Paul Galea:
Isabella Kearney-Nurse. It’s Paul Galea from International Grammar, ringing you in very, very trendy Nashville, Tennessee. How are you going?
Bella:
I’m good. Thank you. How are you?
Paul Galea:
Yeah, I’m well, I’m well. So, Bella, you came to my attention because you were in Eurovision recently representing Ireland- well you were trying to represent Ireland, and you wrote a song and performed it and I became aware of that. And then when we got in contact, you told me that you’re living in Nashville, so I thought, “You know what? That sounds pretty interesting to me. So I’m going to have a chat with this young woman and find out what’s been going on.” So, tell us, how did you end up in Nashville? I’m very interested.
Bella:
OK, so I had been writing for a while in Australia and then kind of the natural progression for the songwriters at home is that you moved to America. So it was kind of between LA and Nashville and I just always loved Nashville, And my publishing company has an office here, so it kind of just fit. I just loved it always. And yeah, you can move really well here and be a songwriter. So that’s why I chose it.
Paul Galea:
OK, I’m going to give you a little bit of my lack of knowledge about things, but I thought Nashville was full of country bumpkins and country music stuff. Is that not right?
Bella:
That is very definitely still a thing. And country music is like the biggest export from Nashville. But there’s a big pop thing, too, that has kind of moved into Nashville, so it’s kind of both, and I like country and pop, so I like a mix.
Paul Galea:
You like both types of music, country and western, but also….
Bella:
Yeah. And I also do TV and film. So I’m the voice of “Amy”. You know that TV ad? You know, “Lucky you’re with Amy”. That’s my voice.
Paul Galea:
Oh, wow. You are that person?!
Bella:
I’m the “Amy” girl.
Paul Galea:
Wow, I’m blushing and feeling a little bit flustered because I didn’t realise you were quite that famous.
Bella:
No one knows. No one knows who that is, so yeah.
Paul Galea:
That’s great! So you left IGS in 2009? Is that right?
Bella:
Yes, that’s correct. Yeah.
Paul Galea:
So obviously you’ve got to Nashville. Now tell me, give us the journey that you took after you left IGS.
Bella:
So when I left IGS, I moved to Europe, and I lived there for about a year and a half. And then I came back and studied for a Bachelor of Music and got my degree. Then I sang on cruise ships for two years and while I was on the cruise ships, I just decided that I wanted to be a songwriter. I wanted to work out how to do that and did a songwriting course. And that was kind of the beginning of learning the ropes of it and came home and signed with Sony Music Publishing and have been with them ever since and have been writing full time with them.
Paul Galea:
Was it when you were doing the singing on the cruise ships that you really decided that? Well, that being a cruise ship singer wasn’t the long term future, but writing songs was? Was there any particular thing that led you to that, or did it just sort of evolve?
Bella:
I think I’ve always loved the idea of songwriting. And then I watched the TV show. Nashville, if you’ve ever watched it. And that kind of delves into the songwriting industry here. So that’s why I had Nashville in my thoughts. And I used to watch that when I sang on a cruise ship, so I think that’s what inspired the whole move here!
Paul Galea:
Fair enough. And, you just sort of had this focus saying, “OK, this is where I sort of want to end up.” And then how did you go about getting signed to Sony? Because, I mean, Sony is a massive company. They’re just gigantic. How did that come about?
Bella:
So, with the publishing side, there was an incredible publisher in Australia, who had signed a lot of really great writers before and a friend of mine was signed to her. So he and I started writing and he showed her my song and then we had a meeting, and for a year, I just worked without being signed. I worked for her and wrote, like, ten songs a week and wrote with everyone. And then after a year, I had a song out with an artist in Germany. That’s when they signed me. So it was like a year of school, like writing, writing, writing, writing with no guarantee it was going to happen. But then it did.
Paul Galea:
So more or less, you were an unpaid intern.
Bella:
Sort of pretty much almost. Yeah. You’re just kind of writing to learn.
Paul Galea:
Well, sometimes that’s what you’ve got to do. You have to put in the hard yards to get that chance. And you feel as though that when the chance came, you’ve taken that opportunity and that you’ve grabbed it with two hands?
Bella:
Yes, I definitely was so- I really wanted to sign, so that was kind of like in my sight the whole time. “I’m going to sign with Sony Music music publishing. I’m going sign to them.” And so when it came around, it was definitely a very amazing feeling. Yeah.
Paul Galea:
Fantastic. That’s very exciting. So how long do you see yourself living in Nashville?
Bella:
I don’t know. I mean, I have a Green Card so I can stay as long as I want. I’ll definitely be here for the next couple of years. And then I guess, I’ll see where music takes me. I come back home quite a lot, so I don’t know if I’d live there yet, but maybe eventually I’d come home,
Paul Galea:
Because I know I can hear in your charming little voice, there’s a bit of Irish accent there, and I know that you’re an Irish and Australian passport holder, as I am. But when you’re talking about home, you’re talking about Australia, I assume?
