Jade MacRae explained

Jade MacRae
Background:solo_singer
Birth Date:1979 12, df=y
Birth Name:Jade Aurora MacRae
Origin:Sydney[1]
Instrument:Vocals
Genre:Soul
Occupation:Singer
Years Active:2002–present
Label:Sony BMG/Workstation

Jade Aurora MacRae (born 8 December 1979) is an Australian soul singer and the daughter of professional musicians Joy Yates and Dave MacRae. MacRae is best known for her top 40 singles MacRae "So Hot Right Now" and "Superstar", both released in 2005. In 2012, following her marriage to Australian hip hop artist Phrase, MacRae continued her musical career under the new moniker of Dune.

Biography

Early years

Jade Aurora Moana MacRae was born on 8 December 1979 into a musical family. MacRae's mother is respected session vocalist Joy Yates and her pianist father is Dave MacRae.[2] MacRae grew up in the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. The singer commenced learning the piano at the age of three years and the violin at the age of eight. MacRae studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and engaged in musical projects with members of The Sleepy Jackson and Pnau.

After completing her Australian Higher School Certificate, MacRae began singing in a number of entertainment venues as well as singing in a band with Mahalia Barnes and supporting Renée Geyer and Jackie Orszaczky.

Through her association with Mahalia Barnes, MacRae attained further work as a backup singer with Jimmy Barnes[3] and worked as a session musician with Australian electronic acts such as Disco Montego, Endorphin and Pnau.

2004–2006: Jade MacRae

Early in 2004, German dance producer Ian Pooley recruited MacRae to sing on the track "Heaven", together with Danni'elle Gaha. The song featured on the German dance charts.[4]

MacRae signed a record contract with Michael Hegarty of Workstation Records and worked with a number of producers throughout 2004. In October 2004, MacRae released her debut solo single "You Make Me Weak" which peaked at number 46 on the ARIA Charts.

In February 2005, MacRae released "So Hot Right Now" which debuted and peaked at number 18 on the ARIA Charts. In September 2005, MacRae released her debut self-titled album which peaked at number 61 on the ARIA Charts. The album's third single "Superstar" peaked at number 32 on the ARIA Charts.

MacRae performed the Australian national anthem "Advance Australia Fair" at the World Cup qualifying match, between Australia and Uruguay, at Sydney's Stadium Australia venue.

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2006, MacRae's was nominated for two ARIA Award nominations; ARIA Award for Best Urban Album and ARIA Award for Best Female Artist.[5]

2007–2011: Get Me Home

In 2007, MacRae performed an hour-long set prior to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)'s third and fourth Asian Cup quarter final matches in Sydney, Australia. The 2007 Asian Cup was the first time that Australia participated in the competition.[6]

In mid-2007, MacRae toured Australia as part of the Broad show, performing alongside Deborah Conway, New Buffalo, Anne McCue, and Abbe May.[7]

In September 2007, MacRae released "In the Basement", the lead single from her second studio album. The song peaked at number 60 on the ARIA Chart. After several delays, MacRae's second album Get Me Home was released in October 2008, together with the album's second single "I Wanna Be in Love". The album failed to enter any music charts. In a 2012 interview MacRae confessed that the lack of the success of the album impacted her confidence. MacRae said she was "shell-shocked after that didn't work out. It was a hard thing to recover from."

2012–2017: Dune

In 2012, MacRae contributed vocals to the soundtrack of the Australian film The Sapphires (alongside Jessica Mauboy and Lou Bennett, Juanita Tippens and Darren Percival),[8] in addition to the fourth album of Australian artist Kevin Mitchell (recording under his "Bob Evans" pseudonym), Familiar Stranger.[9]

In September 2012 MacRae assumed a new musical pseudonym Dune saying "The music I'm making is definitely more alternative, so I thought it needed its name, its identity and personality". In July 2012, Dune released the song "Shoestring"[10] together with a music video.[11]

