Katie Noonan
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist Katie Anne Noonan<ref name="APRA Homebrew">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (born 2 May 1977) is an Australian singer and songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the bands George and Elixir; she has also performed with her mother Maggie Noonan and her band the Captains.<ref name="katienoonan.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Noonan was the musical director of and performed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games' opening and closing ceremonies.<ref name="news.com.au">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:TOC limit
Early life
Noonan grew up with a strong background in classical music, with her mother Maggie being a well-known opera singer. She studied opera and jazz at the Queensland Conservatorium.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Career
George
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After graduation, Noonan began fronting the pop-rock group George, along with her brother Tyrone Noonan. Noonan founded George with her brother, with whom she shared lead vocals, in 1996 to enter a university music competition. After a series of successful independently released EPs, they signed to Festival Mushroom Records and released the debut album Polyserena in 2002. It debuted at the number 1 position on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) albums chart.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> George won the Breakthrough Artist ARIA award in 2002 and performed the song "Breathe in Now" at the award ceremony.
Elixir
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Noonan founded the jazz trio Elixir in 1997, which released their debut self-titled album in 2003. Elixir's second album, First Seed Ripening, was released on 5 August 2011.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It won the 2011 ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album.
2004: Two of a Kind
Noonan released an album of jazz and operatic duets with her mother in 2004. Entitled Two of a Kind, the album was released by the ABC Classics label.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2004, Noonan guest appeared at the Lord Of The Rings Symphony performances. The reviewer Murray Black said that "The undoubted highlight of the evening was guest vocalist Katie Noonan. Here is a rare talent with a voice of extraordinary beauty and versatility. In most of her solos, she sounded like a classical soprano as she soared over the orchestra with a spine-tingling, vibrato-less angelic purity. Then, in Gollum's Song and the Oscar-winning Into the West, she revealed her pop diva credentials with her strong, clear voice projecting effortlessly out in the audience."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2005: Before Time Could Change Us and the Broad Festival
Paul Grabowsky and Noonan teamed up for the jazz cycle Before Time Could Change Us. Consisting of words written by Dorothy Porter, the album tracks "the mysterious shifts and changes of a relationship".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The album won the 2005 ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album.
Later in 2005, Noonan was invited by Deborah Conway to take part in the Broad Festival project—together with three other Australian female artists they performed their own and each other's songs.<ref name="Elliott">Template:Cite news</ref> Sara Storer, Ruby Hunter and Clare Bowditch were the other female artists.<ref name="Broad2005">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2007: Skin and Second Skin
Noonan recorded a solo album entitled Skin at Sydney's Linear Recording in 2006. Produced by Andrew Klippel, Skin was released on 11 August 2007 and debuted at number 6 on the ARIA Top 50 album charts and number 1 on the Australian ARIA Top 20 album chart. The debut single, "Time To Begin", debuted at number 30 on the ARIA Top 50.
Following the success of the remix of "Time To Begin", Noonan collaborated with John Course and Mr Timothy. The collaboration involved the re-recording of Noonan's vocal tracks and a dance version of her solo album was released under the title Second Skin.
On 22 February 2008, Noonan was a support act for Cyndi Lauper at King's Park Botanic Gardens, Perth, Western Australia, and was invited on stage by Lauper to sing along to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Also in 2008, Noonan was featured as the vocalist in Telstra's "I Am Australian" series of advertisements.<ref>Template:YouTube</ref>
2008: Blackbird: The Music of Lennon and McCartney
Noonan released a jazz album of Lennon and McCartney cover versions in 2008 entitled Blackbird: The Music of Lennon and McCartney.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2010: Emperor's Box
The Katie Noonan and the Captains' album Emperor's Box was created over a three-year period and is Noonan's second release for Sony Music. She wrote all of the songs and collaborated with the following artists during the recording of the album: Tim Finn (Split Enz), Sia, Don Walker (Cold Chisel), Josh Pyke and Australian writer/poet Tom Shapcott. The album was co-produced by Noonan and Nick DiDia (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Stone Temple Pilots, Powderfinger).<ref name="katienoonan.com" /> It was preceded by the single "Page One" released in February.
2011–2012: Songs from the British Isles and Songs of the Southern Skies
In 2011, Noonan collaborated with Karin Schaupp and toured Songs from the British Isles. An EP was released available only from Noonan's website. In 2012, the two recorded Songs of the Southern Skies. The album was nominated for two ARIA Awards at the 2012 ceremony.
2013: Songbook and Fierce Hearts
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In 2013, Noonan released Songbook, an album that saw her re-recording songs from her time in George and Elixir. She also worked with the Sydney Dance Company on the production Les Illuminations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2014: Fierce Hearts
In 2014, she released Fierce Hearts which was nominated for an ARIA Award at the 2014 ceremony. It was music alongside a contemporary circus show by Circa.
2015: Transmutant
In 2015, Noonan released Transmutant through Universal Music Australia. The album peaked at number 33 on the ARIA Charts.
2016: With Love and Fury
In 2016, Noonan collaborated with the Brodsky Quartet and released With Love and Fury in April. They toured Australia throughout April and May.
