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Ella Hooper

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Ella Hooper
Ella Hooper in 2012
Ella Hooper in 2012
Background information
Birth nameElla Keighery Hooper
Born (1983-01-30) 30 January 1983 (age 41)
Melbourne, Australia
OriginViolet Town, Victoria, Australia
GenresRock, indie, pop rock, country, acoustic
Years active1996–present
LabelsWah Wah
WebsiteElla Hooper website

Ella Keighery Hooper (born 30 January 1983)[1] is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter,[2] radio presenter and TV personality. Hooper is the lead singer of Killing Heidi. The band formed in 1996 (when Ella was 13) and also featured her older brother Jesse Hooper. Killing Heidi broke up in 2006. Ella and Jesse have performed small scale venues as an acoustic band, The Verses.[3]

Hooper has worked on 2DayFM[4] and was one of the two captains in the short-lived revival of the ABC television show Spicks and Specks that commenced in February 2014.[5]

Career

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1983–1995: Early years

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Born in Melbourne to Helen Keighery and Jeremy Hooper.[6] Hooper grew up in Violet Town, a small rural township (950 people) 175 km north of Melbourne.[7] After finishing Violet Town Primary School, Hooper travelled 27 km by bus to Benalla High School (called Benalla College from 1994) until Year 11. Her parents worked as English and drama teachers, and encouraged Hooper to develop her songwriting skills while Jesse became a guitarist very early on.

1996–2006: Killing Heidi

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Main article: Killing Heidi

The Hooper siblings wrote and performed songs for a 1996 Triple J competition and won with "Kettle". Hooper moved to Melbourne after Killing Heidi were signed to a recording deal with Wah Wah Music.[8]

In August 1999, Killing Heidi released "Weir" as their debut single. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2000, Killing Heidi won four ARIA Music Awards.[9]

At the APRA Music Awards of 2001 Ella and Jesse Hooper won Songwriter of the Year.[10][11]

Killing Heidi released three studio albums, Reflector, present & a self titled album, before disbanding in 2006.

2007–2011: The Verses

[edit]
Main article: The Verses

In mid-2006, she toured Australia with the all-female musical line-up of Broad, alongside Australian pop musician Deborah Conway, among others.[12]

After Killing Heidi broke up, Hooper began playing acoustic gigs at smaller venues in Australia alongside Jesse as the Verses.[3]

Verses released one studio album titled Seasons in 2010.

2011–present: Solo career

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In March 2011, Hooper released her version of "On the Inside", the theme song to Prisoner.[13]

In 2012, Hooper became the host, mentor and MC for The Telstra Road to Discovery, a respected talent development program that scours the country for the next generation of singing and songwriting talent.[citation needed]

In 2012, Hooper decided to embark on a solo career after a conversation with Stevie Nicks.[14] Hooper released her first solo single "Low High" on 9 November 2012. The single was produced and recorded by Jan Skubizewski (Owl Eyes, Illy, Way of the Eagle) in his Collingwood studio.

"Häxan", her second single, was released on 26 April 2013, and launched at The Workers Club on 9 May 2013. A third single, "The Red Shoes", followed in June 2014. All three singles feature on Ella's debut album In Tongues, which was released on 21 November 2014 via Pledge Music.[15]

Hooper returned to television on 5 February 2014, as one of two team captains (along with Adam Richard) in the comeback of the ABC's musical quiz show Spicks and Specks.[5][16]

In 2016, Hooper released the EP New Magic and joined Gena Rose Bruce on the Calamine Sisters tour in support of their respective new releases.[17]

In September 2016, Hooper made a surprise appearance in the seventh episode of an Australian documentary web series called How To Be A Fan With Hex.[18]

In 2018, Hooper joined with Kate Miller-Heidke, Wendy Matthews, Kristin Barardi and Rachel Gaudry for a series of concerts entitled "Both Sides Now: Celebrating the Songs of Joni Mitchell'.[19]

In July 2018, Hooper released the single, "To the Bone". She later announced in an interview that she is planning to release a mini-album in 2019.[14]

