OliviaBurke
Hailing from the midlands of Ireland 22-year-old singer-songwriter Olivia Burke has been active in the music industry since she was 12, releasing her first single. “Missing”, inspired by the story of Madeleine McCann and was released to help raise awareness for M.I.S.S. (Missing in Ireland Support Services). Olivia was then invited by the Minister for Justice to perform Missing at an event remembering missing people. Olivia then went on to pen and record 'Stronger Than Words', which focuses on bullying and youth mental health, which was subsequently used in antibullying campaigns in schools throughout the country. Olivia had the pleasure of performing Stronger Than Words at Teen Aware 2013, sharing the stage with District 3, Original Rudeboys, Ryan O’Shaugnessy, Royseven to name a few. Olivia is taking every opportunity to gain stage experience playing festivals and charity functions and has returned to Teen Aware in 2014 and 2015.
Olivia was recently shortlisted to the last 33 from thousands of entries for the Hot Press Big Break award. Of Olivia Hot Press printed:
“From the midlands, Olivia Burke is a nascent songwriter who has made a great splash given her early age. HotPressBigBreakAt just 15 years old, she has already put out her first single, ‘Missing’ inspired by the story of Madeleine McCann, it helped raise awareness for Missing In Ireland Support Services (MISS). She was invited by the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter to perform the tune at a special event remembering missing people. Unafraid to tackle the hard issues that face the youth of today, her next effort dealt with bullying and self-harm. The video for that number ‘Stronger Than Words’ has close to 10,000 views on YouTube. She went on to perform it at Teen Aware 2013, gracing the stage alongside the likes of District 3, Original Rudeboys, Ryan O’Shaughnessy and Royseven.”
In 2015, Olivia released her debut EP 'Notes on My Napkin', which was crowdfunded for. The lead single 'Loud', was met with a great response, getting radio play both in Ireland and further afield, including in the US and Germany. She has since played in some of the country's most iconic venues such as Whelan's, Dolan's, The Grand Social, and The Workman's Club.
Most recently, Olivia released a single ‘Anybody Else’ this May. Olivia is just off the back of four years at BIMM Dublin, where she studied commercial modern music and songwriting, to hone her craft, and is delighted to come out with a new sound. ‘Anybody Else’ is an alternative pop song, taking inspiration from a wide range of genres including traditional pop, R&B, and rock, to create a fresh soundscape with bedroom-pop, DIY sensibilities at its core. The song is an anthem for those dealing with any mental struggles, and the dissonance one feels when having conflicting emotions. It is written as a love song to a former self, in which the lyrics express a desire to meet happiness again.
Olivia is inspired by artists like Amy Winehouse, Lorde, Frank Ocean, and Kacey Musgraves to name but a few, but has a big love for all genres, and takes influence from anywhere she can find.
The track was written, self-produced, and self-recorded over the COVID-19 lockdown. It was then mastered by Simon Gibson at Abbey Road Studios, who has worked on projects for artists such as The Beatles, Depeche Mode, and Take That.
Olivia plans on releasing more music during the summer, and is, at the moment, working on the recording of projects with other musicians. A self-produced EP is currently in the works and will be released before the end of 2021. She is keen to create and perform post-pandemic.