Odette (musician)

Not to be confused with Odetta.

Odette
Odette, Brighton, May 2018
Background information
Birth name	Georgia Odette Sallybanks
Born	1997 (age 27–28) Bath, Somerset, England
Origin	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Georgia Odette Sallybanks (born 1997), who performs as Odette, is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her debut album, To a Stranger (July 2018), peaked at No. 13 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018 it was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album and Breakthrough Artist – Release.

Early life

Odette was born in Bath, England in 1997 and grew up in inner western Sydney, Australia.[1] Her mother is South African and her father is English-born.[2] She began writing music at approximately eight years old, while attending Haberfield Public School.[3][4]

Career

2017–2018: To a Stranger

In 2017, Odette released her debut single, "Watch Me Read You", a piano ballad incorporating spoken word which she wrote in England in 2015.[5] It peaked at No. 14 on the ARIA Hitseekers Singles Chart.[6]

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, Odette was nominated for two awards; Best Adult Contemporary Album and Breakthrough Artist for To a Stranger.[7] Happy Mag's Luke Saunders called the album "a poetic tapestry of melancholy soul and powerful pop ballads."[8] Triple J praised Odette's "canny ability to weave melodic meditations that, like her singing, hover in the space between sensuous composition and spoken-word poetry" throughout the album.[9]

2020–present: Herald

Main article: Herald (album)

On 20 October 2020, Odette released "Dwell", the second single from her second studio album, Herald, released on 5 February 2021.[10]

In 2023 Odette announced a fifth anniversary tour of To a Stranger, which commenced in July 2023. In a statement, Odette said "Releasing To a Stranger changed my life. It connected me to people who felt the same as I did when I was writing the songs. It was kind of a risky experiment to put my most vulnerable self out there and see what happened and I'm so glad I did it. It's been five years now and my life's trajectory has completely shifted because of it. I'm so excited to be able to tour this record again and honour it and the people who fell in love with the record."[11]

In May 2024, Odette released "Reverence", the first new release in three years.[12]

Musical style and influences

Odette cites Joanna Newsom, Laura Mvula and her grandfather (a jazz pianist) as musical influences, and poets John Keats and Walt Whitman as lyrical influences.[13]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with release date, label, and selected chart positions shown

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		AUS [14]
To a Stranger	Released: 6 July 2018[15] Label: EMI Music Australia Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming	13
Herald	Released: 5 February 2021 Label: EMI Music Australia Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming	47

Exnteded plays

List of EPs, with release date, label, and selected chart positions shown

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		AUS
Offcuts	Released: 8 September 2021[16] Label: EMI Music Australia Formats: digital download, streaming

Singles

List of singles, with selected certifications

Title	Year	Certifications	Album
"Watch Me Read You"	2017		To a Stranger
"Collide"[17]		ARIA: Gold[18][19]
"Take It to the Heart"[20]	2018	ARIA: Gold[21][18][19]
"Lotus Eaters"[22][23]
"A Place That I Don't Know" (featuring Gretta Ray)[24][25]
"Lights Out" (Jerome Blazé remix)[26]	2019	ARIA: Gold[18][19]	Non-album single
"Feverbreak" (featuring Hermitude)[27]	2020		Herald
"Dwell"[28]
"Amends"[29]	2021
"Trial by Fire"[30]
"Reverence"[12]	2024		TBA
"Seahorses"[31]

Other appearances

List of non-single appearances

Title	Year	Artist(s)	Album
"I'll Find It"	2020	Alice Ivy featuring Odette	Don't Sleep
"Laisse timber les filles"	2022	So French So Chic	So French So Chic
"Salt"	2023	This Week in the Universe featuring Odette	Non-album single

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2018	To a Stranger	Best Adult Contemporary Album	Nominated
		Breakthrough Artist	Nominated
2021	Herald	Best Adult Contemporary Album	Nominated	[32]
	Eben Ejdne for Herald	Best Cover Art	Nominated

Australian Music Prize

The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. It commenced in 2005.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2021[33]	Herald	Australian Music Prize	Nominated

References

1. "Introducing Odette and her stunning debut single, Watch Me Read You".
2. "odette". Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
3. "Meet Odette: the 20-year-old behind 'Watch Me Read You'". 27 September 2017.
4. Yates, Rod (7 July 2018). "Odette: 'You can't just sing a song and all your problems go away'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
5. "Odette's 'Watch Me Read You' is going to be huge - Purple Sneakers". 23 August 2017.
6. Wallace, Ian (2 October 2017). "Week Commencing ~ 2nd October 2017 ~ Issue #1440" (PDF). The ARIA Report (1440). Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA): 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
7. "2018 ARIA Award Nominees Announced". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 11 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
8. "The 15 Australian female artists changing the game right now". Retrieved 20 October 2019.
9. "Odette - To A Stranger". triple j. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
10. "Herald (DD)". Apple Music Australia. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
11. "Odette Announces 'To a Stranger' Fifth Anniversary Tour". Music Feeds. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
12. "Odette Gets Cathartic on Comeback Single 'Reverence'". Tone Deaf. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
13. "Bio | Odette". Home | Odette. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
14. "Discography Odette". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
15. "To a Stranger". Apple Music Australia. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
16. "Live Review: Odette shares new EP, 'Offcuts', featuring stripped back versions from her album, 'Herald'". Purple Sneakers. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
17. "Odette - Collide". YouTube. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
18. "Odette". EMI Music. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
19. "Odette at BEAT". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
20. "First Spin: Odette's "Take It To The Heart" shows she's ready for her big debut album". ABC. April 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
21. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles". ARIA. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
22. "Odette - Lotus Eaters". AIRIT. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
23. "YouTube: odette - Lotus Eaters audio". ABC. October 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
24. "A Place That I Don't Know (feat. Gretta Ray) – Single by Odette on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
25. "Odette Releases New Single A Place That I Don't Know". thepartae. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
26. "Lights Out (Jerome Blazé Remix) – Single by Odette on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
27. "Feverbreak (feat. Hermitude) – Single by Odette on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
28. "Singles to Radio 1312". The Music Network. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
29. Rose, Anna (8 January 2021). "Listen to Odette's new single, 'Amends'". NME Australia. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
30. "Singles to Radio". The Music Network. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
31. "Odette shares serendipitous new single and video 'Seahorses'". twenty three. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
32. Kelly, Vivienne (20 October 2021). "ARIA Awards nominees revealed: Amy Shark & Genesis Owusu lead the charge". The Music Network. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
33. "Australian Music Prize reveals 'strong & diverse' shortlist". The Music Network. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.