Jamie O'Neal first struck Music City gold as a sought-after
songwriter; it was only later that her own singing career blossomed.
O'Neal was born Jamie Murphy in Australia to professional musician
parents who eventually moved to Las Vegas and a
casino gig via Hawaii. Eventually, Jamie and her sister Samantha
began to perform with their parents. This led to a vagabond childhood
spent traveling across America in an RV, performing at state fairs,
conventions, and as an opening act for touring country stars. The
family then moved to Nashville, where it recorded three self-released
albums. But the divorce of O'Neal's mom and dad broke up the band, and
she moved to Los Angeles with her father.
Regular
high school wasn't for her however, and soon O'Neal had dropped out in
order to try and make in Music City all on her own. She found some work
as a demo performer for a Nashville song factory but soon left America
altogether to visit her mother in Australia. There she began performing
in clubs and on street corners and landed a gig as a backup singer for
pop tart Kylie Minogue. But O'Neal was still writing her own songs and
still thought that Nashville might be her ticket. A demo tape sent by
her mother to old contacts in Nashville generated interest, and in 1996
O'Neal was offered a songwriting contract under producer Harold Shedd.
This
exposure led to a sweeter songwriter/artist-development deal with EMI
Music. While O'Neal sang backup for established country acts like Clay
Davidson and Ronnie Milsap, her songs were covered by the likes of
LeAnn Rimes and Chely Wright. But despite this success, O'Neal still
felt stifled, as she still wasn't performing her own material.
That
changed in 1998, when an audition with Mercury Nashville's Keith
Stegall led to a recording contract with the label. Her country-pop
debut, Shiver, was released in early 2000; it was nominated for
three Grammy awards. After taking a break to start a family, O'Neal
returned in 2005 with Brave. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
