Competitive skier and now Australian Idol contestant Kesha grew up in Jindabyne with the snowy slopes as her literal backyard. But, while a professional skiing career was right there at her fingertips, music was always the dream she truly wanted to chase.
“Music is my plan A, B and C,” the 21-year-old tells TV WEEK. “But if I didn’t do music, I would have loved to do skiing as a career. My dad skied as a career; my mum’s an amazing skier. I valued having the snow that close to me and really enjoyed the adrenaline and being outside.”
Born into a sporty – and musical – household, Kesha’s love of performing started young, heavily influenced by her father, who is also a musician.
“I did my first competition when I was eight, which was Jindy Idol,” she says of her local talent quest. “So doing Australian Idol was really cool.”
A pillar of her tight-knit community, Kesha performs at the local Man From Snowy River Hotel every weekend – a venue that holds deep sentimental value, as it’s where her parents met.
“I felt even more connected to my parents because of performing there,” Kesha explains. “There’s something beautiful about getting to work and perform in the same area as that.”
As for whether she’s found romance of her own while strumming away?
“When I’m doing my gigs and doing my music, that’s probably the last thing I’m thinking about,” she says with a laugh.
That doesn’t mean love and heartbreak aren’t fuelling her lyrics.
“I write about a couple of exes here and there – they give you good song-writing material. Never date a musician if you don’t want a song written about you!”
With her well-seasoned pipes and natural stage presence already blowing people away on Australian Idol, the real question now is: just how far will she make it in the competition?
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