Australian Star Amy Shark Talks About Her New Album Sunday Sadness, Her Single “Beautiful Eyes,” And Writing Her Songs

Since she first emerged with her debut album (Love Monster) in 2016, Amy Shark has been known as an award-winning pop singer/songwriter who has a global following, and who is particularly popular in her home country of Australia and in New Zealand. She’s had platinum and gold success there with her albums and singles, and she headlines shows at large concert venues.

Currently, Shark is about to release her excellent third album, Sunday Sadness (on RCA Records/Sony Music). This is her first album in three years (since Cry Forever in 2021), and it presents a wide range of pop, rock and acoustic songs that are written or co-written by Shark.

Sunday Sadness has several highlights such as “Beautiful Eyes,” a positive, uplifting song that is one of Shark’s favorites. Other noteworthy songs include “Loving Me Lover,” a hooky midtempo cut that she wrote with Grammy-winning writer/producer Kid Harpoon (who works with Harry Styles). Another key song is the high-energy, fun song “Two Friends,” that has a punk/pop flavor.

The album starts off with mostly uptempo tracks, and then shifts to a more acoustic, softer sound in the album’s latter songs. Other strong songs are “My Only Friend” (which is a duet with Tom DeLonge of the rock band, blink-182), the opening cut “Slide Down the Wall,” and the heartfelt ballad that closes the album, “Our Time Together.”

Shark was born on the Gold Coast in Queensland (northeast Australia), where she performed in theatre, studied film and played in an all-female punk band when she was a teenager. From 2008 to 2012, she recorded and performed as a solo artist with the name, Amy Cushaway. Then in 2013, she changed her name to Amy Shark and released songs as an indie artist.

It was in 2016 that Shark had a breakthrough, when she independently released her single “Adore,” which became a big hit and led to her signing a label deal with Sony Music. She then had a hit with her song, “I Said Hi.” These two singles propelled her first album, Love Monster, to platinum success in Australia. Impressively, Love Monster was named Album of the Year at the 2018 ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Music Awards.

Then in 2021, Shark released her second album, Cry Forever. Notably, she collaborated with some top artists and songwriters for this album. She wrote “Love Songs Ain’t For Us” with pop superstar Ed Sheeran, and the song featured country star Keith Urban on vocals. She also wrote the single “Everybody Rise” with hit writer/producer Joel Little (who has worked with Lorde and Taylor Swift).

With the release of her new album Sunday Sadness, Shark will be launching a concert tour of Australia and New Zealand this fall. Then in early 2005, she’ll be coming to the U.S. for a tour.

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Amy Shark. She discusses the making of her new album, her new song “Beautiful Eyes,” and her earlier hits “Adore,” “I Said Hi” and “Everybody Rise.”

DK: How did you get started as a singer/songwriter in Australia?

Amy Shark: Oh, it wasn’t easy at first. I was trying to become a musician for a long time, and I didn’t have any signs of anyone believing in me, apart from one person. So I didn’t get a lucky break for about 15 years. And I used to resent that no one listened to me, and that it took so long to get anywhere. But now I see so much value in having gone through that gauntlet. It’s almost been like a big training session for me, to be able to do what I do now and do it confidently and be mentally stable (laughs) in such a turbulent career. So I waited my time and I put a song out called “Adore,” and the rest was history after that song. I tell so many people, “All you need is a song.” That’s always going to be the one thing that breaks you…the song.

DK: “Adore” was your first hit from your debut album, Love Monster. Did you first release “Adore” as an indie artist before you signed a label deal?

Shark: Yes I did…I did everything myself. For the “Adore” video, I paid my friend with a case of beer because I had no money. Then I begged my old high school to let me shoot the video there. And I spent all my money and all my boyfriend’s money, so I had to apply for a government grant to do “Adore.” It was like a Hail Mary, but it turned out to be a beautiful ending to what I thought was going to be my last attempt at having a go at doing this. So it all worked out.

DK: For your second album Cry Forever, you collaborated with Ed Sheeran, Keith Urban, Travis Barker (of blink-102) and other artists. Can you talk about making this album?

