Kasey Chambers

Kasey Chambers
Chambers, ARIA Hall of Fame 1 July 2008 Courtesy Mandy Hall
Background information
Born	4 June 1976 Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia
Genres	Country, Country pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, Musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1993–1998 (Dead Ringer Band) 1999–present (solo)
Labels	EMI, Liberation Music (Aus)/Sugar Hill Records (U.S.)
Associated acts	The Dead Ringer Band, Shane Nicholson
Website	www.kaseychambers.com

Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of singer and musician Bill Chambers, and the sister of musician and producer Nash Chambers.

Solo success

Chambers and Shane Nicholson ARIA Hall of Fame

Chambers recorded her solo album The Captain on Norfolk Island over a few weeks in late 1998 with Nash Chambers producing the album and Bill Chambers on guitar. US country musicians Buddy Miller and Julie Miller added guitars and vocals to four tracks. The Captain was released in 1999 in Australia and in 2000 in the US. Chambers won the 1999 ARIA Award for "Best Country Album" for The Captain and a year later she would win "Best Female Artist". The strong word of mouth would eventually lead to The Captain going double platinum in Australia. The Captain would eventually reach the top 50 of the Billboard country albums in 2001 with Chambers touring the US as support act to Lucinda Williams. Subsequently, she supported Emmylou Harris on her Australian tour. Chambers would receive further exposure when "The Captain" was played on episode 8 of the third season of HBO's The Sopranos titled "He Is Risen".

Chambers' second album Barricades & Brickwalls was released in late 2001 debuting at No. 4 in the ARIA album charts. The record really took off in early 2002 with lead single "Not Pretty Enough" going to No. 1 on the ARIA singles charts. Chambers became the only Australian country artist to have a No. 1 single and album on the charts in that country simultaneously. Subsequent singles "Million Tears" and "If I Were You" also made the Australian Top 40 singles charts in 2002.

Commercial success

While "Not Pretty Enough" eventually went double platinum, Barricades & Brickwalls would achieve sales of 7x platinum in Australia meaning Chambers had the second best selling single and album by an Australian artist in 2002 behind Kylie Minogue whose single Can't Get You Out of My Head and album Fever became the biggest successes of the year. At the 2002 ARIA Awards, Chambers won "Album of the Year", "Best Female Artist" and "Best Country Album". Barricades & Brickwalls was released in the US in 2002 peaking just outside the top 100 of the Billboard 200 album charts, topping the Billboard Heatseeker Charts and reaching the top 20 of the Billboard country charts. The album also received a generally positive critical response.^[1]

She recorded a cover of the Cyndi Lauper song "True Colours" which became the theme song of the 2003 Rugby World Cup^[2] and reached the top 5 in Australia in May 2003. It was the 76th best-selling single in Australia that year^[3] and won gold accreditation in the Australian ARIA charts.^[4]

Chambers released her third solo album Wayward Angel in Australia on 31 May 2004. It debuted at No. 1 on the Australian charts and went platinum in its first week of release. Singles from the album include "Hollywood", "Pony" and "Saturated". Following the Boxing Day Tsunami, Chambers appeared at the Wave Aid fundraising concert in Sydney, to raise funds for aid organisations working in disaster affected areas.

Chambers's next album, Carnival, debuted in the No. 1 position on the ARIA album charts in late August 2006. The lead single, "Nothing at All" also reached the top ten of the singles chart.

Chambers and Shane Nicholson with Troy Cassar-Daley played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 14 March 2009 for Sound Relief, a multi-venue rock music concert in support of relief for the Victorian Bushfire Crisis.^[5][6] The event was held simultaneously with a concert at the Sydney Cricket Ground.^[5] All the proceeds from the Melbourne Concert went to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire relief.^[5][6] Appearing with Chambers in Melbourne were, Augie March, Bliss N Eso with Paris Wells, Gabriella Cilmi, Hunters & Collectors, Jack Johnson, Jet, Kings Of Leon, Liam Finn, Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly, Split Enz and Wolfmother.^[7]

In 2010 the Australian Independent Record (AIR) Award for 'Best Independent Country Album' went to the Australian country family dynasty - Kasey Chambers, Poppa Bill and the Little Hillbillies - for their Lost Music Blues album. A unique collaboration of 3 generations - the 16 original songs were crafted together by Kasey, her father Bill, brother Nash and their collective brood of Little Hillbillies.^[8]