2017: Songs of the Latin Skies
In December 2016, Noonan announced the release Songs of the Latin Skies with Karin Schaupp. The album was released in February 2017 and saw the duo embark on a musical journey through the South American songbook, exploring the sounds and beats of the bossa nova, salsa, tango and samba. The duo played live shows across the country throughout 2017.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2018: Gratitude and Grief
In 2018, Noonan reunited with Elixir and released Gratitude and Grief in August 2018. The album was nominated for Best Jazz album at the 2018 ARIA Awards.
2019: The Little Green Road to Fairyland and The Glad Tomorrow
In April 2019, Noonan released The Little Green Road to Fairyland with Camerata and the Queensland Chamber Orchestra. In August, Noonan collaborated with the Australian String Quartet for The Glad Tomorrow. The new album sees Noonan perform uniquely Australian poetry of Queenslander and First Nations icon Oodgeroo Noonuccal to music.<ref name="TGT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2020: Late Night Tunes with Noons and The Sweetest Taboo
In January 2020, Noonan confirmed the release of a mini-album titled Late Night Tunes with Noons. The album featured Noonan covering a range of Australian songs, with the inclusion of one original track.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In May 2020, Noonan released her twentieth album, The Sweetest Taboo, a jazz album covering 1980s pop songs.<ref name="TST">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2021: AVÉ
In May 2021, Noonan launched the Australian Vocal Ensemble (AVÉ), an a cappella quartet. The other members are tenor Andrew Goodwin, mezzo-soprano Fiona Campbell and bass-baritone Andrew O'Connor.
2023: Joni Mitchell's Blue tour
In January 2023, Noonan commenced a national tour of 40 concerts, performing the entirety of Joni Mitchell's seminal album Blue, marking the 50th anniversary since its release. Usually accompanied by a single acoustic guitarist,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the first concert took place at the 2023 Sydney Festival with the final concert in Bendigo, Victoria, on 16 September 2023.
2025: Jeff Buckley's Grace tour
In 2025, Noonan toured Jeff Buckley's Grace album.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Other activities
A National Office for Live Music was launched by Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd in July 2013 and, as of August 2013, Noonan is the state ambassador for Queensland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2013, Noonan combined with the Sydney Dance Company and musicians from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and conductor Richard Gill to perform Britten's song cycle Les Illuminations at Sydney's City Recital Hall Angel Place.<ref>Discover Britten with Katie NoonanTemplate:Dead link, performance details, Sydney Symphony Orchestra</ref> This production was taken in 2014 to Brisbane's QPAC with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Johannes Fritzsch.<ref>Performance details Template:Webarchive, QPAC</ref>
In 2014, Noonan was part of the I Touch Myself Project, with a mission to encourage young women to touch themselves regularly to find early signs of cancer. They released a version of "I Touch Myself" which peaked at number 72 on the ARIA singles chart.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Noonan was the official ambassador to the Adelaide Fringe in 2014.<ref>5 Minutes With Katie Noonan Template:Webarchive, Adelaide Fringe</ref>
In 2018, Noonan performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
In August 2020, Noonan was unmasked as the "Sloth" in the second season of The Masked Singer Australia. She was the fourth contestant revealed, placing 9th overall.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In February 2021, Noonan was announced as the artistic director of the National Folk Festival.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On 25 September 2022, Noonan sang the National Anthem at the pre-game ceremony of the 2022 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Personal life
Noonan was married to Isaac Hurren, her longtime partner and collaborator in Elixir, from 2004 to 2025. They are parents to two sons.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS <ref name="AUS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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|
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}} N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
| ||||
| Two of a Kind Katie and Maggie Noonan<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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|
61 |
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| Before Time Could Change Us Paul Grabowsky and Kate Noonan<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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|
65 |
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| Skin |
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6 |
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| Second Skin John Course & mrTimothy present Katie Noonan |
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156 |
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| Blackbird: The Music of Lennon and McCartney |
|
43 |
|
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|
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|
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| Emperor's Box Katie Noonan and The Captains |
|
21 | ||||
| First Seed Ripening<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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|
64 |
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| Songs from the British Isles |
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— |
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| Songs of the Southern Skies<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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— |
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| Songbook<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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— | |||
| Fierce Hearts (The Music of Love-Song-Circus) |
|
— |
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| Songs That Made Me Katie Noonan and Various Artists |
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— |
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| Transmutant Katie Noonan's Vanguard |
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33 | ||||
| With Love and Fury Brodsky Quartet and Katie Noon |
|
— | ||||
| Songs of the Latin Skies (Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp) |
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— |
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| Gratitude and Grief (Elixir featuring Katie Noonan) |
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— | |||
