Meg Mac | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Megan Sullivan McInerney |
Born | Sydney, Australia | 6 July 1990
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, keyboard |
Years active | 2013–present |
Labels | littleBIGMAN/Inertia, 300 Entertainment, EMI Music Australia |
Website | megmac |
Megan Sullivan McInerney (born 6 July 1990 in Sydney), known by her stage name Meg Mac, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. She signed to littleBIGMAN Records in 2014, locally, and 300 Entertainment in the United States. [1]
Mac started developing her singing as soon as she could speak. [2] She started writing songs as a teen. [3] She began a degree in Digital Media but soon quit this after she moved to Perth to study music at the WA Academy of Performing Arts. After completing her degree, she recorded "Known Better" and submitted it to Triple J's Unearthed program. At this point, she decided to move from Perth to Melbourne and left on a road trip with a carload of friends. It was during this trip as they were approaching Melbourne that she discovered that Triple J was planning to play her song that evening. [4] Meg Mac was educated at The McDonald Performing Arts College in Sydney Australia. [5]
The initial exposure to Triple J catapulted Mac's musical career. She was the Unearthed Featured Artist of the Week in 2013 [6] and Unearthed Artist of the Year in 2014. [7]
In July 2014, Mac announced her first national headline tour to promote her debut extended play, MegMac , which was issued on 12 September that year on littleBIGMAN Records. [8] On Triple J, the national youth radio station, she was announced as their "Unearthed Artist of 2014", [9] while Marie Claire Australia chose her as an "Artist to Watch" for 2015 [10] and she received a nomination for Rolling Stone Australia's "Best New Talent" Award. [11]
She was reviewed by The New York Times, BuzzFeed, [12] and Daytrotter. Mac toured supporting Clean Bandit. [13]
On 15 August 2015, Mac achieved her first top 50 chart appearance with "Never Be", which entered the ARIA Singles Chart at No. 39. [14] It out-peaked her first top 100 single, "Roll Up Your Sleeves", which had reached No. 80 in August 2014. [14] [15] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2015 she was nominated for Best Female Artist for MEGMAC and Breakthrough Artist for "Never Be". [16] On 26 January 2016, "Never Be" made it to No.11 on the Triple J Hottest 100.
Mac's debut album Low Blows was released on 14 July 2017, [17] and entered the ARIA Chart at No.2
In October 2018, Mac released the single "Give Me My Name Back" which she told Billboard "is a song for those who have suffered emotional and physical abuse; it's for the women who are standing up and speaking out, those discriminated against in the LGBTQI community, the indigenous people of Australia and the children abused by the church. For everyone who has lost an important part of themselves and needs to reclaim their identity, dignity, and self-worth to move forward with their lives." [18] Her second studio album was announced on 12 April 2019 under the title Hope. [19]
In 2018, Mac collaborated with Dan Sultan on Killer Under a Blood Moon, produced and recorded by Jan Skubiszewski. [20] The album was nominated for two ARIA awards [21] and debuted at number 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
In March 2022, Mac released "Is It Worth Being Sad" with Mac saying "I was running away from my troubles. I was living in peace finally and thought I'd figured it all out, and it was all smooth sailing ahead. It was the start of sorting out my life. This song was like my first step—I didn't know it then, though." [22] This was followed by "On My Mind" on 30 March 2022 and an Australian tour announcement, commencing in May. [23] In July 2022, Mac announced her third studio album Matter of Time , which was released on 16 September 2022. [24] The album was proceeded by the singles "Is It Worth Being Sad", "On Your Mind", "Only Love", "Letter" [25] and "Understand". [26] [27] The album debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Charts.
