Kaylee Bell
New Zealand singer-songwriter
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Kaylee Bell is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. In 2013, she won the Toyota Star Maker award in Australia. Bell opened for Brad Paisley on his World Tour NZ show late 2022, Kane Brown on his Australia and NZ Arena Tour November 2024 and was support act for Ed Sheeran on his Mathematics World Stadium Tour in 2023. Bell shot to fame on The Voice Australia performing her hit single "Keith" to coach Keith Urban. The song reached #12 on the US Billboard chart and was a certified Gold record in Australia and New Zealand.
Kaylee Bell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989 or 1990 (age 35–36)[1] |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Label | Independent |
| Website | kayleebellmusic |
Career
Bell was born in Waimate in Canterbury, New Zealand and began singing at the age of four.[2] She attended Craighead Diocesan School in Timaru.[3] Bell won the NZ Gold Guitar Award at age 18 and moved to Australia four years later to pursue a career in country music.[2] In 2013, she won the prestigious Toyota Star Maker award, which led to her releasing the single "Pieces" with fellow Australasian, Jared Porter.[4] The song received substantial airplay in Australia and earned the duo an APRA Award for Best Country Music Song at the 2015 APRA Silver Scroll Awards and the overall grand prize at the US Unsigned Only Competition, marking the first time a non-American had won the latter award.[5][6][2] Bell independently released her debut studio album, Heart First, in 2013 that included her first solo single of the same name.[7] Heart First won Best Country Album at the 2014 New Zealand Music Awards.[8]
In 2016 Bell released her breakout single "Getting Closer" a break-up anthem written with Morgan Evans, that charted on the New Zealand Heatseekers singles chart. Bell started reaching career highs on the Australia country music charts with the release of her singles "One More Shot", "Who I Am", "Keith", and "Wasted on You" in 2018 and 2019; these songs and "Getting Closer" were later repackaged as The Red EP in 2021. Bell's tribute to Keith Urban, 'Keith' went to #1 on The Music Network Country Chart where it spent 25 weeks on the chart. Three further one-off singles were released in 2020: "Light On", "Home", and "Be With You".[9] In 2021, Bell released three collaborative singles "That Summer" with Josh Mirenda or Lepnani,[10] "Before I Met You" with The McClymonts, and "Living Free" with Lindsay Ell, and announced that her second studio album, Silver Linings, would be released November 26, 2021.[11] 'That Summer' featuring Kiwi Pop Artist Lepani had crossover success at NZ mainstream radio in 2021 being 'the most added single to radio' for the month of May on hard hitters ZM, More Fm and The Hits.' Bell was chosen as the face for Spotify's EQUAL global programme for Female Artists in Music where she was featured on a billboard in Times Square, New York, USA.
In 2022, she auditioned for The Voice Australia and all four coaches turned for her. After Keith Urban was blocked, she chose to join Jessica Mauboy's team.[1] She was eliminated in the battle rounds.
In June 2023, Bell became the first independent Australasian female country singer to receive a gold certified single or EP, with The Red EP.[12]
Bell's third studio album Nights Like This was released in March 2024.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| NZ [13] | ||
| Heartfirst |
|
— |
| Silver Linings |
|
— |
| Nights Like This |
|
3 |
| Cowboy Up |
|
20 |
Extended plays
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ Hot [18] | |||||||||
| "Heartfirst"[19] | 2013 | — | Heartfirst | ||||||
| "Pieces"[20] (with Jared Porter) |
2014 | — | East to West | ||||||
| "That's What I Call Crazy"[21] | 2016 | — | Non-album single | ||||||
| "Getting Closer" | —[A] | The Red EP | |||||||
| "Next Somebody" | 2017 | —[B] | Non-album single | ||||||
| "One More Shot" | 2018 | —[C] | The Red EP | ||||||
| "Who I Am"[25] | — | ||||||||
| "Keith" | 2019 | 22 | |||||||
| "Wasted on You" | —[D] | ||||||||
| "Light On"[27] | 2020 | — | Non-album singles | ||||||
| "Home"[28] | — | ||||||||
| "Be With You" | —[E] | ||||||||
| "That Summer" (featuring Josh Mirenda or Lepani) |
2021 | 17 | Silver Linings | ||||||
| "Before I Met You" (featuring The McClymonts) |
—[F] | ||||||||
| "Living Free"[31] (featuring Lindsay Ell) |
—[G] | ||||||||
| "Same Songs"[33] (with James Johnston) |
2022 | — | Raised Like That | ||||||
| "Small Town Friday Nights"[34] | — | Nights Like This | |||||||
| "Christmas Tree Farm"[35] | — | non album single | |||||||
| "Boots 'n All"[36] | 2023 | 20 | Nights Like This | ||||||
| "When Summer Rolls Around"[37] | 13 | ||||||||
| "Nights Like This"[38] | 37 | ||||||||
| "Good Things"[39] | 21 | ||||||||
| "Life Is Tough (But So Am I)" (with Navvy) |
2024 | 41 | |||||||
| "Where Were You" | — | ||||||||
| "Cowboy Up"[40] | — | Cowboy Up | |||||||
| "Say the Dance, Boots 'n' All" (with The Wiggles)[41] |
2025 | — | Wiggle Up, Giddy Up! | ||||||
| "Ring on It"[42] | 29 | Cowboy Up | |||||||
| "Red Dirt Romeo" | 30 | ||||||||
| "Matariki Hunga Nui (Calling Me Home)" (with Troy Kingi and Rob Ruha) |
21 | Non-album single | |||||||
| "Song for Shania"[15] | 30 | Cowboy Up | |||||||
| "Wake Me Up When It's Christmas Time" | 40 | Non-album single | |||||||
| "—" denotes recording that failed to chart or was not eligible to chart. | |||||||||
Notes
- "Getting Closer" was released prior to the creation of the current Hot Singles Chart, but peaked at number 7 on the New Zealand Heatseekers Chart which ranked the top ten singles outside the main singles chart.[22]
Awards and nominations
APRA Awards
The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They commenced in 1973.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | (unknown) | (unknown) | Nominated | [45] |
| 2023 | "Small Town" (with James Johnston) | Vocal Collaboration of the Year | Won | [46][47] |
| Silver Linings | Contemporary Country Album of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Album of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2024 | "Boots 'n' All" (directed by Shae Sterling) | Video of the Year | Nominated | [48][49][50] |
| Kaylee Bell | Female Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| 2025 | Kaylee Bell | Female Artist of the Year | Nominated | [51][52] |
| "Beer in a Bar" (with The Wolfe Brothers) | Vocal Collaboration of the Year | Won | ||
| 2026 | Kaylee Bell | Female Artist of the Year | Nominated | [53] |
| Cowboy Up | Contemporary Country Album of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Album of the Year | Nominated | |||
| "Cowboy Up" (Kaylee Bell, Brooke Singer, Jol Mulholland) | Song of the Year | Nominated |
Country Music Association Awards
The Country Music Association Awards (CMA) are an annual American awards show honouring the best in country music. Bell has received two nominations.[54]
Tamworth Songwriters Awards
The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. They commenced in 1986.[55] Kaylee Bell has won one award.[56]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "The Seed" by Kaylee Bell and Lance Coassin | Amateur Contemporary Award | Won |