Gretta Ray is an 18-year-old high school student from Melbourne.
Yesterday she woke up, packed her school bag, and started her day. She had no idea that during her music class, while she was performing, Triple J’s Matt and Alex would surprise her to tell her she’d won the esteemed Unearthed High competition for 2016.
The incredibly talented singer-songwriter is in Year 12 at Melbourne’s Princes Hill Secondary College.
Earlier this year, she released her debut EP ‘Elsewhere’, featuring her latest single ‘Drive’ – the song she was singing when Matt and Alex crashed her music class.
‘Drive’ isn’t your typical song to come from such a young artist. It’s a fascinating mixture between indie pop and country, and Ray’s voice is not only heavenly, but mature.
The single was produced by Jonathan Dreyfus and Josh Barber, a Nashville-based Australian producer who has worked with artists like Gotye and Archie Roach. It was then mixed by US producer Ryan Hewitt, who has previously mixed music by Sheryl Crow and Angus & Julia Stone.
Gretta Ray has been described as one of the most exciting new artists of 2016.
Somehow, we feel like we’ll be hearing her name a lot in the years to come. You just have to watch Triple J’s video of her in-class performance to see why.