Dune released the EP Oh Innocence on 14 March 2013,[12] and MacRae revealed the Dune recordings were self-funded, self-produced, and self-released. MacRae's live band for the Dune project consists of a bassist and drummer, Luke Hodgson and Leigh Fisher (both from the band Gypsy and the Cat), and the group was invited to play at the 2013 Great Escape Festival held annually in Brighton, UK.[13]

In 2013 in an interview with the Time Out media group, MacRae provided an insight into the response from fans of her previous work under the "Jade MacRae" title "I think some people are quite disappointed in the new direction – some people on the urban scene can be quite staunch ... It's amazing how short people's memories are although. A lot of the people I deal with in media have no recollection of me ... There's no culture these days in the mainstream really – the idea of discovering an artist, getting all their albums, and getting obsessed with them is dying out. It still exists to some extent in indie bands and left-of-center music."

2018–present: Handle Me with Care

In 2018 MacRae announced she had returned to the studio and was working on a new album. The album was released on 12 June 2020 under the title Handle Me with Care. It was proceeded by the singles "Up Above Your Head", "I Choose Love" and "Midnight Air".Jade is also a longtime backing vocalist in the Joe Bonamassa band, which tours the world extensively.

Other media

MacRae signed on to participate in the Australian celebrity television singing show, It Takes Two in 2006, and was partnered with Australian cricket player Michael Bevan—the pair was eliminated on 2 July 2006. MacRae returned to It Takes Two in May 2007, and was partnered with Home and Aways Bobby Morley (Morley appeared in the music video for MacRae's song "In The Basement" later that year[14]). Morley and MacRae were eliminated on 12 June 2007. In 2008, MacRae returned to the television show for a third time, and was partnered with actor Paul O'Brien—the pair were eliminated in the eighth week of the season.

MacRae briefly acted in the co-host role for Sydney's Edge 96.1 radio station, and appeared several times on the Australian musical comedy/quiz shows Spicks And Specks and RocKwiz.

Personal life

In August 2011, MacRae married hip hop artist Phrase, based in Melbourne, Australia, after dating since 2008.[15] [16]

Discography

Albums

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2"
DetailsPeak chart positions
AUS
Jade MacRae
  • Released: September 2005
  • Label: Workstation (501009-2)
61
Get Me Home
  • Released: October 2008
  • Label: Workstation (301343-2)
Handle Me with Care
  • Released: 12 June 2020
  • Label: Jade MacRae

Extended plays

List of extended plays! Title! Details
Oh Innocence
  • Released: 14 March 2013

Singles

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:1em;"
YearPeak chart positionsAlbum
AUS
[17]
"Heaven"
(Ian Pooley featuring Jade and Danielle)
2004
"You Make Me Weak"46Jade Macrae
"So Hot Right Now"200518
"Superstar"32
"In the Basement"200760Get Me Home
"I Wanna Be in Love"2008
"Life"
(Space Invadas featuring Jade MacRae)[18]
2009
"Shoestring"
(credited to Dune)
2012Oh Innocence
"Oh Innocence"
(credited to Dune)
2013
"Up Above Your Head"[19] 2019Handle Me with Care
"My Father's House"[20]
"I Choose Love"[21] 2020Handle Me with Care
"Midnight Air"[22]

Awards and nominations

AwardCategoryAboutResult
2005
Best Urban Release"So Hot Right Now"Nominated
POPrepublic.tv IT List AwardsAustralian FemaleHerselfNominated
2006
APRA Music AwardsMost Performed Urban Work"You Make Me Weak"Nominated
ARIA AwardsBest Urban ReleaseJade MacRaeNominated
ARIA AwardsBest Female ArtistHerselfNominated
MTV Australia Video Music AwardsBest R&B Video"So Hot Right Now"Nominated
POPrepublic.tv IT List AwardsAustralian FemaleHerselfWon
Urban Music AwardsBest R&B AlbumJade MacRaeWon
Urban Music AwardsBest Female ArtistHerselfWon
2007
APRA Music AwardsMost Performed Urban Work"Superstar"Nominated
Urban Music AwardsBest Female ArtistHerselfWon
2008
APRA Music AwardsUrban Work of the Year"In the Basement"Won[23]

