Artist of the Week: Courtney Keil

CountryTown in partnership with iHeartCountry Australia is proud to announce singer-songwriter Courtney Keil as our Artist Of The Week.

Born on a working deer farm in the Adelaide Hills and now living in Melbourne, Keil graduated from CMAA Senior Academy of Country Music in 2016. She has been vocally trained by Lyn Bowtell and Renee Grant-Williams and was the recipient of multiple awards at the 2016 Australian Songwriters Conference, taking out ‘Song of the Year’ and the top awards in both pop and country categories.

Her debut single I Just Wanna Hold You, released in August 2020, reached #1 on the iTunes Country Singles chart, peaking at #15 on The Countrytown Music Network Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart and earning a semi-finalist spot in the 2020 International Songwriters Competition. Her follow up singles, Hummingbird and Where Does All The Love Go, both also debuted at #1 on the iTunes Country Singles chart.

She was handpicked to perform the national anthem acapella at Bathurst for the opening round of the 2021 Supercars Championship, off the back of her singles, and has also been playing the role of June Carter Cash alongside Daniel Thompson in Johnny Cash: The Concert throughout 2021 (pre-lockdown) which will be continuing in 2022.

Her current single, Little Heartbreak adds to the rich, time-honoured tradition of lovelorn breakup songs in country music. Musically inspired by Lee Ann Womack’s 1997 release Man With 18 Wheels, Keil wrote the song with Gina Jeffreys, Rod McCormack, Sam Gay and Templeton Thompson.

She says, “This song is inspired by the challenges of dating and facing ‘little heartbreaks’. Events build on each other: the ‘what if’s,’ first date failures, falling for someone then being rejected. Our main focus can be on major losses, long term relationship breakdown, and divorce which can underscore the pain and heartache of an ongoing dating cycle.”

Keep up to date with Courtney Keil, follow her on Facebook here.

For more Artist Of The Week features, including Courtney Keil, check out here.

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