Biography
Clare Bowen, whose résumé encompasses television, film, and stage work that includes musical theater, reached the Billboard country charts via her soundtrack performances as Scarlett O'Connor on the series Nashville from 2012 through 2018. Her gentle, understated vocal approach paired with reflective songwriting marked her first solo outing, the self-titled Clare Bowen, which appeared in 2019 and edged her sound toward adult-contemporary pop while preserving traces of twang and her signature light vibrato.
Born in 1984 along Australia’s South Coast in New South Wales, Bowen survived childhood cancer and absorbed a wide range of music from Paul Simon to Dolly Parton before pursuing the arts, ultimately earning a creative-arts degree from the University of Wollongong in 2007. The year 2009 brought a lead role in the Australian feature The Combination as well as guest spots on the local series The Cut and All Saints; a recurring part on Home and Away followed in 2010, along with roles in the films The Clinic that same year and Not Suitable for Children in 2012. Live theater credits during this period included productions of Candide, Our Town, and Spring Awakening.
Acting on the recommendation of then–Sydney Theatre Company artistic director Cate Blanchett, Bowen moved to Los Angeles in 2012 and was cast as songwriter Scarlett O’Connor on ABC’s Nashville. The show’s debut season yielded two duets with castmate Sam Palladio, playing Gunnar Scott—“If I Didn’t Know Better” and “Fade into You”—both produced by Buddy Miller and each grazing the country Top 100. Bowen and Palladio appeared among the ensemble on The Music of Nashville: Season 1, Vol. 1 (Big Machine Records), which led the Billboard soundtracks chart, reached the country Top Five, and peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200. Eight further cast soundtrack albums also entered the Top Ten, while Bowen’s own 2014 release, The Nashville Cast Featuring Clare Bowen as Scarlett O’Connor: Season 1, climbed to number 41 on the country chart. She signed with BMG Rights Management (US) for her solo debut, issued in April 2018 shortly before Nashville concluded that July; the album featured Buddy Miller and mostly songs co-written with her husband, singer-songwriter Brandon Robert Young, and spent one week at number 65 on the U.K. album chart. Bowen subsequently toured the United States in support of a reunited Sugarland.
Born in 1984 along Australia’s South Coast in New South Wales, Bowen survived childhood cancer and absorbed a wide range of music from Paul Simon to Dolly Parton before pursuing the arts, ultimately earning a creative-arts degree from the University of Wollongong in 2007. The year 2009 brought a lead role in the Australian feature The Combination as well as guest spots on the local series The Cut and All Saints; a recurring part on Home and Away followed in 2010, along with roles in the films The Clinic that same year and Not Suitable for Children in 2012. Live theater credits during this period included productions of Candide, Our Town, and Spring Awakening.
Acting on the recommendation of then–Sydney Theatre Company artistic director Cate Blanchett, Bowen moved to Los Angeles in 2012 and was cast as songwriter Scarlett O’Connor on ABC’s Nashville. The show’s debut season yielded two duets with castmate Sam Palladio, playing Gunnar Scott—“If I Didn’t Know Better” and “Fade into You”—both produced by Buddy Miller and each grazing the country Top 100. Bowen and Palladio appeared among the ensemble on The Music of Nashville: Season 1, Vol. 1 (Big Machine Records), which led the Billboard soundtracks chart, reached the country Top Five, and peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200. Eight further cast soundtrack albums also entered the Top Ten, while Bowen’s own 2014 release, The Nashville Cast Featuring Clare Bowen as Scarlett O’Connor: Season 1, climbed to number 41 on the country chart. She signed with BMG Rights Management (US) for her solo debut, issued in April 2018 shortly before Nashville concluded that July; the album featured Buddy Miller and mostly songs co-written with her husband, singer-songwriter Brandon Robert Young, and spent one week at number 65 on the U.K. album chart. Bowen subsequently toured the United States in support of a reunited Sugarland.
Albums
Singles