Personal life

Chambers was born in Mount Gambier, South Australia.^[9] She has an older brother, Nash Chambers. She grew up on the Nullarbor Plain and the tiny fishing village in Beachport, South Australia. Her family owned the local Fish and Chip shop for a time and were playing and touring with her family band, "The Dead Ringer Band" which included her father Billy Chambers a Golden Guitar Award songwriter and Nash Chambers, now a well known music producer and performer. "The Dead Ringer Band" continued to tour locally and interstate gaining support and popularity along the way.^[10]

In late 2005, Chambers married Australian singer-songwriter Shane Nicholson. Chambers and Nicholson have two children, son Arlo Ray (2007) and daughter Poet Poppin (2011). Chambers has an older son, Talon, from a previous relationship.^[11] In April 2013, Chambers and Nicholson announced their separation after eight years of marriage.^[12]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions						Certifications (sales threshold)
		AUS [13]	US Country [14]	US [15]	US Heat [16]	US Folk [17]	US Indie [18]
The Captain	Release date: 1999 Format: CD, digital download Label: EMI Records	11	49	—	—	—	—	AUS: 2× Platinum[19]
Barricades & Brickwalls	Release date: 3 September 2001 Format: CD, digital download Label: Warner Bros. Records	1	13	104	1	—	—	AUS: 7× Platinum[20]
Wayward Angel	Release date: 31 May 2004 Format: CD, digital download Label: Warner Bros. Records	1	31	—	15	—	—	AUS: 3× Platinum[21]
Carnival	Release date: 19 August 2006 Format: CD, digital download Label: EMI Records	1	—	—	22	—	—	AUS: Platinum[22]
Rattlin' Bones (with Shane Nicholson)	Release date: 19 April 2008 Format: CD, digital download Label: Liberation Music (Aus/NZ), Sugar Hill Records (US/Worldwide)	1	—	—	21	—	—	AUS: Platinum[23]
Little Bird	Release date: 17 September 2010 Format: CD, digital download Label: Liberation Music (Aus/NZ), Sugar Hill Records (US/Worldwide)	3	32	—	6	9	39	AUS: Gold[24]
Storybook	Release date: 23 September 2011 Format: CD, digital download Label: Liberation Music (Aus/NZ), Sugar Hill Records (US/Worldwide)	21	53	—	16	19	—
Wreck & Ruin (with Shane Nicholson)	Release date: 23 October 2012 Format: CD, digital download Label: Liberation Music (Aus/NZ), Sugar Hill Records (US/Worldwide)	6	35	—	15	10	—
Bittersweet	Release date: 29 August 2014 Format: CD, digital download Label: Warner Music Australia	2	49	—	24	23	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or not released to that country

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions		Certifications (sales threshold)	Album
		AUS [25]	NZ [26]
2000	"Cry Like a Baby"	71	—		The Captain
	"The Captain"	68	—
2001	"Runaway Train"	86	—		Barricades & Brickwalls
	"On a Bad Day"	—	—
2002	"Not Pretty Enough"	1	4	AUS: 2× Platinum[27]
	"Million Tears"	32	—
	"If I Were You"	32	—
2003	"True Colours"	4	—	AUS: Gold[28]	Non-album song
2004	"Like a River" and "Hollywood"	28	—		Wayward Angel
2005	"Pony"	10	—
	"Saturated"	75	—
2006	"Nothing at All"	9	—		Carnival
	"Surrender"	74	—
2008	"Rattlin' Bones" (with Shane Nicholson)	55	—		Rattlin' Bones
	"Monkey on a Wire" (with Shane Nicholson)	—	—
	"Wildflower" (with Shane Nicholson)	—	—
2010	"Little Bird"	82	—		Little Bird
2011	"Beautiful Mess"	—	—
	"Luka"	—	—		Storybook
2012	"Adam and Eve" (with Shane Nicholson)	—	—		Wreck & Ruin
	"The Quiet Life" (with Shane Nicholson)	—	—
2014	"Wheelbarrow"	—	—		Bittersweet
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or not released to that country

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2000	"Cry Like a Baby"	Paul Elliott
2002	"Not Pretty Enough"	Danny Passman
2004	"Like a River"	Sean Gilligan
2008	"Rattlin' Bones" (with Shane Nicholson)	Helen Clemens
2011	"Little Bird"	Gemma Lee
2012	"Adam & Eve" (with Shane Nicholson)	Duncan Toombs
2013	"The Quiet Life" (with Shane Nicholson)[29]
2014	"Wheelbarrow"	Renny Wijeyamohan
	"Bittersweet" (with Bernard Fanning)