Notes and References

  1. News: So hot right now . 4 August 2007 . The Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. News: Broadly talented . Sally . Browne . 5 August 2007 . The Sunday Mail (Qld).
  3. Web site: Interview Feature: Jade Macrae reinvents herself as Dune. Feed Limmy. 25 March 2013. David. 1 September 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121123021543/http://feedlimmy.com/2012/09/01/jade-macrae-dune-interview/. 23 November 2012.
  4. Web site: Jade Mac-Rae. Girl.com.au. Girl.com.au & Femail.com.au. 25 March 2013. 1997–2014.
  5. Web site: Winners By Year. ARIA Awards – United By Music. Australian Recording Industry Association. 25 March 2013. 2013.
  6. News: Asian Cup preview. 25 March 2013. The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 July 2007. Ben Willing. 28 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120428043316/http://blogs.smh.com.au/sport/archives/2007/07/asian_cup_preview.html. dead.
  7. Web site: Broad 2007. Australian Stage. Australian Stage Online. 25 March 2013. Kane Adrian. 19 August 2007.
  8. Web site: The Sapphires' Soundtrack Songs Announced. noise11. 25 March 2013. Andrew Tijs. 10 July 2012.
  9. News: The perfect stranger. 25 March 2013. The West Australian. 15 March 2013. Simon Collins. 5 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131005000410/http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/16376456/the-perfect-stranger/. dead.
  10. Web site: Dune releases Debut single Shoestring. AAA Backstage. 25 March 2013. 2012. dead. https://archive.today/20130410042825/http://www.aaabackstage.com/news/latest/2347-dune-releases-debut-single-shoestring.html. 10 April 2013.
  11. Web site: Dune – Shoestring (Official Video). https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/gosSnEobdsw . 2021-12-22 . live. YouTube. Google, Inc. 25 March 2013. ThisIsDune. Video upload. 5 July 2012.
  12. Web site: Oh Innocence Dune. iTunes Preview. Apple, Inc. 25 March 2013. 14 March 2013.
  13. Web site: Dune: Oh Innocence launch tour. Time Out Melbourne. Time Out Group Ltd. 25 March 2013. Jenny Valentish. 21 February 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130323205152/http://www.au.timeout.com/melbourne/music/events/6295/dune-oh-innocence-launch-tour. 23 March 2013.
  14. Web site: Jade Macrae-In The Basement. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/Bs4zcMe_ut4 . 2021-12-22 . live. YouTube. Google, Inc. 25 March 2013. singerboy94. Video upload. 1 February 2008.
  15. Web site: Industrial Strength: November 11. The Music Network. Peer Group Media. 25 March 2013. Christie Eliezer. 11 November 2010.
  16. Web site: Phrase Trusting in Babylon. The Brag. 25 March 2013. Nils Hay. 22 August 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130420201404/http://www.thebrag.com/2011/08/22/interview-phrase/. 20 April 2013.
  17. Peaks in Australia:
    • All except noted: Web site: Discography Jade MacRae. australian-charts.com. 23 August 2022.
    • Jade MacRae and "In the Basement": 173.
  18. Web site: Space Invadas Announce Debut Performance First and Only Shows For 2009. MusicFeeds. November 2009. 14 June 2020.
  19. Web site: Up Above Your Head - single. Apple Music. 23 August 2019. 14 June 2020.
  20. Web site: My Father's House - single. Apple Music. 1 November 2019. 14 June 2020.
  21. Web site: I Choose Love - single. Apple Music. 14 February 2020. 14 June 2020.
  22. Web site: Midnight Air - single. Apple Music. 22 May 2020. 14 June 2020.
  23. Web site: 2008 Winners – APRA Music Awards . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) . 28 April 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140401031935/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/apraawards/musicawards/history/2008Winners.aspx . 1 April 2014 .