RICKI-LEE COULTER: After her outstanding success in Australian Idol 2, Ricki-Lee has emerged as one of the sassiest entertainers in the country. Not only is she an incredible singer but with chart-topping songs like “Hell No!” and “Sunshine” she has dominated the airwaves and brought a fresh sound to Australian pop/R&B. Her highly successful debut self-titled album has delivered consecutive hits and 2006 should also see a new Ricki-Lee album closer to Christmas.

SS: Where do you live these days?

Ricki-Lee: I still live n the Gold coast – not that I spend much time there. We’re on the road with the Divas tour ‘till the end of October.

SS: The show is a huge hit – how did you decide all get together?

Ricki-Lee: Emily, Kate and Paulini have the same management, and their team came up with the idea for the show. They created a new concept – four distinct individuals coming together to perform… a girls group, but not with just one or two good singers like the Spice Girls or the Pussycat dolls. Our strength as a group is that the four of us are individual solo artists who have each stamped their mark onto the music scene… we hoped for success together and its happening!

SS: Do you have a lot of fun together?

Ricki-Lee: When we’re rehearsing we don’t stop talking. I lost my voice two days before the first show! We have so much fun. We’re like a bunch of sisters, gas bagging and laughing and joking around. The atmosphere of the show is like that – we’re just jumping around and being idiots.

SS: How old are you?

Ricki-Lee: I’m turning 21 in November, Kate’s five days older than me, Emily is 21 and Paulini is 23 – we’re babies!

SS: You all come across as strong women, there’s nothing babyish about any of you… why is that?

Ricki-Lee: It’s our backgrounds. We’ve all grown up in an environment where we’ve had to be independent and grow up quickly and be adults. And our families have strong morals and ideals. We’re all very much the same in the way we present ourselves and the way we live our lives - we are independent chicks! So when we’re on stage we hold our own as well as having fun and letting lost in it.

SS: You’re all such strong individuals. What advice do you have for girls who wish they could fit the skinny platinum blonde Hollywood ideal, but don’t?

Ricki-Lee: I’d say “how do you know those people are happy?” I can tell you all of us are happy! We’re ourselves. We’re surrounded by people that we love. The biggest thing that I could say to anyone is be yourself - because you can’t be anything else anyway. You can try but it’s not gonna work and you’re not gonna enjoy it as much. For example: I think it’s healthy to be your natural weight. I’m not a size six… I’m not even a size ten – I’m a size 14 and proud of it. I might lose a few kilos but I’ll never be less than a size 12 – it’s just not in my blood. One of my aims is to prove you don’t have to be a size eight to be successful. I think young girls need better role models and it’s great that the four of us can be that.

SS: Ricki-Lee, when did you first decide to be a singer?

Ricki-Lee: I was singing in my bedroom all my life - but never in front of anybody. I was that girl at school who was paid out for being good at things – I was playing netball for Queensland in grade six, I was great at athletics, swimming, at academics and I played the saxophone and the flute… so I didn’t want to sing as well. I thought, “this is just another thing people are gonna pay me out for”. But when I was 15 my dad had a huge birthday party and a band was playing. They asked me to sing - so I did, and the rest is history. That night they asked me to join the band. I was doing gigs up to seven nights a week - birthdays and clubs and bars and weddings… and I had to juggle schoolwork as well. I was doing my assignments in the back of nightclubs and homework offstage during gigs. My parents said, “as soon as your marks drop, you have to stop singing.” I thought “well I can do both and I can prove everyone wrong and do it. I’m going to do this!”

SS: This Time I Know its For Real is such a great song.

Ricki-Lee: It’s a cover of a Donna Summer song that came out in the late 80’s – she was a disco queen.

SS: It’s very romantic and you sing it with a lot of passion, are you thinking of anyone special?

Ricki-Lee: Yes - my fiancé Jamie. In January we were on holidays in New Zealand, and on the last day we were sitting there, we’d just had dinner and there was a beautiful sunset… He did the deed! He’d had the ring for five months and he’d been hiding it! I was so angry at myself for not finding it.

SS: A lot of people will be hoping to meet their Mr Right at Melbourne's Winter Wonderland D&D Ball. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Ricki-Lee: Oh I don’t know – I think you can have a crush on someone and think someone is hot… but when you get to know them inside out, that’s when you fall in love. That’s true love. When you first meet someone you have that “Oh my gosh!” feeling but that kinda fades. But even after four years of being together I still get butterflies in my tummy when I see Jamie. I think if you can hold onto it for that long, then you really know… it’s for real!

What a great read, isn't she down-to-earth :wub:

What a great interview - thanks for that Joely :cheers

Sometimes I forget that Ricki is still so young - she's amazing grounded and mature. :praise

Ricki has always been mature beyond her years. Even as a 7 year old she seemed much older... ;)