Other contributions

• 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10 (2002) – "Not Pretty Enough"
• Hear Music Vol 8 - Between Stories (2002) – "Not Pretty Enough"

Awards and recognition

Year	Award-giving Body	Award	Result
1999	ARIA Award	Best Country Album (The Captain)	Won
1999	ARIA Awards	Best Female Artist (The Captain)	Nominated
2000	ARIA Award	Best Female Artist (The Captain)	Won
2000	ARIA Awards	Single of the Year (The Captain)	Nominated
2000	APRA Awards	Song of the Year (Cry Like A Baby)	Nominated
2000	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work (Cry Like A Baby)	Nominated
2000	Mo Awards	Female Country Performer of the Year	Won
2001	APRA Awards	Song of the Year (The Captain)	Nominated
2001	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work (The Captain)	Won
2002	ARIA Awards	Best Cover Art (Barricades & Brickwalls)	Nominated
2002	ARIA Awards	Best Country Album (Barricades & Brickwalls)	Won
2002	ARIA Awards	Best Female Artist (Barricades & Brickwalls)	Won
2002	ARIA Awards	Highest Selling Single (Not Pretty Enough)	Nominated
2002	ARIA Awards	Highest Selling Album (Barricades & Brickwalls)	Nominated
2002	ARIA Awards	Single of the Year (Not Pretty Enough)	Nominated
2002	ARIA Awards	Album of the Year (Barricades & Brickwalls)	Won
2002	APRA Awards	Songwriter of the Year	Won
2002	APRA Awards	Song of the Year (On A Bad Day)	Nominated
2002	APRA Awards	Song of the Year (Runaway Train)	Nominated
2002	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work (On A Bad Day)	Nominated
2002	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work (Runaway Train)	Nominated
2002	Mo Awards	Female Country Performer of the Year	Won
2003	ARIA Awards	Highest Selling Album (Barricades & Brickwalls)	Nominated
2003	APRA Awards	Song of the Year ("Not Pretty Enough")[30]	Won
2003	APRA Awards	Most Performed Australian Work ("Not Pretty Enough")[31]	Won
2003	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work ("If I Were You")[32]	Nominated
2003	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work ("A Million Tears")[32]	Nominated
2003	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work ("Not Pretty Enough")[31]	Won
2004	ARIA Awards	Best Cover Art (Wayward Angel)	Nominated
2004	ARIA Awards	Best Country Album (Wayward Angel)	Won
2004	ARIA Awards	Best Female Artist (Wayward Angel)	Won
2004	ARIA Awards	Album of the Year (Wayward Angel)	Nominated
2005	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work ("Hollywood")[33]	Nominated
2005	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work ("Like a River")[34]	Won
2006	ARIA Awards	Best Female Artist (Nothing at All)	Nominated
2006	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work ("Hollywood")[35]	Nominated
2006	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work ("Pony")[36]	Won
2006	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work (Saturated)[35]	Nominated
2007	APRA Awards	Most Performed Country Work ("Nothing at All")[37]	Won
2007	ARIA Awards	Best Female Artist (Carnival)	Nominated
2008	ARIA Awards	Album of the Year (Rattlin' Bones)	Nominated
2008	ARIA Awards	Best Country Album (Rattlin' Bones)	Won
2008	ARIA Awards	Best Cover Art (Rattlin' Bones)	Nominated
2009	APRA Awards	Country Work of the Year ("Rattlin' Bones")[38]	Won
2009	APRA Awards	Song of the Year ("Rattlin' Bones")[39]	Nominated
2009	CMAA Awards	Album of the Year (Rattlin' Bones)	Won
2009	CMAA Awards	APRA Song of the Year (Rattlin' Bones)	Won
2009	CMAA Awards	Group or Duo of the Year (Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson)	Nominated
2009	CMAA Awards	Single of the Year (Rattlin' Bones)	Won
2009	CMAA Awards	Video Clip of the Year (Rattlin' Bones)	Won
2009	CMAA Awards	Highest Selling Album of the Year (Rattlin' Bones)	Won
2009	Americana Music Awards	Best Duo/Group of the Year (Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson)	Nominated
2009	Americana Music Awards	Song of the Year (Rattlin' Bones)	Nominated[40]
2009	ARIA Awards	Best Music DVD (Rattlin Bones Max Sessions)	Nominated
2010	CMAA Awards	Female Artist Of The Year (Kasey Chambers)	Won
2010	CMAA Awards	Album Of The Year (Little Bird)	Nominated
2010	CMAA Awards	APRA Song of the Year (Little Bird)	Won
2010	CMAA Awards	Video Clip Of The Year (Little Bird)	Nominated
2010	CMAA Awards	Single of the Year (Little Bird)	Won
2010	CMAA Awards	Toyota Heritage Song Of The Year (Nullabor (The Biggest Backyard))	Nominated
2010	CMAA Awards	Vocal Collaboration Of The Year (Love Like A Hurricane – Kasey Chambers & Kevin Bennett)	Won
2011	ARIA Awards	Best Country Album (Little Bird)	Won
2011	ARIA Awards	Best Female Artist Artist (Little Bird)	Nominated
2012	APRA Awards	Country Work of the Year ("Beautiful Mess")[41]	Nominated
2013	ARIA Awards	Best Country Album (Wreck & Ruin)	Won
2013	ARIA Awards	Best Cover Artist (Wreck and Ruin)	Nominated
2014	ARIA Awards	Best Country Album (Bittersweet)[42]	Won
2014	ARIA Awards	Best Female Artist Artist (Bittersweet)[43]	Nominated

