User:Ameliajae/sandbox

Amelia Jae is Amelia Jae Nina McMurray (born July 29, 1983), and is an Australian pop singer-songwriter and musician.

Amelia has recorded, funded and released her critically acclaimed debut album, 'No Ordinary Day'. It was launched in May 2011 to a sold out capacity audience of over 500, and she officially introduced herself to the entertainment world through Foxtel’s Entertainment News Reporter, Georgia Hawkins. Amelia recently supported United States’ YouTube phenomenon David Choi in shows across Australia including Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane in July 2011, with Jayeslee.

Early Life
She was born and raised in Kurrajong on the western, mountainous outskirts of Sydney, NSW Australia. She is the daughter of Judy McMurray and Steve McMurray and is the third of four children, having two older brothers and one younger sister. She first had a taste of singing at the age of 12 when her teacher decided to put on a school musical and she undertook dance lessons and examinations from the age of 7. Some of Amelia’s musical influences include Tina Arena, Taylor Swift , Kelly Clarkson , and Rob Thomas.

Education & Training
Amelia Jae studied drama at local drama schools throughout her schooling at St Paul’s Grammar School and Colo High. In 1999 she was accepted to the exclusive McDonald College of Performing Arts to continue her performing education. Her subsequent battle with CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) meant she was only there for a year.

Whilst at McDonald College, Amelia Jae met singing teacher Megan Shorey whom she describes as ‘brilliant’ and with whom she received coaching from for a number of years. At 15 years of age she made the conscious effort to move to a state school, Colo High School, where she auditioned for the 'NSW Schools Spectacular' and spent 3 years in this program before graduating from the prestigious 'Talent Development Project'. During this time, Amelia was introduced to Opera singer and teacher extraordinaire Jonathon Welch, who was the founder of “The Choir of Hard Knocks” and went on to study full time for a year at Australia’s prestigious NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Arts), graduating from the 'Singer Dancer Actor' course in 2004. Amelia Jae also graduated from Charles Sturt University with a Bachelor of Education (Primary).

Music Career
Amelia Jae first began singing and performing when she was cast to play the lead role as Joseph in her primary school musical 'Joseph and His Amazing Technicoloured Coloured Dreamcoat'. Amelia Jae wrote her first song at the age of 14 and has been developing her singer/songwriting skills since graduating from the Talent Development Project. She says, 'Knowing that through my music, people will be gaining a glimpse into my soul is both scary and exciting. I knew I wasn’t the only one out there to experience these feelings, these emotions and thoughts, and if in some small measurement someone could relate to my stories, then I wanted these stories to be heard'. In February 2010, Amelia Jae Nina McMurray was signed by Monsoon Productions and began launching her solo career as Amelia Jae. In August 2010, Amelia performed before 4000 young people at the Sydney Entertainment Centre from her then-still-to- be-released debut album,the track called “'The World is Sick'” for the RICE YOUTH EVENT. Working with USA based producers Joshua Brown (Nashville, TN), Dakarai Gwitira (New York), and Australian based producer Jake Nauta, her debut album was soft launched in Australia on December 1, 2010.

Singles

 * Wannabe (Rock What You Got)
 * Broken Promises
 * Beautiful Eyes
 * No Ordinary Day
 * Worth The Fight
 * Collide
 * Rainy Day Girl
 * Now’s The Time
 * Perfect Lullaby
 * The World is Sick

Albums
'No Ordinary Day'

Music Videos

 * World is Sick, RICE Rally 2010
 * Beautiful Eyes
 * Now’s the Time

Other Interests
Amelia enjoys horse riding, going to the beach, travelling, exercise and learning different languages.