On 29 November 2022, Mac released a five-track live EP titled Live At Golden Retriever. [28]
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2014 [31] | herself | Breakthrough Independent Artist | Nominated |
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual award ceremony event celebrating the Australian music industry.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Matter of Time | Best Solo Artist | Nominated | [32] |
The J Awards is an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | herself | Unearthed Artist of the Year | Won | [33] |
2017 | Low Blows | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated | [34] |
2022 | Matter of Time | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated | [35] |
The MTV Europe Music Awards is an award presented by Viacom International Media Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2017 [36] | herself | Best Australian Act | Nominated |
The Music Victoria Awards is an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Meg Mac | Best Female Artist | Nominated | [37] [38] |
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) is a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2016 [39] | herself | International Live Achievement (Solo) | Nominated |
2017 [40] [41] | herself | Live Voice of the Year | Nominated |
2019 [42] [43] | herself | International Live Achievement (Solo) | Nominated |
The Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by Albert Music and APRA AMCOS. It commenced in 2009. [44]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | "Roll Up Your Sleeves" | Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition | 2nd |
Ball Park Music is an Australian five-piece indie rock band from Brisbane consisting of Sam Cromack, Jennifer Boyce, Paul Furness, Dean Hanson and Daniel Hanson. Since forming in 2008, the band has released seven studio albums. Their debut, Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs (2011), was nominated for Australian Album of the Year at the J Awards, and its 2012 follow-up, Museum, debuted at number nine on the ARIA charts. Their third album, Puddinghead (2014), was supported by the certified-platinum lead single "She Only Loves Me When I'm There".
Courtney Melba Barnett is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for her deadpan singing style and witty, rambling lyrics, she attracted attention with the release of her debut EP I've Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris in 2012. International interest came with the release of her EP The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas in 2013.
Celia Pavey, known professionally as Vera Blue, is an Australian singer-songwriter signed with Island Records Australia, which is part of Universal Music Australia. Her folk-inspired album This Music peaked at number 14 on the Australian ARIA Charts in July 2013. Pavey sings, and plays the guitar and the violin. She placed third in season 2 of The Voice Australia. Her debut album Perennial achieved Gold certification in Australia after its release in 2017.
Thelma Amelina Plumbe, known professionally as Thelma Plum, is an Aboriginal Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist and musician from Delungra, New South Wales. Her father is lore-man Paul Winanga-li Gii Spearim. Her debut album, Better in Blak, was released on 30 July 2019 and peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Takudzwa Victoria Rosa "Tkay" Maidza is a Zimbabwean-born Australian singer-songwriter and rapper.
Jessica Alyssa Cerro, who performs as Montaigne, is an Australian art pop musician and Twitch streamer. Montaigne's debut album, Glorious Heights, was released in August 2016 and peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2016 Montaigne won Breakthrough Artist – Release for the album and was nominated for three other categories. In April 2016, Montaigne was a featured vocalist on Hilltop Hoods' track, "1955", which reached No. 2 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Montaigne was supposed to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Don't Break Me", until the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Montaigne represented Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Technicolour".
Ngaire Laun Joseph, known by her stage name Ngaiire, is a Papua New Guinea-born Australian-based R&B and future soul singer-songwriter. Her musical career commenced in 2003 with an enrollment in a bachelor of Jazz Studies at the Central Queensland University (CQU). In 2004, she competed in the second season of Australian Idol, where she competed as a semi-finalist but did not make it to the final 12 singers. She then worked with Blue King Brown and Paul Mac as a session vocalist before re-focusing on her solo career in 2008.
Gang of Youths are an Australian alternative rock band, which formed in 2012. Since 2020, the group consists of David Le'aupepe on lead vocals, rhythm guitar and piano, Max Dunn on bass guitar, Jung Kim on guitar and keyboards, Donnie Borzestowski on drums and Tom Hobden on violin, rhythm guitar and keyboards. They relocated to England in 2017. Founding member Joji Malani, on lead guitar and backing vocals, left them in 2019 to return to Australia. The band's debut studio album, The Positions (2015), received multiple ARIA Award nominations and peaked at number five on the Australian albums chart. It provided the single "Magnolia", which has been described as their breakthrough hit and was certified platinum in 2018.
Gretta Louise Ray is an Australian singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Victoria. In 2016, she was the winner of the national Triple J Unearthed radio competition for bands and songwriters, and the 2016 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition, with her song "Drive". To date, Ray has released two studio albums – Begin to Look Around (2021) and Positive Spin (2023) – as well as the EPs Elsewhere (2016) and Here and Now (2018).