Bella:
Oh, well, you tell me first,
Paul Galea:
OK, I married an Irish woman about thirty years ago and when we got married, not that many people wanted to live in Ireland, so they were sort of basically shoving Irish passports at everyone. And she said to me, “This would be a great opportunity for you to improve yourself by getting an Irish passport!” And I did it and it’s made me a better man being a little bit Irish.
Bella:
Yeah, that was very, very cool.
Paul Galea:
It’s been really good.
Bella:
Actually, we both have the same. You get to live in Europe anywhere you want, which is pretty cool.
Paul Galea:
Yes! That’s why my kids have got Irish passports, too. So that’s very good, all that. Yeah. Do you get back to Ireland very often?
Bella:
I do. I definitely go once a year, and then I have lived there, on and off. So I lived there, like I said when I was eighteen and then I moved back again right before COVID. So I was going to stay there for a long time, and then I had to go back to Australia because of COVID. So it’s kind of always been, like, back and forth between there.
Paul Galea:
Ok, that’s good. All right. So we were talking a little bit before, and you were saying that you used to cringe about your memories of singing in ArtsFest, but I remember you very clearly, being a really great performer with a beautiful voice. Do you want to tell us some of your memories from school and anything that sticks out or things that you remember?
Bella:
Well, I mean, ArtsFest was the coolest thing in the world and definitely that was the beginning, I think, of me performing, which really, actually says a lot. So I very much appreciate that culture. I remember very fondly, the drama department and it was just a great school. I have to say, you know, a lot of people have different experiences of high school, and mine always feels very nice to remember it. Although there is one memory that makes me cringe. The reason why I say “cringe” is because I did a Moulin Rouge song when I was in Year Seven and my mum gave me a red boa and I did a dance with that and when I think about that it makes me want to jump off a bridge. So that’s why I cringe!
Paul Galea:
I’m trying to remember that image, but I can’t remember it. So don’t worry too much. You’d be interested to know that Rita Morabito is still in charge of drama at IGS and still going strong.
Bella:
No! That’s so good. Give her my best.
Paul Galea:
Yeah, she’s still hammering out really fantastic results and just driving drama the way she always has. So I’ll say good day to her for you because she’ll be very interested to hear. Good. So, OK, one thing – you’re sort of making your way in the world and in a world that a lot of IGS students go into; that artistic world. Have you got any advice for them? What to do and how to make it?
Bella:
Hm. I think you’ve got to find your niche so I think if you are doing music, you want to work out if you want to produce or you want to songwrite, if you want to be the performer or you want to be the songwriter or if you want to sing, if you want to play guitar. I think narrowing down what you can do and what genre you want to be in will make your life much easier because then you kind of know exactly who you are as a musician. So I think that’s kind of the number one thing, And then you just have got to take all the opportunities you can, even if sometimes, you know, they’re not paid, which sucks. But that’s what I did when I was writing. I just worked with everyone, when I was first starting. So that’s what you have got to do,unfortunately, but it’s good.
Paul Galea:
Well, when you’re starting out, you’ve got to, sometimes, take the hard road. Don’t you? I’m actually fascinated by you saying to narrow your focus because what you’re saying is, if you’ve got too general, too wide an interest, it’s not specific enough to sort of make your way. I reckon that’s really good advice from someone who’s done it. Because we’ve got a lot of very talented kids who can do a lot of different things and maybe they need to be starting to hone in on one particular area.
Bella:
Yeah, I think that helped me a lot because I was kind of doing everything. And then I was like, I just want to concentrate on songwriting. Then once I did that, a lot of doors opened because I was very clear about what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. And I think that in music, especially, people like you to be direct and be like, “This is who I am.” So, yeah.
Paul Galea:
No, no, I hear that. That’s great. OK, can I ask one silly question? Have you run into- does Dolly Parton live in Nashville? Do you, like, go and have a few beers with her every now and then?
Bella:
I wish. She does have a studio right opposite where I write sometimes and we always are like, “Oh, maybe we’ll see her leaving in her limo.” But she’s an elusive character. I would love to meet her. So hopefully, one day.
Paul Galea:
Well, maybe you just sort of put a sleeping bag outside the front of her office and just …Oh, you’ll probably end up in gaol!
Bella:
I want to write with her!
Paul Galea:
It’s been an absolute delight speaking to you, Bella. Really lovely to hear from you and if you come to Australia, give me a yell, because we can go and have a cup of coffee or something?
Bella:
That would be awesome. Thank you so much for asking me to talk. It’s been really lovely to connect with you and hear about the Irish part as well.
Paul Galea:
All right, Bella, take it easy, darling.
Bella:
Ok, Ok, thank you. Bye.