References

1. "Search Reviews, Articles, People, Trailers and more at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
2. "Various – True Colours: Official Album Of Rugby World Cup 2003". Discogs. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
3. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2003". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
4. "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2003 Singles". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
5. Brumby, John (24 February 2009). "Artists Unite For 'Sound Relief' Bushfire Benefit – Premier of Victoria, Australia". Premier of Victoria. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
6. Mitchell, Geraldine (24 February 2009). "Coldplay, Kings of Leon to headline bushfire relief concerts". Herald Sun (Australia: The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd). Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
7. "Latest News". Sound Relief. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
8. Australian Independent Record Labels Association Ltd (AIR), 2012
9. Sams, Christine (18 October 2009). "Kasey tunes up to become queen of the kids". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
10. Nimmervoll, Ed. "Kasey Chambers: Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
11. "Category Archives: News". Kaseychambers.com. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
12. "Shane Nicholson and Kasey Chambers separate after eight years of marriage". The Daily Telegraph. 23 April 2013.
13. "australian-charts.com – Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
14. "Kasey Chambers Album & Song Chart History – Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
15. "Kasey Chambers Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
16. "Kasey Chambers Album & Song Chart History – Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
17. "Kasey Chambers Album & Song Chart History – Folk Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
18. "Kasey Chambers Album & Song Chart History – Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
19. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
20. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Albums". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
21. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Albums". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
22. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 Albums". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
23. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
24. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Albums". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
25. "australian-charts.com – Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
26. "charts.org.nz – New Zealand charts portal". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
27. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
28. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Singles". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
29. "CMT : Videos : Kasey Chambers : The Quiet Life". Country Music Television. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
30. "Previous Winners Song of the Year". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 12 November 2010.
31. "2003 Winners – APRA Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 12 November 2010.
32. "Nominations 2003". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 12 November 2010.
33. "Nominations – 2005". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 17 May 2010.
34. "2005 Winners – APRA Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 17 May 2010.
35. "Nominations – 2006". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 6 May 2010.
36. "2006 Winners – APRA Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 6 May 2010.
37. "2007 Winners – APRA Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 3 May 2010.
38. "2009 Winners – APRA Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 23 April 2010.
39. "Nominations for Song of the Year – 2009". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 23 April 2010.
40. http://web.archive.org/web/20110720083652/http://www.americanamusic.org/site.php?em1056=190764_-1__0_~0_-1_6_2009_0_0&em2873=&em2817=. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
41. "Nominations > Country Work of the Year – 2012". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
42. "And the ARIA Award Goes To...". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 30 November 2014.
43. "2014 ARIA Awards Connected By Telstra | Nominated artists revealed". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 8 October 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.

External links

• Kasey Chambers Home Page
• Kasey Chambers Allmusic article
• Kasey Chambers discography at MusicBrainz
• Kasey Chambers interview in Reverb magazine (November 2010)
• Kasey Chambers / Little Bird radio interview on Ben Sorensen's REAL Country October 2010