Julia Jacklin is an Australian singer-songwriter from the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales. Jacklin's musical style has been described as indie pop, indie folk, and alternative country. She has released three studio albums, Don't Let the Kids Win (2016), Crushing (2019) and Pre Pleasure (2022). Jacklin has also performed with the band Phantastic Ferniture, with whom she released the debut single "Fuckin 'n' Rollin" and a self-titled album in 2018, followed by subsequent singles.
Tash Sultana is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music producer, described as a "one-person band". Sultana rose to international prominence with their 2016 single "Jungle", which was voted into third place in Triple J's Hottest 100 countdown of 2016. The following year, Sultana had three songs voted into Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2017; "Mystik" placing at number 28, "Murder to the Mind" at number 43, and their Like a Version cover of MGMT's "Electric Feel" at number 78.
Citizen Kay is an Australian Canberra-based hip hop artist.
Alexandra Lahey is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Her debut album I Love You Like a Brother was released on 6 October 2017 and peaked at number 15 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Her second album, The Best of Luck Club followed in 2019, peaking at number 30. Following an EP issued during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she released her third record, The Answer Is Always Yes, in May 2023.
Amy Louise Billings, known professionally as Amy Shark, is an Australian indie pop singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer from the Gold Coast, Queensland. During 2008 to 2012, her early solo material was released and performed under the name Amy Cushway. Her 2016 single "Adore" peaked at number 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was also listed at number 2 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2016. Her album Love Monster debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Shark has won 8 ARIA Music Awards from 29 nominations, including winning Best Pop Release three times: in 2017 for her extended play, Night Thinker, 2018 for Love Monster and 2020 for "Everybody Rise".
Grace Kathleen Elizabeth Shaw, known professionally as Mallrat, is an Australian musician, singer, and rapper from Brisbane. Mallrat has released three EPs: Uninvited (2016), In the Sky (2018) and Driving Music (2019). She also released her full-length debut studio album titled Butterfly Blue (2022) in May 2022 to critical acclaim. In 2019, her tracks "Groceries" and "UFO" placed at number 7 and 70, respectively, in the 2018 Triple J Hottest 100, in 2020, "Charlie" and "Nobody's Home" placed at number 3 and 59, respectively, in the 2019 Triple J Hottest 100 and in 2021, "Rockstar" placed 13 in the 2020 Triple J Hottest 100.
Stella Donnelly is a Welsh-Australian indie rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. After the success of her debut EP Thrush Metal in 2017, she signed with Secretly Canadian in 2018. She released her debut studio album Beware of the Dogs to critical acclaim in March 2019, peaking at number 15 on the ARIA Album Charts, and winning Independent Album of the Year at the AIR Awards. Her second studio album, Flood, was released in August 2022, debuting at number 29 on the ARIA Charts.
Sampa Tembo, known professionally as Sampa the Great, is a Zambian singer, rapper and songwriter. Between 2014 and 2020, she was based in Australia. Her debut solo album, The Return, peaked at No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019 she won Best Hip Hop Release for her second single, "Final Form". In the following year she won the same category for The Return, as well as Best Female Artist and Best Independent Release. In March 2020 Sampa became the first artist to win the Australian Music Prize twice: for Birds and the Bee9 and The Return. The artist was based back in Zambia from late 2020, where she issued her second studio album, As Above, So Below.
Ruby Phillips, known professionally as Ruby Fields, is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Cronulla, New South Wales. In 2018, she released her debut EP Your Dad's Opinion for Dinner, followed by the singles "I Want", "P Plates", and "Ritalin". Her single "Dinosaurs" reached number nine on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2018.
Annika Schmarsel known by her stage name Alice Ivy, is an Australian electronic musician and producer. Alice Ivy was the winner of the 2016 Triple J Unearthed Listen Out competition. She has released two studio albums: I'm Dreaming (2018), and Don't Sleep (2020), which reached No. 77 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Toni Watson, known professionally as Tones and I, is an Australian singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for her breakout single "Dance Monkey", which reached number one in over 30 countries including her home country Australia. In 2019-20, "Dance Monkey" completed 24 weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart, beating Bing Crosby's all-time Australian record for his version of "White Christmas", which spent an equivalent of 22 weeks at the top in 1943. "Dance Monkey" was certified 19× platinum by ARIA for shipments of over 1,330,000 units by June 2023.