''Kingmaker'' is the eighth studio album by Canadian-New Zealand country singer

Tami Neilson Tamara Neilson, known professionally as Tami Neilson, is a Canadian-born New Zealand country & soul singer/songwriter. She is the winner of multiple awards, including the 2014 APRA Silver Scroll Awards and Best Country Song Award; she is also th ...

, released in July 2022. The album debuted at number one on the

Official New Zealand Music Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Musi ...

Production

Neilson was disheartened after the

COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand is part of COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in New Zealand was reported ...

stalled the promotion of her previous album ''Chickaboom!'' (2020), and was uninspired to write music in 2020. Writing for ''Kingmaker'' began in early 2021, and took six months. The album was primarily inspired by Neilson's experiences as an Indigenous woman in the music industry, and she wanted to write an album that had a "cinematic arc", similar to a film soundtrack. Sonically, the album was inspired by ''

Nancy & Lee ''Nancy & Lee'' is a collaborative studio album by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, released on Reprise Records in 1968. Arranged and conducted by Billy Strange, the album was produced by Lee Hazlewood. It peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard' ...

'' (1968) and the subsequent music released by

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatr ...

and

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960 ...

, as well as musicians Ennio Morricone and

Bobbie Gentry Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...

. The song "Beyond the Stars" was written together with

Delaney Davidson Delaney Davidson (born 15 December 1972) is a singer-songwriter from Lyttelton, New Zealand. He is known for his musical production, guitar work, and being a multi-instrumentalist. Besides his music, Davidson is also involved in graphics, vis ...

, with both musicians expressing mourning for their fathers. Neilson was scheduled to perform at the Luck Reunion festival in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

in March 2020, however the festival was cancelled and a livestream was released in its place. American country musician

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

and his family were watching the concert, which led to Neilson developing a friendship with Nelson's wife Annie D'Angelo, and led to Nelson being a featured vocalist on the song. The album was recorded in a week at

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

Roundhead Studios Roundhead Studios is an Auckland-based sound recording studio owned by singer-songwriter Neil Finn. It was officially opened in June 2007, however by the time of its opening, several international artists had already used it whilst the studio was ...

in Auckland.

Release and promotion

The first single released from the album was "Beyond the Stars", featuring American country musician

in April 2022. This was followed by "Baby You're a Gun" in May, "Careless Woman" in June and "Kingmaker" in July.

Critical reception

At the 2022 Aotearoa Music Awards, won the awards for Best Country Artist, Best Solo Artist and Best Producer for her work on ''Kingmaker''. 2022 was the sixth time Neilson had won the Best Country Artist award, and Neilson's Best Producer award was the first time the award had been given to a woman since

Bic Runga Briolette Kah Bic Runga (born 13 January 1976), recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Album charts. Runga ...

won the award in 2006 for her album '' Birds'' (2005).

Track listing

Credits and personnel

*Vanessa Abernethy – choir *Brett Adams – guitar *Miranda Adams – 1st violin *Robert Ashworth – viola *Nick Atkinson – clarinet, saxophone *Sophia Bayly – photography *Christine Bowie – viola *Tom Broome – drums, percussion *Ashley Brown – cello *Steve Chadie – engineer (5) *Chris Chetland – mastering *Diana Cochrane – 2nd violin * Anna Coddington – choir *Alex Corbett – assistant engineer *Julia Deans – choir *David Garner – cello *Simon Gooding – mixing engineer *Gordon Hill – double bass *Bella Kalolo-Suraj – choir *Victoria Kelly – string arrangements *Chip Matthews – bass *Maria Francesca Melis – artwork *Charlie Neilson – backing vocals (4) *Sam Neilson – backing vocals (4) *Tami Neilson – liner notes, producer, vocals *

– vocals (5) *Liu-Yi Retallick – 1st violin *Neil Watson – pedal steel guitar *Yanghe Yu – 2nd violin

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingmaker 2022 albums Tami Neilson albums Albums recorded at Roundhead Studios