Off the back of her success placing fourth on ‘The Voice’, Ellen Reed is ready to launch into her music career by showcasing her original music at the Brisbane Powerhouse in November.
“It's even more exciting given I did a show at the Powerhouse around 18 months ago, and I was only on the Turbine platform. To be able to come back, just over 12 months later, and perform on the main-stage theatre, is super, super exciting!” she exclaims.
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The show will celebrate her new single, ‘Wild Heart’, which will be released mid-November. Ellen says the lyrics were inspired by falling in love, by being the object of love, and by eventually falling out of love as well. “I always write from a place of truth. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those songwriters who can write without actually feeling things. I have to experience the emotions myself to be able to write about them, which can be quite difficult at times!” she explains.
“'Wild Heart' is one of the most honest songs I could possibly release, and that’s really scary to do. There's a part of me that thinks, 'Oh my god, that person's going to hear it!'”
Ellen was refreshingly honest when describing the story behind the song, even jokingly mentioning she was “getting all ‘Taylor Swift’ on her listeners”. “To be completely honest, I was called 'crazy', and I said, 'No I'm not, I'm reacting to the situation that you've put me in'. But then, my little wild heart did go a bit crazy. So, I word-vomited this song out, and I realised I really liked it.”
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In 2013, she released her debut EP ‘Blur’, but admits her sound has progressed significantly since then. “As I've grown as a human, and as an artist, my music has evolved. I've always been honest, but I feel like I'm more unapologetic about it now,” Ellen says.
“I used to be a little bit timid about releasing those songs, and in fact, when I played the title track 'Blur' to my Mum for the first time, I said, 'I can't release this. This is too much.' Whereas this time around, I say, ‘Well, if you want me to write nice things, then treat me well, and I will'.”
Besides drawing from the ups and downs of her personal life, Ellen says she’s also gained an incredible amount of knowledge and experience from her time on 'The Voice'. “It was brilliant and heartbreaking, and hard, and fun, and if you could let me do it all over again, I would. But it consisted of long days and hard work. You're really just thrown in a fish bowl, and then you come out the other end,” she admits.
“One important aspect I’ve learned is that being a woman in this industry and in society is not always easy. Jessie J believes there's a very fine line between being labelled a ‘diva’ and a ‘survivor’, and I couldn’t agree more."
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Unfortunately, Ellen missed out on signing a recording contract with Universal Music at the end of the programme. Though despite her initial disappointment, she’s still extremely proud by how far she advanced in the competition. “I didn't even think that I would turn a chair, to be honest. The fact that I got all the way through to the grand final completely blew my mind. Plus, the other three [contestants] had pre-existing audiences, whereas I only went in with 500 Instagram followers,” Ellen reveals.
“The thing is, I'm still so happy for everyone who was signed, they're my friends, after all. And although I hoped I would get the same opportunity, it's only made me more determined to prove myself. I can do this, and I'm going to do this, and you can watch me do this.”
Ellen Reed plays the Brisbane Powerhouse 30 November.
