Katie Underwood (born 23 December 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter and meditation teacher. She is best known for being a member of Bardot, winners of the first Australian series of ''

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Realit ...

'' in 2000. Since departing the group in 2001, her solo career has included numerous vocal appearances on dance tracks such as the

Disco Montego Disco Montego (earlier known as Kaylan) was an Australian R&B and dance music trio. The Dowlut brothers Dennis and Darren, together with Tony Vass formed Kaylan in Melbourne in 1995. They released an R&B album '' No Commandments'' in 2000, whic ...

Top 10 single "

Beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...

", and dance act T-Funk single "Be Together".

Career

Music

In February 1999 in London, Underwood recorded a dance track with UK

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

act Terra Ferma, releasing her first single "Don't Be Afraid" through

Platipus Records Platipus Records was a British trance music record label that was based in London, England. It was founded in 1993 by Simon Berry, and early releases included Union Jack and Art of Trance. Later, the label included artists like Dawnseekers a ...

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 ''

'', making it through to the final five. As a result, she was selected to join the

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

Bardot. The group achieved instant success with the No. 1 hit "

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

" and its No. 1 debut album, headlined its own national tour and performed at the 2000

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music The music of Australia has ...

in which it was nominated for three awards. Underwood travelled to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, Singapore,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and the UK, promoting with Bardot. In early 2001, she decided to leave the group in pursuit of a role in the

Harry M. Miller Harry Maurice Miller (6 January 1934 – 4 July 2018) was a New Zealand Australian promoter, publicist and media agent. Life and career Born on 6 January 1934 in New Zealand, Miller grew up in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn. He moved to Aus ...

's production of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

''. 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

, resulting in the Top 10

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

hit "Beautiful" and its follow-up "Magic". She released her first solo single "

Danger Danger is a lack of safety and may refer to: Places * Danger Cave, an archaeological site in Utah * Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank, Indian Ocean * Danger Island, alternate name of Pukapuka Atoll in the Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean * Danger Isla ...

" in September 2003 which peaked at No. 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 No. 31 on the mainstream singles chart. The music video of this track directed by Bangladeshi born Australian director Zayed Rizwan AKA Silk was nominated in the best music video category in Aria Awards 2007. In November 2009, Underwood self-released her debut studio album called ''Ain't Nobody's Baby''. During the 2010s, Underwood stepped out of the public spotlight and only made rare musical appearances in Melbourne. During this period she received multiple invites to appear as a contestant on ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

''; to humour the producers Underwood eventually accepted the invite but before reaching the blind auditions she refused to sign the contract that would have put her on the show. In April 2020, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the release of their debut single "Poison", Underwood and Bardot bandmates

Tiffani Wood Tiffany may refer to: People * Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name * Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname Known mononymously as "Tiffany": * Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress know ...

and Belinda Chapple reunited remotely online to perform the song. In September 2021, it was announced that Underwood and Chapple would professionally reunite as a duo under the name Ka'Bel, with their debut single "Broken Hearted" released on 15 October 2021.

Acting

In 2002, Underwood appeared on the series ''

Undercover Angels ''Undercover Angels'' was a 2002 Australian reality show television series produced by the Seven Network which imitated the American '' Charlie's Angels'' series. It featured champion swimmer Ian Thorpe, who acted as the mentor to three women ...

'', a reality TV show which aimed to give a helping hand to people in need. In 2007, Underwood confirmed her plans to star in a new musical called ''Dark Angels'', based on the story of a bisexual

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

star, and a lesbian film called ''Submerge''. She said she would have no problem with the leading roles because of her own lesbian experimentation. ''Dark Angels'' played in Melbourne during 2007. ''Submerge'', directed by Sophie O'Connor, was due to be shot in January 2009. In 2009, Underwood toured in a new musical, David Tydd's ''Valentino'' (about Rudolph Valentino), with fellow Bardot member Tiffani Wood and

Normie Rowe Norman John Rowe (born 1 February 1947) is an Australian singer and songwriter of pop music and an actor of theatre and soap opera for which he remains best known as Douglas Fletcher in 1980s serial '' Sons and Daughters''. As a singer he was ...

Personal life

Born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, Underwood sang in a girls choir, and later studied Maths and Computer Science at

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. After three years at university she dropped out and moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In June 2007, ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' printed an interview with Underwood about her

bisexuality Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...

.Katie casually comes out
–

, ''4 June 2007'' In July 2011, Underwood gave birth to twin daughters. She currently lives in Melbourne and is a meditation teacher and remedial massage therapist.

Discography

Albums

* ''Ain't Nobody's Baby'' (November 2009)

Singles

References

External links

Official Site
*
Empire Records

Studio 52
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Katie 1975 births Living people APRA Award winners Australian dance musicians Australian women singer-songwriters Bardot (Australian band) members Bisexual musicians Bisexual women Australian LGBT singers Musicians from Adelaide Singers from Melbourne 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers