Gina Jeffreys

Gina Jeffreys
Birth name	Gina Hillenberg [1]
Born	1 April 1968
Origin	Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Genres	Country Music
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1992-active
Labels	ABC Music, Ocean Road Music/MGM
Associated acts	Rod McCormack, Garth Porter
Website	www.ginajeffreys.com.au

Gina Jeffreys (also known as Gina Jeffries, Gina Hillenberg and Gina McCormack) is an Australian country singer-songwriter. She was born on 1 April 1968 at Toowoomba, Queensland. She has often been called Australia's "Queen of Country" and has won numerous Australian country music awards.

Career

In 1992, Jeffreys competed in The Star Maker Quest at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. After releasing her first single "Slipping Away" (a cover of the 1975 song by Max Merritt) through BMG Music, Gina signed a record deal with ABC Music, and released her first single for the label "Two Stars Fell" in 1993. The song went straight to No.1 on the Australian country charts.^[2]

"Two Stars Fell" won Jeffreys her first Golden guitar award at the 1994 Tamworth Country Music Awards of Australia for'Best Female Vocal Award'. Later that year, Jeffreys supported Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson on their Australian tours and rave reviews had her the subject of a 'Sixty Minutes' story and she was featured in an 'A Current Affair' segment. Her debut album The Flame was released in August 1994 and went platinum in 1997. Further hits followed including "Girls' Night Out" which won Jeffreys her second Golden Guitar award for 'Best Female Vocal' in 1995.

In July 1996, Gina released her second album, Up Close. This was to be the album that broke the cross-over barrier between country and mainstream. The album debuted straight into the National ARIA Charts at No. 9 while taking up the No. 1 position of the National Country Charts. Up Close achieved Gold status during the same year as its release. Jeffreys toured nationally throughout 1996 and also found time to appear as a guest host of 'Sale of the Century' and co-hosted the 1997 ARIA Music Awards. In 1997, Jeffreys was inducted into Tamworth Hands of Fame.

In June 1998, Jeffreys released her third album Somebody's Daughter which peaked at No. 13 on the ARIA Charts. The album was certified Gold in 1999 and produced the hits song "Dancin' With Elvis" which she won Country Music Television's 'Video of the Year' in 1999. Jeffreys released a Christmas album in 1999, titled Christmas Wish.

Throughout 2000, Jeffreys relocates to Nashville to record her next album, titled Angel. Angel was released in April 2001 and the title track "Angel" won numerous awards; including 2002 Golden Guitar Award - Video Clip of the Year, 2002 APRA Award – Most Performed Country Work and is named a finalist in the Australian Animation Awards in 2001 and charted at No.57 on the ARIA singles chart.^[3]

2002 saw the release of Best of Gina Jeffreys... So Far which included her version of Radiohead's Creep which she had performed on Andrew Denton's Musical Challenge. This concluded her contract with ABC Music.

Jeffreys gave birth to her son Jackson in January 2003 and took some time out of the spot light.

In 2006, Jeffreys signed a deal with 'Ocean Road Music' returned with the release of her album Walks of Life and in 2007, she was awarded Best Independent Country Release at the Australian Independent Record (AIR) Awards,^[4] for her album Walks of Life. At the Tamworth Country Music Festival of 2007, Jeffreys initiated a now annual "Walk of Life" whereby country music artists and fans walk around the streets of Tamworth to help create awareness and raise money for the Foundation. Money raised goes towards the Leukaemia Foundation.^[5] In April 2007, Jeffreys joins with Beccy Cole and Sara Storer to form the Songbirds; a successful multi-artist show in Australia that continued for many years. A live DVD was released of the Songbirds in 2009.^[6]

In 2009 Jeffreys does a sell-out concert at Tamworth with Guy Sebastian and Wendy Matthews followed by the release of Old Paint in 2010, a laid-back acoustic album of Gina’s all- time favourites. Since 2014, Jeffreys has been recording songs for a new album tentatively titled Unravel due for release in 2015.^[7]

Discography

Albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions		Certifications (sales thresholds)
		AUS [8]	AUS Country [9]
1994	The Flame Released:1994 Label: ABC Music	N/A	1	AUS: Platinum[10]
1996	Up Close Released: 21 July 1996 Label: ABC Music	9	N/A	AUS: Gold[7]
1998	Somebody's Daughter Released: 14 June 1998 Label: ABC Music	13	N/A	AUS: Gold[11]
1999	Christmas Wish Released: 1999 Label: ABC Music Label: First Christmas Album	-	1
2001	Angel Released: 5 April 2001 Label: ABC Music	42	2[12]
2002	Best of Gina Jeffreys... So Far Released: 14 October 2002 Label: ABC Music First Greatest Hits album	-	8[13]
2007	Walks of Life Released: 13 January 2007 Label: Ocean Road Music/MGM	-	14 [14]
2010	Old Paint Released: 17 September 2010 Label: Ocean Road Music First Covers album	-	N/A
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not released.

Awards

ARIA Awards

Jeffreys had been nominated for four ARIA Music Awards^[15]

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1995	The Flame	Best Country Album	Nominated
1998	Somebody's Daughter	Best Country Album	Nominated
2001	Angel	Best Country Album	Nominated
2007	Walks Of Life	Best Country Album	Nominated

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. Jeffreys has won two awards.^[16]

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1998	"I Haven't Got a Heart"	Most Performed Country Work	Won
2002	"Angel"	Most Performed Country Work	Won

Country Music Awards (CMAA)

Jeffreys has won five Golden guitar awards at the Tamworth Country Music Awards of Australia ^[17]

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1994	Two Stars Fell	Female Vocalist of the Year	Won
1995	Girls Night Out	Female Vocalist of the Year	Won
1996	Didn't we Shine	Female Vocalist of the Year	Won
1999	Dancin’ With Elvis	Female Vocalist of the Year	Won
2002	Angel [Gina Jeffreys (directed by Dylan Perry)]	Video Clip of the Year	Won

Australian Independent Record Label Association Awards

Jeffreys has won one AIR award^[18]

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
2007	Walks Of Life	Best Independent Country Release	Won

References

1. http://www.ginajeffreys.com.au/pressclippings/06/Dec17_Sunday_Mail_Brisbane.pdf
2. "Gina Jeffreys Bio". ginajeffreys.com.au. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
3. "ARIA Charts/ Week Commencing 19th March 2001" (PDF). www.aria.com.au. 19 March 2001. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
4. Australian Independent Record Labels Association Ltd (AIR) 2012
5. "Walk of Life with Gina Jeffreys". www.caama.com.au. 22 January 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
6. "Songbirds - You've Got A Friend: Live In Concert". JBHiFi. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
7. "Artist Showcase- Gina Jeffreys". www.australianjazzagency.com.au. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
8. "Australian Album Chart > Gina Jeffreys". australian-charts.com Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
9. "Gina Jeffreys". bridge of love. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
10. "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
11. "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1998 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
12. "The ARIA Report/ Week Commencing 14th May" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 14 May 2001. p. 17. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
13. "The ARIA Report" (PDF). pandora.nla.gov.au. 21 October 2001. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
14. "The ARIA Report" (PDF). pandora.nla.gov.au. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
15. http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/search?q=Gina+Jeffreys
16. "APRA search - Gina Jeffreys". APRA Awards. www.apraamcos.com.au. 26 March 2015.
17. http://country.com.au/golden-guitars/award-winners/1990s
18. http://www.air.org.au/awards/history/

External links

• Gina Jeffreys official web site