Amy Shark

Amy Shark, recognized for fusing emotionally charged indie pop and rock elements with sweeping pop anthems, has climbed to the summit of the Australian album rankings on multiple occasions. Propelled by the lustrous, multi-platinum “crush song” “Adore,” her 2017 EP Night Thinker reached number two in her homeland and earned ARIAs for Breakthrough Artist and Best Pop Release. One year later she secured the top album position with the platinum-certified Love Monster, which collected Album of the Year among other honors at the ARIAs. Returning to number one in 2021, her follow-up Cry Forever—an Album of the Year nominee—contained the Top 30 duet “Love Songs Ain’t for Us” with Keith Urban. She scored another chart entry in 2022 via the R3hab collaboration “Sway My Way,” then issued further singles such as the uncommonly acoustic “High on You” with Sam Fischer in 2023. That same year she took a seat as a judge on the revived television program Australian Idol.

Born Amy Billings on the Gold Coast, the performer adopted Amy Shark as her second stage name. Having released music quietly for years under the name Amy Cushway, she submitted an entry to the Queensland Music Awards and captured the pop prize. National touring followed, supported by an arts grant that enabled studio work with producer M-Phazes on “Adore.” Issued in 2016, the track gained steady radio traction and became a major Australian success by early 2017, peaking at number three on the singles chart and ultimately achieving five-times platinum status by decade’s end.

Shark joined Sony Australia’s Wonderlick imprint, after which her official debut EP Night Thinker debuted at number two on the national albums chart several months later. The project earned six ARIA nominations and secured two victories, including Best Pop Release and Breakthrough Artist. Her first full-length album, Love Monster, arrived in July 2018 and achieved even greater commercial heights by topping the chart and attaining platinum certification while delivering three additional ARIAs for Album of the Year, Best Female Artist, and Best Pop Release. She spent much of the subsequent year on tour, guested on the Chainsmokers’ 2019 single “The Reaper,” and then retreated to the studio for her next project.

Across 2020 and into 2021 she released charting singles such as “Everybody Rise,” “C’Mon” featuring Travis Barker, and “Love Songs Ain’t for Us” featuring Keith Urban ahead of her sophomore album Cry Forever. Retaining its predecessor’s mix of raw and polished sonics, the set entered at number one upon its April 2021 release. Although it did not claim any ARIAs, the album received nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Release, while Shark herself earned a nod in the renamed Best Artist category.

In June 2022 she and R3hab unveiled their version of “Sway,” originally a Top Ten hit for New Zealand’s Bic Runga in 1997; the cover reached the Top 30 in both Australia and New Zealand. Early the following year the Seven Network brought Australian Idol back after a fourteen-year hiatus, placing Shark on the panel alongside Harry Connick, Jr., Meghan Trainor, and additional judges. She maintained her release schedule with the quasi-acoustic Sam Fischer collaboration “High on You” and the more assertive June single “Can I Show at Yours?”