Ricki-Lee Coulter
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Ricki-Lee Coulter |
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Ricki-Lee Babbington (nee Coulter) (born November 10, 1985) is an New Zealand-born Australian pop singer. She came to fame in 2004 as a contestant on the second series of Australian Idol, before launching a solo career with the album Ricki-Lee on Shock Records. In 2006, she began a year-long stint as a member of Young Divas, with whom she toured the country and released a multi-platinum self-titled album, but decided to leave in mid 2007 in order to concentrate on her solo music. On August 11, 2007, Coulter released her second solo album Brand New Day.
Biography
Early life
Coulter was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and moved with her father and mother Loretta to Queensland, Australia when she was 3 weeks old. In Queensland, her younger sister Jodie was also born. She developed a keen passion for playing netball and, according to Ricki-Lee, came close to playing for Australia. A serious knee injury however took away the chance of furthering her netball career. Coulter soon discovered her singing ability and auditioned for the Seven Network's unsuccessful Popstars Live reality talent program, making the Top 60. She then auditioned for the second series of Australian Idol where she became a favourite. The majority of Coulter's performances gained praise from the judges, but she made a shock early exit, after a poor rendition of a Beatles classic and finished in seventh place.
Australian Idol performances
- Audition: "Don't Let Go" - En Vogue
- Top 30- "Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe" - Barry White
- Top 12- Australian Hits: "Hopelessly Devoted to You" - Olivia Newton-John
- Top 11- Pop: "Work It Out" - Beyoncé
- Top 10- 60's: "Proud Mary" - Tina Turner
- Top 9- Disco: "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" - Michael Jackson
- Top 8- Idol's Choice: "I Have Nothing" - Whitney Houston
- Top 7- The Beatles: "We Can Work It Out" - The Beatles Eliminated
2005–2006: Ricki-Lee and Young Divas
Unlike many popular contestants who sign with Sony BMG, Coulter signed with large independent label Shock Records and released her debut single "Hell No!" in June 2005. The single, written in collaboration with Audius Mtawarira who co-wrote Delta Goodrem's "Born to Try", peaked at number 5. Second single "Sunshine" also went Top 10, but the debut album Ricki-Lee stalled at number 30.
Coulter performed with Marcia Hines on the television program, An Audience With Marcia Hines, which was broadcast on FOXTEL and was one of the celebrity performers on the Nine Network's series, Celebrity Circus. She also appeared in several TV shows, including the Friday Night Games Grand Final on April 21, 2006, and in Bert's Family Feud Celebrity Challenge.
In 2006, Coulter joined other previous female contestants of Australian Idol, Paulini Curuenavuli, Emily Williams, and Kate DeAraugo, to form Young Divas. Their first single "This Time I Know It's For Real", a remake of the Donna Summer 1989 song, was a major success, reaching number 2 on the Australian charts, while the self titled album reached number 4 and was certified double platinum. On June 23, 2007, Coulter officially announced she would be leaving the group. After months of rumours and speculation of infighting, she stated that she was leaving to focus on her upcoming wedding and her solo career and that "I just couldn't do it all - I really had to get back to doing what I love doing, and that's my solo career."
2007–present: Brand New Day
Coulter is currently enjoying the success of the release of her new single "Can't Touch It", which peaked at number 2 in the ARIA Charts on August 13, her highest peak position for any single, and number 5 on the iTunes music store and on October 2nd it achieved Gold Status through ARIA. Her second solo album, entitled Brand New Day was released on August 11 and entered the Motorola ARIA Chart at number 37. The album has been re-released with a bonus second CD - her first album Ricki-Lee. Her second single has been released and is called Love Is All Around with the filming of the video taking place in Melbourne on October 6th. It debuted at number 5, making it the second highest new entry for the week after Kylie Minogue.
Ricki-Lee performed at the 2007 Aria Awards and was the opening act on the Red carpet.
It has been announced that Ricki-Lee will the supporting act for Hilary Duff when she tours Australia next year on her Dignity Tour[1]
Personal life
Coulter married Jamie Babbington in September 2007. A copy of the wedding invitation was printed in Australian womens magazine Woman's Day. Unfortunately they forgot to cover Coulter's personal mobile number, forcing her to obtain a new number. Coulter and Jamie currently reside on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Discography
Albums
| Statistics | Singles |
|---|---|
| Ricki-Lee |
|
| Brand New Day |
|
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart positions[2] | Certification | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | ARIA Australian Chart | ||||
| 2005 | "Hell No!" | 5 | 1 | Gold (ARIA) | Ricki-Lee |
| "Sunshine" | 8 | 1 | Gold (ARIA) | ||
| 2006 | "Breathe" | 14 | 4 | - | |
| 2007 | "Can't Touch It" | 2 | 1 | Gold (ARIA) | Brand New Day |
| "Love Is All Around" | 5 | 3 | - | ||
B-sides
| Year | B-side | A-side |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Over The Rainbow" | "Hell No!" |
| "Gotta Know" | "Sunshine" | |
| 2007 | "Take Me to a Place" | "Can't Touch It" |
| "It's Just Life" | "Love Is All Around" |
Awards and nominations
| Award | Category | About | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | ||||
| Urban Music Awards 2006 | Best R&B Album | Ricki-Lee | Nominated | |
| Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards | Fave Aussie Artist | Herself | Won | |
| Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards | Fave Song | This Time I Know It's For Real (Young Divas) | Won | |
| 2007 | ||||
| Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards | Fave Female Singer | Herself | Won | |
References
- ^ "Ricki-Lee". www.goldcoast.com.au. 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
- ^ Discography Ricki-Lee. australian-charts.com. Retrieved on September 28, 2007.