Emily Williams

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Emily Williams

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Img_capt =
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Emily Williams
Born = birth date and age|1984|10|08
Died =
Origin =
Instrument = Singing
Genre = Pop, R&B
Occupation = Singer-songwriter
Years_active = 2005–present
Label = Sony BMG (2005–present)
URL = [http://www.youngdivas.com.au/ YoungDivas.com.au]

Emily Williams (born October 8, 1984 in New Zealand) is a singer who was the runner-up in the 2005 season of "Australian Idol" and a member of the band Young Divas. Williams now lives in Melbourne with her Family and daughter.

Australian Idol

She was in the first Top 13 performance show the theme was Australian Made and Emily sang "Buses and Trains" by Bachelor Girl. The judges enjoyed her performance and Emily was safe the following night in the Verdict Show. In the Top 11 performance show the theme was the 1960s and Emily sang "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. The judges thought it was fantastic and Emily was once again safe during the verdict. In the Top 10 it was Supergroups night and Emily sang "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. The judges thought it was the best performance of the night and Emily was safe for the third week in a row.

In the Top 9 it was Contestant Choice and Emily chose to sing "Hero" by Mariah Carey. The judges said her performance was excellent and Mark Holden surprised everyone by NOT giving Emily a touchdown. Emily was safe during the Verdict the following night. In the Top 8 it was Big Band night and Emily sang Frank Sinatra's "All The Way". Emily scored her first touchdown from Mark Holden, the first for the season and Emily was safe during the Verdict the following night.

In the Top 7 it was the 1980s themed show and she sang "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston. The judges said it was a very good performance but it was a step back since last week. It seemed that Australia agreed with the judges and Emily found herself in the Bottom 3 for the first time in the Verdict show the next night. She was with Daniel Spillane and James Kannis (two contestants who were heavily tipped to be the next eliminated). Daniel was sent back to the couch first leaving James and Emily as the bottom two. The judges and Emily's fans expressed their anxiousness that Emily would have a premature elimination like Ricki-Lee Coulter had on Australian Idol the year before in the Top 7. But, they were wrong and James was eliminated and Emily was safe for another week. In the Top 6 it was Motown night and Emily blew everyone away with an outstanding performance of "River Deep Mountain High" by Tina Turner. Mark gave her a second touchdown and the judges claimed she had made a triumphant comeback from last week's bottom 2 appearance. The following night on the Verdict Show Emily was safe, but unfortunately Emily saw her best friend, Anne eliminated (a hot favourite to win).

In the Top 5 it was a 1970s themed show and Emily sang Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" and scored herself a third touchdown from judge, Mark. The following night Emily was safe during the Verdict. The following week in the Top 4 it was an Elvis tribute show and Emily sang "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Can't Help Falling in Love". The judges thought she could have done better but all the same Emily was declared safe the next night.

The Top 3 was No.1s and Emily sang "Baby One More Time" and "I Will Always Love You". Emily nearly scored another touchdown for "I Will Always Love You". Mark Holden hold off and stated that the audience has to made the right decision. The following night Emily and Kate were declared the two finalists competing in the Grand Final! Hot Favourite Williams lost to underdog DeAraugo in the closest percentage in an Australian Idol Grand Finale. It was announced 5 minutes before the results were announced that only 1% of votes separated DeAraugo and Williams.

"Australian Idol" performances

*Brisbane Auditions: "Rock With You" by Michael Jackson
*Theatre Round Day One: "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley
*Theatre Round Day Two: "Finally" by CeCe Peniston (with Jade-Lori Crompton & Lianne Candina)
*Theatre Round Day Three:"Fallin'" by Alicia Keys
*Top 30 (Group 3): "Make It Happen" by Mariah Carey
*Wildcards: "To Zion" by Lauryn Hill
*Top 13 - Australian Hits: "Buses and Trains" by Bachelor Girl
*Top 11 - '60s Hits: "RESPECT" by Aretha Franklin
*Top 10 - Supergroups: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
*Top 9 - Idols' Choice: "Hero" by Mariah Carey
*Top 8 - Big Band Hits: "All The Way" by Frank Sinatra "TOUCHDOWN!"
*Top 7 - '80s Hits: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston "Bottom 2"
*Up Close & Personal: "How Come You Don't Call Me?" by Prince (Alicia Keys version)
*Top 6 - Motown Hits: "River Deep, Mountain High" by Ike Turner & Tina Turner "TOUCHDOWN!"
*Top 5 - '70s Hits: "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan "TOUCHDOWN!"
*Top 4 - Elvis Hits: "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley
*Top 4 - Elvis Hits: "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley
*Top 3 - #1 Hits: "Hit Me Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears
*Top 3 - #1 Hits: "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston
*Top 2 - Idols' Choice: "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson
*Top 2 - Idols' Choice: "Emotion" by Destiny's Child/ The Bee Gees
*Top 2 - Winner's single: "Maybe Tonight"
*Grand Final Performance - "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan "Runner-Up"

Post-"Idol" Career

After her loss to Kate DeAraugo on "Australian Idol", Williams' fans demanded that she be signed to a record label, on a forum dedicated to the singer. They were especially heated after Lee Harding, who came third on the third season of "Australian Idol", was signed and had already released his debut single. On December 19, 2005 it was confirmed that Williams had been signed with Sony BMG.

