Hitting A High Note - The Weekender May 2010

Singer Stephanie Brownlee has the music world at her feet and a song by Miley Cyrus is just the start.

Stephanie Brownlee grew up in Tamworth and recorded her debut album in Nashville. With country connections like this it's no wonder big things are tipped for the coast singer as she prepares to release her debut album - Michelle French

When Miley Cyrus co-writes one of your songs, and your manager has worked with some of the world's biggest bands, international stardom seems just a stone's throw away.

And Stephanie Brownlee is ready to capitalise on the dizzying opportunities coming her way. The 17 year old, who combines a killer voice with looks and personality, has a style that could be described as simple, well almost.

I'm like country-rock-pop. I'm like Taylor Swift meets Keith Urban meets Miley Cyrus says the 17 year old who grew up in Tamworth.

Steph, as she likes to be called, will release her debut album, "Keep It Real" in July. If her second single Good Friend/Girlfriend is anything to go by, chart success seems a given.

The catchy single, co-written by Miley, was released in April and reached 10th spot on the Hot 30 Countdown.

That came about through contacts and my manager (Dennis Dunstan)" Steph reveals. "I went over to LA and met with the head publisher (Barbara Vander Linde) at Disney and obviously Miley is under their label. What they do is they meet you and they like you and your voice they'll give you songs. But they've actually go to like you as a person and all the songwriters have to listen to all tracks and approve it. I was walking around and was like Oh my god, this is really Good" When I was in Barbara's office I was looking around there were photos of her and Miley. She's such a huge star and there she is in a photo on the wall" say says.

Not long after their meeting Steph received an email saying Miley's song would be 'really cool' for her. It was quite a coup from the Noosa Heads singer, who was in her final year of high school. She flew to Nashville in September to record her album at Ocean Wave Studios with Grammy award winning musicians who have worked with superstar country music couple Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

It's the country music capital of the world and we wanted to get the best of both worlds; coming from Tamworth and recording in Nashville.We were only there a couple of weeks, so it went pretty fast. We did the backing tracks over there at one of the best recording studios in Nashville" Steph says of her 12 hour days. "I couldn't believe how talented the session guys were. They listened to the song once or twice and then they wrote all the chords down and they just played it. It was so much fun, I got to meet heaps of cool people.

Among them was Billy Burnette, a touring member of super group Fleetwood Mac.

I met up with Billy and went out to dinner and back to his house afterward. He had the coolest set up. He had this pick and was a big triangle and it had the initials EP on it. And he was like "Oh yeah that was when I went to one of Elvis's shows when I was young" Steph recalls with awe.

On her return to Australia, the singer's first professional gig was opening for the McClymonts - sisters Brooke, Samantha and Mollie - on tour, which she secured through a contact at EMI Publishing.

We did nine shows (around regional Queensland and New South Wales). It was awesome. I loved it. Every night you would go to a different place and it would be a different crowd of people and I just learnt new things, like from something I saw on the stage. I got a lot of experience from the girls. They were really nice, I didn't get to hang out with them heaps, but we talked and got together a bit" she says.

Steph believes The McClymonts, along with other artists such as Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, are proof country music is an expanding and changing genre.

I think will all those people coming through people are actually giving it a chance. I think people didn't give country music a chance initially because of the old stereotypes. It's not as traditional as it used to be and that's good. I respect traditional country music, but I think there's a new movement coming through" she explains.

Steph says one of the biggest inspirations to keep pursuing her dreams is her first singing coach, Patrick Olsen, who died more than a year ago.

He was always the one that would push me and be like "You can do it, I know you're going to be big". If I I did the slightest thing wrong he'd go "Ah stop, you know what to do, fix it". I really loved him, I got along with him so well" she says.

Her other mainstay is Dennis, who Steph says is always helping her, despite her penchant for the occasional practical joke, such as putting toilet paper through his clothes in a suitcase.

Given his stellar line up of previous clients, including Fleetwood Mac and INXS, Tewantin based Dennis reveals he is understandably very selective when it comes to who he represents.

There's so much time and effort and money that goes into developing an artist that you have to be very careful with who you take on. When I first listened to her CD it just blew me away how good her voice was and how it resonated. I liken the music industry to climbing Mt Everest with a pair of thongs. Your chances of making it to the top are so hard. You only get once chance so you've got to do it right" he says, point out they waited a few years for Steph to mature and develop before putting her on the world stage for all to see.

The move has well and truly paid off, with Steph eying off a rosy future centered on plans to create her own music with leading songwriter and work her way through the country music circuit.

But first there's a radio publicity tour that starts next week, ahead of the album and another single.

I'll get a band together and do a rodeo at Mt Isa, as well as the Gympie Muster and I'd love to get on tour for a big artist" she says. Her biggest hope though, is to touch the hearts of her fans. "The ultimate thing would be to hear people doing my songs. That's what I'd love to hear when I'm on stage" she says.