Katie Underwood

Katie Underwood (born 23 December, 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for being a member of Bardot, winners of the first Australian series of "Popstars" in 2000. Since departing the group in 2001, she has made numerous guest vocal appearances on dance tracks such as the Disco Montego Top 10 single "Beautiful".

Biography

Born in Adelaide, Underwood sang in a girls choir, and later studied Maths and Computer Science at University of Adelaide. After three years at university she dropped out and moved to Melbourne.

In June 2007, The Sydney Morning Herald printed an interview with Underwood about her bisexuality. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/06/03/1180809323834.html Katie casually comes out] - The Sydney Morning Herald, "4 June 2007"] She currently lives in Melbourne with her cosmetic surgeon husband, Paul Spano.

Music career

In February 1999 in London, Underwood recorded a dance track with UK trance act Terra Ferma, releasing her first single "Don't Be Afraid" through Platipus Records in the UK. She also recorded three more tracks which were included on the Terra Ferma album, released in early 2000.

After returning from the UK to Melbourne, Underwood began working with singer/songwriter Charlie Rooke (formerly of The Sharp) and they formed a jazz-swing band called Corduroy Lounge. In October 1999, she auditioned for the TV show "Popstars", making it through to the final five. As a result she was selected to join the girl group Bardot. The group achieved instant success with the #1 hit "Poison" and its #1 debut album, headlined its own national tour and performed at the 2000 ARIA Awards in which it was nominated for three awards. Underwood travelled to New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and the UK, promoting with Bardot but in early 2001 decided to leave the group in pursuit of a role in the production of "Hair". Unfortunately for Underwood, the production fell through due to financial problems. Underwood later spoke of the deep depression she fell into as a result of what most people thought was a foolish career decision, despite the fact that Bardot's commercial success after her departure was muted. She subsequently turned the tables and made a successful comeback, earning respect from entertainment critics for her resilience.

Focusing on her passion for the clubbing scene and dance music, Underwood returned to the spotlight in May 2002, collaborating with Australian dance duo Disco Montego, resulting in the Top 10 ARIA hit "Beautiful" and its follow-up "Magic". At this time, she also appeared on the series "Undercover Angels", a reality TV show which aimed to give a helping hand to people in need. She released her first solo single "Danger" in September 2003 which peaked at #33 on the singles chart and took a two year break in which no music was released.

In June 2006, Underwood re-emerged with dance act T-Funk on the track "Be Together", topping the ARIA Club charts for five consecutive weeks. It peaked at #31 on the mainstream singles chart.The music video of this song was directed by Bangladeshi born director Zayed Rizwan AKA SILK.

Acting career

Underwood has confirmed her plans to star in a new musical called "Dark Angel" (based on the story of a bisexual burlesque star) and a lesbian film called "Submerged". She said she would have no problem with the leading roles because of her own gay experimentation. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/katie-casually-comes-out/2007/06/03/1180809323834.html The Sydney Morning Herald: national, world, business, entertainment, sport and technology news from Australia's leading newspaper ] ]

Discography

Albums

Underwood's vocals feature on the following artist studio albums:
*2000: Terra Ferma – "The Adventures of..."
*2000: Bardot – "Bardot"
*2002: Disco Montego – "Disco Montego"

ingles

References

External links

* [http://www.katieunderwood.tv/ Official Site]
*imdb name|id=0881017|name=Katie Underwood