Shark: With Cry Forever, I was hitting my stride. I had met so many people thanks to Love Monster. I toured in the States and around Europe, and I worked with Mark Hoppus from blink-182. Then after I did the song with him, Travis (Barker) hit me up and said, “If you ever want drums, let me know. I love what you’re doing, and I love the song you did with Mark.” So that was cool.

Then it got weirder and weirder. I don’t know how it started but I became friends with (actor) Russell Crowe, and Russell linked me up with Ed Sheeran. So I went and worked with Ed and wrote this beautiful song (“Love Songs Ain’t For Us”). And that’s where Keith Urban came in (and sang on this song).

DK: One of the key songs on Cry Forever was your single, “Everybody Rise.” How did you write that song?

Shark: Yeah, that one came out of nowhere. It was supposed to be almost R&B-ish. I wrote it on acoustic, and I had a cool little guitar riff. And in my head, it was going to be a bit slinky and smooth, and probably not even a single. But then I worked with (hit writer/producer) Joel Little, and you don’t say to Joel Little, “This isn’t a single.” He’s like Mr. Banger, Mr. Big Song Guy, and I’m so grateful that he listened to it and was like, ” I think I have an idea of what to do with this song.” And it turned out to be an incredible song.

DK: You’re about to release your first album in three years, Sunday Sadness. What has the past three years been like for you, leading up to making this album?

Shark: It’s been really great. I’ve done a lot of travel, played a lot of shows, and a lot of great guitar riffs were written when I was on the road. And I had some songs that I was excited about. I’m always ahead of the next album, so as soon as Cry Forever was finished, I was starting to write for the next album.

I always have a chunk of songs ready to go that I’m interested in, and some end up shining. And you know in the industry, you can be excited about some songs and go into the studio, but for whatever reason they don’t work. But I think by album three I could articulate better in the studio and know how to tell stories better. I feel like I’ve made a body of work this time—I didn’t just do a bunch of songs. I feel like this album flows so nicely and it’s such a cool, cinematic album.

DK: I like your new song “Beautiful Eyes,” which has an uplifting feeling to it. What inspired you to write this song?

Shark: I’m glad you like that one because it’s one of my favorites. I was on a really long tour in regional Australia, and I hadn’t written a song in a while, and writing songs make me happy. So I really needed to write something good. Then one day I came up with a guitar riff that I loved. And I was like…Dear Lord, let me think of something that goes with it, and it came together. It was one of those beautiful moments that you don’t get often. I got it with “Adore” and “I Said Hi” and “Beautiful Eyes.” Everything was there. It’s very minimal but it tells the story the way I want to tell it.

DK: Another song I like on your new album is “Loving Me Lover,” which you wrote with (hot writer/producer) Kid Harpoon. How did you and Kid Harpoon write this song?

Shark: Well we had connected for a while. I had done a songwriting trip around the Love Monster era, and I know Kid Harpoon works a lot with Harry Styles, and Harry had come up to me at the ARIA Music Awards. So we connected, and maybe he mentioned my name to Kid Harpoon. So I got together with Kid Harpoon, and he jumped on guitar and came up with those simple chords. And I’m used to people making beats, but he was really organic. So it was a nice change for me.

DK: Also on your new album is your song “My Only Friend” which has Tom DeLonge (of blink-182) singing on it. What was it like working with Tom on this song?

Shark: It was really easy. We’ve become friends and blink-182 was in Australia, so we got to hang out a lot, and he’s a cool dude. I still can’t believe that I get to hang out with my heroes. I sent him the song a year ago and it went through a couple different phases. It started out punky, but then I thought a melancholy vibe suited the song and he agreed. So we got the right bed of music for it. Then he dropped the vocals in his studio in San Diego, and I did the rest from Sydney.

DK: This year, you’ll be playing shows in Australia and New Zealand. Can you talk about your new tour?

Shark: I’m gonna be in pretty big rooms which is fun. I do love doing a small run of shows like I did earlier this year in America. But I’m lucky that I get to play these bigger-size rooms (in Australia and New Zealand). To mix and play the songs from my three albums (Love Monster, Cry Forever and Sunday Sadness) will be a treat, with so many different feelings and different tempos.

DK: Do you have plans to come back to the U.S. to play some shows?

Shark: I do. I have big plans to play America, so we’ll keep you posted when that happens. I’ve always got my eye on America.