Kirsty Lee Akers
Kirsty Lee Akers is an Australian country singer-songwriter. Career. Akers performed in public for the first time at the age of three years and recorded her first EP in 2006, at the age of 16. She funded that recording with the money she made busking on the streets of Tamworth, New South Wales. Akers graduated from the CMAA Academy of Country Music. In 2007, at the age of 18, Akers won the Star Maker Award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival and signed her first record deal and released her debut studio album, "Little Things" the  same year. Akers reflected saying, "I used to write my own songs but I had maybe one original song on my first album which was really strange for me at the time because I only ever sang my own songs, but the label [Compass Bros.] at the time wanted me to record different songs, and when I look back now I wish I had that support to record my own music." In 2010, Akers cut ties with Compass Bros. and released music independently. Her third album "Naked" was released in April 2011 and was nominated for 3 Golden Guitar Awards  - Best Female Artist, Best Music Video, and Best Vocal Collaboration. In early 2015, Akers signed a new deal with Maven/Sony Music Australia and in April 2016, released "Burn Baby Burn". In July 2018, Akers released "Under My Skin" which peaked at number 29 on the ARIA Charts. In 2021, Akers appeared on the seventh season of television series "The Block" In April 2022, Akers released her sixth studio album, and first on her own label, Rider Records, which she launched in 2021 with husband Jesse Anderson and manager Perrin Finlay-Brown. The album debuted at number 11 on the  ARIA Charts. Awards and nominations. AIR Awards. The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. 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. ! CMA Awards. The Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. Tamworth Country Music  Festival. (wins only)