2006-2007: "Young Divas"

Williams joined three other Australian Idol contestants including Kate DeAraugo, Ricki-Lee Coulter and Paulini Curuenavuli for a national tour. To promote the tour, the four released a cover of the Donna Summer hit classic "This Time I Know It's for Real" under the name Young Divas. This single was released on May 6, 2006 and proved to be a success debuting at number seven and peaking at number two, the single went platinum had been in the top thirty charts for twenty-two weeks. Originally a music video was not to be included but after much demand and the popularity of the single, a music video was released. They appeared on television shows such as "Sunrise" and the Australian version of "Dancing with the Stars" to also promote the single and tour. 'The Young Divas' tour has been extremely popular and more shows had to be added than originally planned.

Since the single and tour has been so popular, the Young Divas recorded an album of remakes of classics from around the world. Young Divas, their self-titled debut album, was released on 18 November, 2006, and debuted at number four on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. Their second single "Happenin' All over Again" (a cover of Lonnie Gordon's disco classic) peaked at number nine. The four women stated many times that they will also keep their solo careers.When the album was re-released it featured a bonus solo track By Emily Williams a cover of Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You'

Williams and her fellow Divas then recorded a song called "2000 Miles" for the compilation album "" by various Australian artists to raise funds and bring attention to beyondblue, an Australian initiative against depression. For this campaign DeAraugo gained Honorary Membership of The Coterie in the 2007 membership list. On June 22 2007 it was announced that Ricki-Lee Coulter had decided to leave the group in order to focus on her solo career, but DeAraugo and her fellow two remaining bandmates stated that they would carry on with their plan to record a second album, which they hoped to release in November of the same year.

2007-Present: "New Attitude"

On 26 September 2007, Williams appeared alongside her bandmates on the top 12 night of the fifth season of Australian Idol. It was during this performance that season four runner-up Jessica Mauboy was revealed as the new Young Diva, replacing Ricki-Lee Coulter. The group performed "When You Believe" which was originally sung by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston for the fortieth anniversary of Channel 7's Telethon Western Australia.

On 9 October, they appeared on an Australian Idol special named Doing It For the Kids, and revealed that the name of their second album would be "New Attitude". On 22 October they appeared on Australian Idol season five for a third time, where they performed their new single 'Turn Me Loose' along with New Zealand rapper Savage, who is featured on the track. The single was officially released on November 17 2007, with the album due to follow on November 26.

In mid-2007, Williams was told she was to compete in a New Zealand TV show on TV2 called "Pop's Ultimate Star", where she sung alongside various New Zealand singers. Williams finished the contest in 4th place. In this competition she sang many songs including Beyonce's "Irreplaceable", Rihanna's "Umbrella", Whitney Houston's "You Love Is My Love" and many more. Like on Idol, Williams impressed the judges with her vocal range and stage presence. [cite web |url= http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/413551/1121009 |title= Pop's Ultimate Star |accessdate= 2007-05-20 |year= 2007 |publisher= TVNZ ]

Discography

Albums

*"" (2005) - #30 Australia
*"Young Divas" (with Young Divas) (2006) - #4 Australia, #1 Australasian (1 Week), (Platinum x 2)
*"New Attitude" (with Young Divas) (2007) - #10 Australia, (Gold)

ingles

*"This Time I Know It's for Real" (with Young Divas) (2006) — #2 Australia, #1 Australasian (11 weeks), (Platinum)
*"Happenin' All over Again" (with Young Divas) (2006) — #9 Australia, #1 Australasian (2 Weeks), (Gold)
*"Searchin'" (with Young Divas) (2007) — #35 Australia
*Turn Me Loose (with Young Divas and new member Jessica Mauboy (2007) - #15 Australia (currently)

Trivia

*When her sister, Lavina Williams, was selected in the "Australian Idol" Top 12 in 2006, she and Emily became the first siblings to advance through to the finals in Australian Idol, shortly before the feat was repeated when Chris Murphy, brother of Season 2's Courtney Murphy, was selected for the same competition as Lavina.

*Like former "Idol" contestant Guy Sebastian, Emily Williams attended Paradise Community Church.

*In 2008 Emily William's younger brother, Joshua Williams a.k.a J Williams, Released his debut single Blow Your Mind in New Zealand.

References

External links

* [http://www.youngdivas.com.au/splash/home.do Young Divas - Starring Emily, Kate, Ricki-Lee and Paulini]
* [http://forums.youngdivas.com.au/ The Young Divas Forum]
* [http://www.sonybmg.com.au/artist/artistSiteLink.do?artistId=107247 Sony BMG - Emily Williams]
* [http://idolobsessed.blip.tv/ Watch Emily's video performances on Idol including some of the Young Divas]