Musician Jessica Mauboy is using her voice to spread the word of First Nations designers and artists. The 32-year-old has teamed with the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation as an ambassador. | Jane Rocca
It makes me so emotional and takes me right back to being a 16-year-old standing in front of judges I had no clue about and who knew nothing about me and where I’d come from.
“I don’t want to judge – it’s not my place to do that. But it’s my job to help them understand what it takes to become a pop star.”It’s an ode to all the obstacles I’ve faced in the past few years. I am the sort of person who wants to constantly be thriving. Being unable to tour was hard, but now I am on a roll. The message I want to get out there is to claim back your confidence, to have inner belief and faith – that will guide you to your destination.
As much as the music industry is a love-fest that invites you to have fun, it’s a business as well. I always had that business hat on, and always had to check what the fun entailed. It’s like you’re constantly in a battle to protect what you love – and that is the music.It’s taught me to celebrate myself. We are still very much in our own bubble right now; trying to come out and go forth and identify what is happening around us with life events.