Rachael FahimA year ago, Rachael Fahim made the kind of call that can either change everything or send you running straight back to square one. She walked away from the safety of a full-time job and decided to give music her full attention. No backup plan.
It’s the kind of move that looks bold from the outside, but behind the scenes, it comes with its fair share of doubt. And Fahim doesn’t pretend otherwise.
“Oh, there’s been a few moments where I’m like ‘oh maybe I should just crawl back and ask for my job again,’” she admits. But those moments never lasted long. “I haven't actually followed through with any of that because my mentality has been that… if I just cave in and I go back to a safety net then I’m never actually going to fully give it my all again.”
That mindset has quietly shaped one of the most important years of her career so far. While there have been challenges, she’s quick to point out they’ve been outweighed by growth. “The ‘oh shit’ moments have been very few and far between… I’m really proud of myself for getting this far without crawling back.”
That sense of momentum hit a turning point on her recent run supporting Jordan Davis, a tour that arrived almost exactly 12 months after she made the leap into full-time music. It wasn’t just another support slot, it became a defining moment.
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“Jumping up on stage with him and doing Mess With Missing You… that moment for me was like, oh my god… it was a bit of a taste of what hopefully is, you know, more to come.”
What makes the moment even better is that it didn’t just happen, it was something Fahim actively worked towards. After noticing that Davis had been bringing female support acts on stage during previous tour legs, she made sure she was ready if the opportunity came.
“I was… I was more manifesting it,” she explains. “I was like, okay, so I’ve got to practice something and be prepared.”
That preparation turned into a simple but bold ask backstage and one that paid off. “I just kind of said ‘hey, is there any chance that you’re doing ‘Mess With Missing You’ tonight?’”
It’s a small moment on paper, but it speaks volumes about how Fahim is approaching her career: prepared, proactive, and not afraid to go after what she wants. As she puts it, “if you don't ask, you don't receive.”
That same drive is behind her push into mainstream territory something that’s historically been tough for Australian country artists to break into. Her track Deep End landing on commercial radio wasn’t just a win, it was a long term goal realised.
“That was a huge goal of mine ever since I started music… it’s really quite difficult for an Australian country artist to get on mainstream radio. It doesn't happen often.”
Instead of accepting that as the norm, Fahim leaned into it. “I was like ‘why is it so difficult? I want that to be something that I strive for… because there’s no reason why we can't be on radio.’”
And as her audience grows, it’s clear that crossover is working. Touring with artists like Pete Murray and playing to mixed genre crowds has introduced her to listeners who might not have considered themselves country fans before.
That blend of country and pop sits right at the core of her debut album Who You Are, which dropped today. It’s a project that’s been building for years, even if it didn’t start with a clear “album plan.”
“The first song was Good Luck back in 2021… but that story started back in 2018,” she explains. “So I guess you could say that the album started in 2018 full of life experiences.”
Rather than forcing a concept early on, Fahim let the songs evolve naturally, writing across Sydney, Nashville and even LA before pulling everything together into a cohesive body of work.
“The songs kind of didn't start out as we’re doing it for an album… they kind of just started out as we’re writing… and then listening to it as a whole we’re like ‘let’s just take everything and just kind of make it sound more cohesive.’”
The result is an album rooted in heartbreak, with just one single love song, Deep End, offering a moment of light. Sonically, it leans into pop-country but doesn’t shy away from edgier influences.
“There has been a bit of a theme of a Blink-182 sound throughout the album,” she says, pointing to late night sessions and creative back-and-forths with collaborators.
One track she’s particularly excited for fans to hear is You Suck, a song she describes as “savage” and “fun” and one that didn’t come together easily.
“I just can't stop listening to this chorus… I was like ‘I need to finish this!’” she says, explaining how the track took multiple sessions to complete. “It took a lot more brainpower… but we just thought ‘this is so good, we need to actually do the chorus justice.’”
Now, with the album released and her headline Who You Are tour about to kick off, Fahim is stepping into another new chapter, this time as the main event.
It’s exciting, but it’s also nerve-wracking. “Every time you do a tour as an artist, the plan is that more and more people come along… but it is still very nerve-wracking.”
Between watching ticket sales, planning outfits, and quite literally moving house the day before the tour starts, it’s a chaotic lead in but one she’s embracing.
“I had to plan my outfits for the first week of tour so that tour can, you know, begin… and then I can go home and just unpack my life and then jump back out on the road like nothing happened.”
It’s a fitting snapshot of where Fahim is right now: juggling the chaos, backing herself, and figuring it out as she goes, but always moving forward.
And when it comes to how fans should experience Who You Are, she keeps it simple. “I think the most important thing is just listen to it… however you can.”
