It's hard to believe Lucy Sugerman is 19.
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The little girl who won our hearts with her crystal-clear voice, busking on the streets of Canberra, is approaching her 20s. She has been performing since she was nine.
It's kind of funny that her PR people write to "introduce" us to her and label her as an emerging star. We've always known she was one.
Right back to 2013 when she was just 11 and in year 7 at Stromlo High. In one of her first big public outings, Lucy then paid tribute to her hometown Canberra for its 100th birthday by singing a cover of Home by Gabrielle Aplin. Her parents filmed a video at the National Arboretum and posted it on YouTube. It was jaw-droppingly beautiful. Lucy was clearly a star in the making.
But that was then and this is now. Lucy is as creative and talented as ever. And big things are happening.
Thursday will see the release of her debut single i wanna kiss boys cos i'm bored . Friday will see her celebrate at a launch concert at The Abbey in Canberra (with tickets still available).
And, yes, the song is unbelievably amazing.
It's the smarts of Taylor combined with the pop sensibility of Kylie rolled into the fun of Katy - but, in the end, it's all Lucy, probably more herself than ever before. [And that includes being free of the commercial strictures of perhaps questionable ventures such as The Voice, where she did reach the grand finale, showing talent can still exist in all that cheesiness.]
The track is co-written and produced with Hauskey and MUKI and is the first track off an EP Lucy plans to release next year.
The lyrics to i wanna kiss boys cos i'm bored are funny, smart, true. And they sound so wonderfully catchy. Indie pop perfection.
The video, which Sugerman directed herself, starring alongside a bunch of her mates including Canberra artist kirklandd, was filmed at the Kita cafe in Narrabundah.
"It was the first video I ever made, which was pretty fun, and I made it with all my friends and it was a good time," she said.
"Two of them had never acted or done anything in front of the camera before, but I was just like 'That will just add to the humour'. But they were actually really good."
The song and the video are meant to be cheeky.
In the video, Lucy invites all her exes to a "coffee date" that is more like a relationship interrogation - and it's highly entertaining. Lucy's eye rolls alone are worth the price of admission.
But it's always about the voice - beautiful, lilting, soaring.
And, just to be clear, Lucy has never really wanted to kiss a lot of boys because she's bored. The song is not her life laid bare.
"To be honest, not really," she said, when asked if the song comes from experience.
"It was more about exploring the nuances of rebound relationships, that whole culture and how it doesn't work for me. It's not really for me. But I thought the title would be funny and controversial."
People just have to accept she's grown up. "I think that's part of the play," she said.
I ask her about a press shot featuring her in an outfit with a hit of bra, and whether that was to show she wasn't that little girl anymore.
"Yes, but I just thought it looked cool," she said.
"I'm just trying to have an accurate reflection of who I am at the moment. I'm not going to be like, 'Oh, I've grown up now and I'm doing all this stuff now'. That's so not true. I still feel like such a dork.
"But, there's definitely elements where I'm a bit older now, and I'm just writing about my life. What I want to do is be as true to myself as possible."
And she is busy. "I'm working at a chiropractic surgery as a receptionist and then I'm teaching and I'm also doing music full-time on top of that," she said.
She is "so, so excited" about Friday's launch concert.
"I've got some amazing Canberra collaborators jumping on board for it, going to have a cool band, going to have lighting and production, all that kit and kaboodle. Very, very, very excited to share the new music."
And, remember, she is still only 19.
"This is just the start. There is so much more to come."
- Lucy Sugerman: Live at the Abbey at Gold Creek Village at 6.30pm Friday, November 27. All ages. Tickets are available here.