Broome singer Amy Reeves takes on season nine of Australian Idol

As Australia prepares to tune into one of television’s biggest singing competitions, a 24-year-old singer from a Kimberley coastal town eagerly awaits the audience’s reactions to her inspiring Australian Idol audition. Growing up in Broome’s bustling multicultural music scene, Amy Reeves developed a love for performing from a young age singing Christmas carols at a fire station in front of her Filipino community. “I got on the stage and I sang Jingle Bells about six times because I loved the people clapping,” she said. “I thought wow all these people are being so nice and I’m getting this applause like I must be doing something right. “It took me a long time to get me dragged off the stage, and finally my Dad came up and grabbed me by the hand and said ‘OK let’s go now’.” While her mother insists she could make melodic sounds before she could speak, Amy credits her hometown and the Filipino community’s fondness of karaoke for her passion for music. “We’ve got amazing local acts up at home. I loved The Pigram Brothers and the local music scene is huge,” she said. “There used to be this music school run by Tania McKenna and I was with her for two years getting vocal lessons and she used to do vocal showcases. “Through that, I got to perform at Shinju Matsuri and that was a big thing through primary school. “I was in the Cable Beach Primary School choir, I think that’s where I got my first taste of competitive edge because we had to audition for solos and it was such a big thing getting a solo so you can sing at Shinju. “It was such a big crowd, it was huge, it was the whole community. “But it was mostly through family because karaoke is such a massive thing in Filipino culture, such as when we’d have dinner, but dinner wasn’t the main event, it’s the karaoke.” After relocating to Perth to start her studies at the renowned Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts to undertake a singing degree, Amy took a leap of faith and auditioned for The Voice in 2018. Unfortunately, her rendition of Beyonce’s “Halo” was not enough to turn the chairs of the judges, pushing her to wait a few more years to prepare for her latest audition. “I was just a baby, I was 19 and I think I wasn’t ready then but I feel ready now,” she said. “Australian Idol is such an iconic TV series and for it to come back and Marcia to come back . . . it feels different this time. “I feel more confident in who I am and in my ability. It was definitely a learning curve for me because it was rejection on national television and I don’t regret it for a second.” As Amy practices mindfulness and keeps up her vocal, physical and mental health, the Broome community has been rallying behind her in the lead-up to the airing of the latest Australian Idol season after returning from its 14-year hiatus last year. “I’m absolutely overwhelmed by Broome. My cousin is like flying my flag up there, she popped a Channel Seven article on the (Facebook group) Broome Noticeboard,” she said. “I read the comments and there were some people, like primary school teachers, who I hadn’t seen since I was about 12 years old. It was very overwhelming, very beautiful. “I love my little town — these people, this community, that place is really what has shaped me as a woman. I think I’d be really different if I didn’t grow up in Broome, so this is a credit to them as well.” Season nine of Australian Idol will be airing on Monday, January 29 on Channel 7 and 7plus, with judges Kyle Sandilands, Amy Shark and Marcia Hines searching for the next generation of singing sensations.