The former Nowra High School student recently returned from the Tamworth Country Music Festival where she won the Best Vocalist of the Year for the Brumby Awards 2018,  the Joe McManamon Memorial Breakthrough Artist Of The Year and the Gold Media Medallion Awards Female Vocalist 2017 NSW.

Emma said she was honoured, but also very surprised to receive the awards. 

“They’re the biggest awards for independent artist awards and without them we wouldn’t be able to get anywhere,” she said. 

“I was presenting Brumby Awards to other artists and I didn’t even realise I was in the running.” 

The Brumby Award is particularly special to Emma, having received it for a song she wrote for her grandmother. 

She co-wrote the song, Memories Fade, with Shaza Leigh and it features on her 2017 album Cross Your Heart. 

”My grandmother has heard it and when the album came out I went to Uniting Care and played it for all the residents,” Emma said. 

“It was really special.” 

Emma is also celebrating after having two song in the Country Tracks Top 40. ‘Yahoo’ stayed in the country charts for 14 weeks, while ‘Fakin’ it, just makin’ it’ hit number one spot on November 18. 

“I wrote Yahoo all by myself and it went straight to number one when it was released and I just couldn’t believe it, I was over the moon,” she said. 

“I didn’t really believe in myself and then it just happened.” 

Emma has been on the country music scene for five years now, and released her first album, Dare to Dream in 2014. 

This year marked her fifth time performing at the Tamworth Country Music Festival and she’s already looking forward to next year. 

“It’s one of the best run festivals in the world,” she said. 

“People from all over the world come, true fans are fantastic, the atmosphere is incredible and its nice that people appreciate your songwriting.” 

Emma will now turn her focus to recording a third album, going on tour and performing at the Mildura Country Music Festival in November. 

Find more on Emma Jene’s music here.