Amber Lawrence

In January 2003, Lawrence started busking in Tamworth ahead of its annual country music festival although she has said that "I had no idea what Tamworth was about."[10] She was still working as an accountant, "It wasn't really a conscious decision for me to become a country singer."[10] Returning in 2004, she entered the Road to Tamworth competition and finished second behind Jessica Mauboy.[10] Also that year she attended the College of Country Music, where she met fellow aspiring country singer Travis Collins.[22] The singer-songwriter was one of nine grand finalists for the Star Maker Quest at the 2005 Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA), but lost to Samantha McClymont.[23]

In January 2006, Lawrence independently released her debut four-track extended play, I've Got the Blues.[17][24] It was produced by Matt Fell and reached the ARIA singles chart top 100.[24]

Lawrence's debut studio album, The Mile, was released in July 2007 and was again produced by McCormack.[17][25] The title track relates to Sam McRae, a "16-year-old jockey" who "died in a racing accident".[12] The album reached No. 13 on the ARIA Country Albums chart.[26]

At the 2008 CMAA, she was nominated for "Female Artist of the Year" and "New Talent",[3] and in the following year she was nominated for "Female Artist of the Year", "APRA Song of the Year" and "Video Clip of the Year". She received a nomination for "Country Work of the Year" for The Mile's single, "Good Girls" at the APRA Music Awards of 2009.[27] At the AIR Awards of 2009, The Mile was nominated for Independent Country Album of the Year.[28]

Her second studio album, When It All Comes Down, was released in August 2009. It reached No. 17 on the ARIA Country Albums chart and No. 16 on the related Hitseekers Albums chart.[29] Two of its tracks, "Always Kiss Me Goodnight" and "The Good Men" were in honour of her father, Brian, who had died in the previous year.[12] Susan Jarvis of Capital News observed it was, "at the same time intensely personal and universally relevant. The songs — all Amber originals — are catchy, powerful and full of feeling."[30]

In 2010 she won "Female Vocalist of the Year" at the Victorian National Country Music Awards (sponsored by the Whittlesea Country Music Festival),[31] and was nominated for "Best Independent Country Album" at the Independent Country Music Awards (sponsored by the Mildura Country Music Festival).[32] At the 2010 CMAA, When It All Comes Down was nominated for three categories.[33]

Lawrence performing in 2011

The simply named 3, her third studio album, was released in January 2012 via Core Music/Sony Music Entertainment,[34] which peaked in the ARIA Albums top 50 and reached No. 4 on the Country Albums chart.[35] Its second single, "The Man Across the Street", relates to the experiences of her neighbour, Bill and other Vietnam Veterans.[12][14] On 5 March, 3, was named Album of the Week at 98.9 FM, with their reviewer explaining, "its mixture of upbeat optimism, personal happiness and resilience along with some references to deeper issues including courage in the face of hardship, is another step upward on a sharply-angled career path that has seen [her] delight audiences all over the country."[36] In both 2012 and 2013, Lawrence was again nominated for CMAA's "Female Artist of the Year".[37][6] In 2014, Lawrence was nominated for "Female Artist of the Year" at the Australian Club Entertainment Awards.

In September 2014, Lawrence released her fourth studio album, Superheroes. It also reached the ARIA top 50, while debuting at No. 3 on the Country Albums chart.[38] The CD's artwork includes a photo of her parents in their surfing era at Maroubra Beach, where they met.[12] Dave Dawson of Nu Country observes that the album has her, "reeling from a relationship break-up and depression, sings of being her own superhero in the title track, name checking Wonder Woman, Spider Man and Iron Man."[12] In 2015, Lawrence was awarded the CMAA's Golden Guitar trophy for Best Female Artist of the Year,[39] the Australian Bush Laureate Award for Contemporary Song Lyric of the Year[40] and was nominated for Heritage Song of the Year, both for "The Lifesaver".[41] The song details her family's response to Brian's stroke in 1996.[13][42] She was also named CMC Music Video Channel's Female Oz Artist of the Year.[43]

In April 2016, Lawrence released her fifth studio album, The Kid's Gone Country, her first children's albums. This was followed in September 2016 with her sixth, Happy Ever After, which reached the ARIA top 50 and Country Albums No. 6.[44] Sunburnt Country Music's Sophie Hamley noticed that "[it's] full of well-crafted country pop that will delight ... she writes and sings from an authentic place, and she is unabashed about showing sentiment and emotion. You get the sense that in conversation she wouldn’t be one for small talk – she would want to get right to the heart of a matter."[45]

Her collaboration with fellow Australian country artist Travis Collins, the seven-track Our Backyard EP, was released in August 2017.[17] It peaked at No. 40 on the ARIA Albums chart and No. 2 on the Country Albums chart.[46] The title track was co-written by Lawrence, Collins and Matt Scullion.[9] The EP was produced by Matt Fell.[22] Jeremy Sollars of Southern Free Times found it, "Brimming with classics that tell quintessentially Australian stories, the music and lyrics ... reflect the true Australian experience across life, love and friendship."[22] At the 2018 CMAA she won three Golden Guitar trophies: Vocal Collaboration of the Year (shared with Collins), Song of the Year (shared with Collins and Scullion) and Single of the Year (shared with Collins), all for "Our Backyard".[39]

In November 2017, Lawrence released her second children's album, Aussie Aussie Christmas.[47]

In June 2019, Lawrence's released her eighth studio album, Spark, which peaked at No. 13 on the ARIA Albums chart and No.  1 on the Country Albums chart.[48] It was produced by Stuart Stuart.[49]

In July 2022, Lawrence released her tenth studio album, Living for the Highlights, which peaked at number 5 on the ARIA Charts. Living for the Highlights received an ARIA nomination for Best Country Album in 2022.

The Australian Independent Record Awards (known colloquially as the AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual ceremony presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.[39][60]