Ricki-Lee Coulter
Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter is an Australian singer-songwriter, television and radio presenter. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, raised in Gold Coast, Queensland, and began performing at age 15. Coulter rose to fame in 2004 on the second season of Australian Idol and placed seventh in the competition. She subsequently signed with Australian independent label Shock Records, and released her self-titled debut album Ricki-Lee, which produced the top-ten hits "Hell No!" and "Sunshine". Both singles were certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The following year, Coulter became a member of the Australian pop girl group Young Divas, before leaving in early 2007 to resume her solo career.
Coulter's second album Brand New Day was certified gold and included the top-ten singles "Love Is All Around", "Can't Sing a Different Song" and "Can't Touch It", the latter was certified platinum. Coulter's first compilation album The Singles was released in 2008, featuring the top-twenty single "Wiggle It". In 2011, she ended her contract with Shock Records and signed with major label EMI Music Australia. Coulter's third album Fear & Freedom debuted at number seven on the ARIA Albums Chart and became her first top-ten album. It included the top-twenty hits "Raining Diamonds" and "Do It Like That", which were both certified platinum. "Do It Like That" was also a top-ten hit on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart and earned Coulter her first ARIA Music Award nomination for Song of the Year. Her fourth album Dance in the Rain became her second top-fifteen album, and featured the top-forty single "All We Need Is Love". Coulter independently released her fifth album On My Own in 2024, which would become her highest-peaking album on the ARIA Albums Chart to date.
Coulter has branched out from recording music, pursuing careers in television and radio. She returned to Australian Idol for seasons six and seven, as a presenter and reporter alongside James Mathison and Andrew Günsberg. The role earned her a nomination at the 2009 Logie Awards for Most Popular New Female Talent. She was also a full-time radio presenter for Sydney's Nova 96.9 breakfast show in 2010, alongside Merrick Watts and Scott Dooley. In 2019, Coulter became the host of Australia's Got Talent. Coulter was announced in September 2022 as the co-host of the 2023 Seven Network reboot of Australian Idol alongside Scott Tweedie.
Early life
Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter was born on 10 November 1985 in Auckland, New Zealand. Her name is a nod to singer Rickie Lee Jones. Her mother Loretta Sheerin, born in Tonga, was a model. Coulter's parents separated before she was born, and she was raised by her mother. Coulter and her mother relocated to Gold Coast, Queensland when she was three months old. Coulter's father figure at the time was her grandfather Rocky. Coulter's mother gave her every chance to visit her biological father in New Zealand when she was a child. "He wasn't a part of my life. I'd go over there and stay with him and his family, it was just weird to me. Then when I got to an age where I could speak up to Mum, about six or seven, I said, 'I don't want to go; I don't like it.'"She attended Southport State School and experienced the personal struggles of a lonely childhood as she wanted a life similar to her school friends. "Their mums and dads were married. They had brothers and sisters. They had afternoon tea. They had a cooked dinner. I never had that. I'd get home from school and there was nothing in the cupboard. I would eat mouldy bread and drink water because that would fill me up". Coulter grew up mostly on her own because her mother worked two jobs to pay the bills. During primary school, Coulter participated in many sports, including swimming, touch football and netball, which she played for six years. When Coulter was nine years old, her mother met John, a man of Scottish descent who is now her step father. Coulter has two half-sisters, Jodie and Emily.
As a teenager, she attended Southport State High School. At the age of 15, Coulter had a serious knee injury that required reconstructive surgery. She was told she would never play netball again. Several months later, Coulter's ability to sing was discovered by her mother, who overheard her in her bedroom, which led to her performing at gigs in the Gold Coast and Brisbane areas with live bands. Aside from singing, she also learned how to play several instruments, including the tenor saxophone, flute, and trumpet, and would often play them in school concerts and the school stage band. During high school, Coulter excelled in music and sport. After completing high school in 2002, she decided to focus on her music career, and began writing her own songs with her good friend Xy Latu.
