was very stressful and emotional. I knew I wasn’t going to please everyone, especially with sports involved, but I did the best I could.
Favourite book you’ve read so far this year?
There’s a book called Trigger Happy Ending that my friend KJ Orchard actually wrote and it’s really good. I was so impressed. There’s another one called Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas, which is another spicy one I love. I love spice! Then I read Matthew Perry’s book Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing too. Devastating!
Finish the sentence: New Zealand is…
My second home. That’s how I feel when I come here. There’s so much family here. My husband’s family is my family. I’m really lucky that his family is so great. I just feel like I’m really part of the Kiwis. They’ve always cracked me up. I’ve had some of my best times of my whole life here and my relationship blossomed in New Zealand. It’s a special place.
And home is…?
Wherever my man is. Where my boy is. We just moved into our place in Sydney and when I see him, I’m like, “This feels OK. It feels like home.”
Amy Shark performs at The Tuning Fork in Auckland on Saturday 14 November. For tickets, visit www.moshtix.co.nz.
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