First Tamworth and now Mildura – Emma Jene has had a cracking 2018 when it comes to country music accolades.
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The 19-year-old former Nowra High School student cleaned up at the Tamworth Country Music Festival earlier this year.
She’s just returned from performing at the 32nd annual Mildura Country Music Festival where she took out the CRS Australian Independent Rising Star Female at the Southern Stars Australian Independent Country Music Awards.
Emma said it was both a shock and an honour to received the prestigious award.
“When I got asked to stay back for the awards night I went there thinking ‘there’s so many amazing artists here and surely someone else would get it’ so it was such a shock to hear my name,” she said.
Emma took out the award for her single ‘A Girl Needs Her Daddy’s Love’, co-written with Shaza Leigh and released in May.
While it’s not based on her own life, Emma said the song has a very special meaning.
“It’s about a young girl abandoned by her father at a young age and when she wants to find him he doesn’t want to be found but her mother steps in and tells her everything’s going to be okay,” she said.
“It didn’t happen to me but I got the inspiration from a film and from a lovely friend of mine.”
The song stayed on the Australian country music charts for 20 weeks and comes off the back of her successful ‘Cross Your Heart’ album.
After boarding the plane home armed with her award in a “massive photo frame”, Emma is now gearing up to perform at the Bedgerabong Country Music Campout 2018 this weekend.
She’s also busily working on her new album to be released in 2019.
“There’ll be a lot of new stuff, more ballad-type music and more about me,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to sharing it.”