Music career
2003–2004: ''Australian Idol'' and ''Popstars Live''
In 2003, Coulter auditioned for the first season of Australian Idol but did not make it past the audition rounds. The following year, Coulter successfully auditioned for the first season of Popstars Live and progressed to the top sixty round of the competition but was part of the first group of performers who were sent home. Later that same year, Coulter successfully auditioned for the second season of Australian Idol, singing En Vogue's "Don't Let Go ", and progressed through to the semi-finals. Following the semi-final process, she had advanced through to the top twelve. Throughout the season, Coulter was regarded as a favourite to win the competition because of her performances of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough", Tina Turner's version of "Proud Mary" and Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing". In the final seven weeks, Coulter was eliminated from the competition. Following her elimination, "newspapers ran the story as front-page news and Coulter herself couldn't quite hide the anger and disappointment she plainly felt". Like contestant Daniel Belle, who was eliminated the week before her, Coulter never appeared in the bottom three until her elimination.2005–2007: ''Ricki-Lee'' and Young Divas
Following her departure from Australian Idol, Coulter was offered recording contracts by record labels including the show's sponsor Sony BMG, but she signed with Australia's biggest independent label Shock Records. Coulter explained, "I'd met with a number of labels and Shock were the only one that asked me what I wanted to do and what kind of album I wanted to make and who I wanted to work with". Her debut single "Hell No!" was released in June 2005, ahead of the related self-titled debut album, Ricki-Lee. The song peaked at number five on the ARIA Singles Chart – remaining in the top-ten for three consecutive weeks. It was eventually certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association, for shipments of 35,000 copies. "Sunshine" was released as her second single in September, which peaked at number eight and was also certified gold. Ricki-Lee was released on 3 October 2005, which peaked at number 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Coulter collaborated with several producers and songwriters on the album, including Audius Mtawarira, Israel Cruz, Nitty, Jarrad Rogers and Kara DioGuardi, among others. "Breathe" was released as the album's third and final single in January 2006, and reached number 14. At the 2006 Australian and New Zealand Urban Music Awards, Ricki-Lee was nominated for 'Best R&B Album'.That same year, Coulter joined forces with previous Australian Idol contestants Paulini, Emily Williams and Kate DeAraugo to be part of the all-girl singing project called Young Divas. The project was initially formed to promote a joint 17-date national tour, where all singers would perform their solo material and several songs as a group. Young Divas released a cover version of Donna Summer's single "This Time I Know It's for Real" in May 2006, through Sony BMG, to promote tickets for the tour. A music video was also shot to accompany the song's release. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, DeAraugo stated that they are "not an Idol supergroup, it's just about finding four female voices. It just so happened the four we've gone with are all from Idol. The single is just to promote the tour, just to show a taste of what will be on there, but there won't be an album". Young Divas' version of "This Time I Know It's for Real" peaked at number two and remained in the top-ten for fourteen consecutive weeks. It was eventually certified platinum, for shipments of 70,000 copies. Five months after the single's release, Young Divas released a second single in November 2006, a cover of Lonnie Gordon's "Happenin' All Over Again". The song peaked at number nine and was certified gold.
Their commercial success prompted the release of a debut album of classic disco and pop covers titled, Young Divas, on 27 November 2006, establishing themselves as an official group. The album debuted at number four and was certified double platinum, for shipments of 140,000 copies. A cover of Hazell Dean's "Searchin'" was released as the group's third single, and reached number 40. In February 2007, it was announced that Young Divas had pulled out of their scheduled national tour supporting Irish boy band Westlife, because Coulter had headed overseas to work on her second solo album. The cancellation occurred amid claims that Coulter was set to leave the group, due to personality clashes with DeAraugo. The rumours were denied by the group's manager David Champion, who stated that she would return for the group's next headlining tour and the recording of their second album. However, on 22 June 2007, Coulter announced her departure to resume her solo career and to plan her then-upcoming wedding to fiancé, Jamie Babbington. Jessica Mauboy, who became runner-up on the fourth season of Australian Idol, was Coulter's replacement in the group.