| The Little Green Road to Fairyland (Katie Noonan, Camerata with the Queensland Chamber Orchestra) |
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— | |||
| The Glad Tomorrow (Katie Noonan with the Australian String Quartet) |
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— |
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| Late Night Tunes with Noons |
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— |
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| The Sweetest Taboo |
|
70 |
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| Joni Mitchell's Blue |
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— |
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| A Small Shy Truth (Elixir featuring Katie Noonan, Zac Hurren & Ben Hauptmann) |
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— | ||||
| Songs of the Southern Skies Vol 2 |
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— |
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Extended plays
| Title | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Jeff Buckley’s Grace Acoustic EP |
|
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}}</ref>
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Charted singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS <ref name="AUS"/> | |||
| "Time to Begin" | 2007 | 30 | Skin |
Awards and nominations
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as the AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector. Template:Awards table ! Template:Abbr |- | 2011 |First Seed Ripening | Best Independent Jazz Album | Template:Nom | <ref name="11nom">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="AIRwins">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> |- | 2020 |The Glad Tomorrow | Best Independent Classical Album | Template:Nom |<ref name="2020nom">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> |- | 2021 | The Sweetest Taboo | Best Independent Jazz Album or EP | Template:Won | <ref name="TM-20210602">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="AIRwins2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> |- | rowspan="1"| 2025 | Songs of the Southern Skies Vol 2 (with Karin Schaupp) | Best Independent Classical Album or EP | Template:Nom | rowspan="1"| <ref name="AIRawards2025noms">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> |}
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards are annual awards which recognises excellence, innovation and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Noonan has won four awards from twelve nominations.<ref name="ARIA 2020 Wins">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition to that, she won one award from eight nominations during her time with band george.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Awards table
! Template:Abbr
|-
| 2005
| Before Time Could Change Us (with Paul Grabowsky)
| Best Jazz Album
| Template:Won
| <ref name="JazzAlbum">ARIA Award previous winners. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|-
| 2007
| "Time to Begin"
| Best Female Artist
| Template:Nominated
|
|-
| 2008
| Skin
| Best Adult Contemporary Album
| Template:Nominated
|
|-
| 2009
| Blackbird: The Music of Lennon and McCartney
| Rowspan="2" | Best Jazz Album
| Template:Won
| Rowspan="2" | <ref name="JazzAlbum"/>
|-
| 2011
| First Seed Ripening (with Elixir)
| Template:Won
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2012
|rowspan="2"| Songs of the Southern Skies (with Karin Schaupp)
| Best Adult Contemporary Album
| Template:Nom
|
|-
| Best Independent Release
| Template:Nominated
|
|-
| 2014
| Fierce Hearts (The Music Of Love – Song – Circus)
| Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album
| Template:Nominated
| <ref name="OST">ARIA Award previous winners. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|-
| 2016
| With Love and Fury (with Brodsky Quartet)
| Best Classical Album
| Template:Nominated
|
|-
| 2017
| Songs of the Latin Skies (with Karin Schaupp)
| Best World Music Album
| Template:Won
|
|-
| 2018 || Gratitude and Grief (with Elixir)
| Rowspan="2" |Best Jazz Album
| Template:Nominated
| <ref name="JazzAlbum"/>
|-
| 2020
| The Sweetest Taboo
| Template:Nom
| <ref name="ARIA 2020 Wins" /><ref name="ARIA 2020 Noms">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|-
| 2024
|A Small Shy Truth
(Elixir featuring Katie Noonan, Zac Hurren & Ben Hauptmann)
| Best Jazz Album
| Template:Nom
| <ref name="ARIA2024noms">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|-
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Australian Women in Music Awards
The Australian Women in Music Awards is an annual event that celebrates outstanding women in the Australian Music Industry who have made significant and lasting contributions in their chosen field. They commenced in 2018.
Template:Awards table ! Template:Abbr |- | 2018 | Rowspan="4" | Katie Noonan | Rowspan="2" | Creative Leadership Award | Template:Nom | <ref name="AWMA2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> |- | 2019 | Template:Won | <ref name="AWMA2019">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> |- | 2021 | Artistic Excellence Award | Template:Nom | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> |- | rowspan="1" | 2024 | Artistic Excellence Award | Template:Pending | rowspan="1" | <ref name="finalists">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> |-
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National Live Music Awards
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) commenced in 2016 to recognise contributions to the live music industry in Australia.
Template:Awards table
! Template:Abbr
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2023
| Katie Noonan
| Best Live Voice in Qld
| Template:Won
| rowspan="2" | <ref name="2023noms">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref name="NLMA2023wins">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|-
| Australian Vocal Ensemble (AVÉ)
(featuring Katie Noonan, Fiona Campbell, Andrew Goodwin and Andrew O'Connor)
| Best Classical Act
| Template:Nom
|-
{{safesubst:#if:|||} }}{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:End with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| html | 1 }}
References
External links
- Official website
- [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 2814084
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- Pages with broken file links
- 1977 births
- Living people
- ARIA Award winners
- Australian rock singers
- Australian women rock singers
- Australian jazz singers
- Australian women jazz singers
- Australian pop singers
- Australian women pop singers
- Australian keyboardists
- Australian women keyboardists
- Australian women singer-songwriters
- Australian people of Irish descent
- Australian rock keyboardists
- Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University alumni
- 21st-century Australian women singers
- 21st-century Australian singer-songwriters