Entertainment
18 September, 2020
Cairns teen singing her way to stardom
With stunning vocals delivering a range and skill far beyond her young 16 years, Cairns teenager Abi Muir could be Australia’s next big pop star.
The Redlynch State College Year 11 student only started singing and song writing three years ago, but she has already collected online fans and followers from 72 countries around the world, and has been placed on over 3,000 playlists.
It all started in 2018 when Abi was inspired to start writing and recording her own songs in her parents’ garage after winning the Cairns Dinner Theatre Singing competition.
Her wistful, dreamy debut single “Heebeejeebies” released last year has collected over 150,000 streams, and earlier this year Abi won the 2020 Cairns Regional Council Australia Day Junior Cultural Award.
She’s now up to her fourth single, and the official film clip for her new release “First Date,” launched just three weeks ago, already has more than 53,000 views on her Facebook page.
The high energy, pumping dance track with subtle teenage sarcasm hidden in the lyrics showcases Abi’s soaring, powerful yet agile vocals reminiscent of Ariana Grande.
The film clip was shot and produced with Port Shorts and Hotglue, and features Abi dancing in the Cairns Iconic Woolshed club along with fellow students and talented local performers including “Drag’d Out Late” drag queens, Passaros do Paraiso samba dancers, and Bollywood and hiphop dancers.
Behind the voice is a humble young lady who grew up on a tiny island in Scotland, competing in traditional Celtic dancing, but only discovered her passion for singing after moving to Australia five years ago. Abi said her parents were not musical but helped her to develop her singing skills through a local vocal coach, Redlynch Arts Course of Excellence in Music (R.A.C.E.) and regular practice.
The talented teen also taught herself to produce her own music and videos on her home computer, and reached out to an independent music producer online for assistance with laying down beats and backing music for her singing. “All my songs are about personal experiences that I go through and feelings that I have. I get inspiration from everything that happens around me, and to me,” Abi said.
In 2019, Abi was the only student from Cairns selected as a Featured Vocalist at Creative Generation, Queensland’s largest youth performing arts show at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. While performing to a crowd of more than 2,000 people and on national television would be terrifying for some, Abi feels at home on stage. “Whether it’s to two people or 2,000 - I just feel so happy to sing, it’s magic,” she said.
Asked for her advice to other aspiring young performing artists, Abi said to prepare for a career path that involved hard work and dedication. “A lot of people think singing is just a hobby that people do for fun, but in fact if you choose it as a career, with all the production, business and marketing side of things, and also the criticism - it’s a lot of hard work,” she said.
Abi’s next live performance will be a guest appearance with Drag’d Out Late at the Paramour Cabaret Theatre Cairns on October 10, with tickets available now from $25. When state borders reopen she will be flying to Sydney to record her next track with industry professionals Simon Cohen (Studios 301), and Oli Morgan (Abbey Road Studios) and plans are in place for her debut album.
Abi’s music is available on numerous platforms such as, Spotify, Youtube Music, Apple Music and Triple J Unearthed,and you can find more information at www.abimuir.com or by following her on social media.