On 18 January 2019, Hooper was named as an entry in Eurovision - Australia Decides, a competition to represent Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.[20] Her song "Data Dust" finished 10th out of 10. In February 2019 Hooper confirmed the upcoming release of an EP saying "I've been working on a new EP or mini album over the last few months and playing the new tracks live before they're released is a great way to see what's really connecting with my audience before I put the final touches on the songs."[21]

In 2019, Hooper joined seven celebrities including Lisa Curry, Georgie Parker, Casey Donovan and Lynne McGranger for All new monty|The All New Monty: Ladies Night – a one night only special event choreographed by Todd McKenney, where they bared all for women's health awareness, in particular breast cancer. Hooper shared publicly for the first time that her mum was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.[22]

In 2021 Hooper was revealed to be Baby during Season 3 of The Masked Singer Australia.[23]

In October 2022, Hooper released "Words Like These" and announced her second studio album, Small Town Temple, which was released on 20 January 2023.[24]

Discography

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Albums

[edit]
List of studio albums, with selected details
Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[25]
In Tongues
  • Released: 27 November 2014
  • Label: Independent
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
 —
Small Town Temple
  • Released: 20 January 2023[24]
  • Label: Reckless
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 77

Extended plays

[edit]
List of extended plays, with selected details
Title Details
Venom
  • Released: 7 August 2015[26]
  • Label: Gaga Digi
  • Formats: Digital download

Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions
Year Title Album
2012 "Low High" In Tongues
2013 "Häxan"
2014 "The Red Shoes"
2015 "I Am Woman" (with Judith Lucy) Non-album singles
2018 "To the Bone"
2019 "Data Dust"
2022 "Words Like These"[24] Small Town Temple
"Old News"[27]
2023 "Grow Wild"[27]
"Way Out West"
(with James Reyne)[28] 		TBA
"Oh My Goddess!"[29] Small Town Temple

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ella Hooper.
  1. ^ Ella Hooper biography Retrieved 11 May 2014. Archived 12 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Archived from the original on 5 December 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
  3. ^ a b Jackson, Belinda (31 May 2013). "Spotted by locals: Ella Hooper's High Country". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Australian Top 20". 2DayFM. Southern Cross Austereo. 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Spicks and Specks". ABC TV. ABC. 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Killing Heidi fansite". Retrieved 6 November 2007.
  7. ^ "Violet Town tourism website". Violet Town Action Group. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
  8. ^ Murfett, Andrew (4 July 2004). "Heidi reborn". The Age. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
  9. ^ "2000: 14th Annual ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association ARIA. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
  10. ^ "APRA Music Awards – Winners 2001". APRA. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
  11. ^ "The Judges". The Song Comp. 2013. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  12. ^ "Broad 2006 web site". Maiden Australia Productions. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ Alice Coster; Nicola Webber & Kate McMahon (4 March 2011). "Tattle". Herald Sun. p. 24.
  14. ^ a b Dan Webb (30 September 2018). "Ella Hooper talks gender inequality and Triple J". Sungenre. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Archived copy". www.pledgemusic.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ Ellis, Scott (11 November 2013). "Spicks and Specks is back". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  17. ^ "Ella Hooper And Gena Rose Bruce Join Forces For Aussie Tour". TheMusic.com.au. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023.
  18. ^ "How to be a Fan with Hex: Episode 7 Tribute Band". Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  19. ^ "Both Sides Now: Celebrating the Songs of Joni Mitchell". 5 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Eurovision 2019: Here Are The Final Three Acts In The Running To Represent Australia". musicfeeds. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Ella Hooper is using upcoming dates to preview new music". noise11. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  22. ^ "Home & Away stars among eight brave celebrities getting naked on live TV for a good cause". 7NEWS.com.au. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  23. ^ "The Masked Singer Australia: Baby Is Ella Hooper! | Studio 10". 28 September 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2022 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ a b c "Ella Hooper releases playful new single & video for 'Words Like These'". The Rock Pit. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  25. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 30 January 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1717. Australian Recording Industry Association. 30 January 2023. p. 6.
  26. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. ^ a b "Love Letter to a Record: Ella Hooper on 'Aquatic Flowers' by Tristen". Music Feeds. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  28. ^ "James Reyne and Ella Hooper Cover Way Out West For Way Out West Tour". noise11. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  29. ^ "Ella Hooper Christens Oh My Goddess! Tour After Final Small Town Temple Single". noise11. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
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