29 September 2021 - 0 Comments

Spotify recently unveiled their new commitment to fostering equity for women in music globally. Acknowledging how integral women artists’ influence has been on Spotify and the music industry at large and has begun to upend this disparity and amplify the work of women creators by extending their resources and generating more opportunities for these artists, which they’re doing by creating a global, cohesive, branded experience with the EQUAL Global Music Program.

Kaylee Bell has been subsequently selected to represent New Zealand and Australian artists as the face of this Spotify Playlist and been profiled on a massive billboard in Times Square New York. “I was mind blown when I got the news, it’s a big moment for sure and it’s very surreal as an independent self-funded artist.”

In correlation with the massive profile, the award-winning country pop artist has hit 5 million streams with her 2019 tribute to Keith Urban across all streaming services. Kaylee Bell joins Kasey Chambers as the only two Australasian female country artists exceeding five million streams on a song.

New Zealand-based, Kaylee is a big fan of Keith, even performing a duet with the superstar on two separate occasions – his 2014 Light The Fuse tour in Narrabri, Australia and his 2016 ripCORD World Tour in Wellington, NZ. The artists have a common thread, both born in New Zealand, both relocated to Australia for some time, and both won Australia’s biggest country music talent search Star Maker – Keith in 1990 and Kaylee in 2013.

“Keith is an artist I have always idolised. He is the reason I moved to Australia to pursue my music and lead me to enter and win Toyota Star Maker. I sat on the song for over a year before I had the courage to release it as I knew that any song written as a tribute holds a lot of weight, but I love that the fans have embraced this song and given it a life I could never have imagined. It’s the song people request and the one they love to ask about which is so cool as the idea started as a two-o’clock-in-the-morning voice memo with a melody, and me trying to cram as many song titles of Keith’s into the song to make a story. I think I peaked at 13 titles hidden throughout. It’s a song we love to play live and it’s so cool to see how this song has been embraced by both my fans and Keith fans alike.”

Kaylee’s recent single That Summer was the most added song to mainstream radio in New Zealand for the month of May. Five million streams are an amazing achievement for a self-funded and managed independent artist.

Kaylee Bell’s current single Before I Met You featuring The McClymonts is out now, and her upcoming album will be released in November.

Comments

Return to News Archive