The commercial for the return of Home & Away on the Seven Network has all the hallmarks of the show.
Messages flash on the screen.
“Hot couple”. “Dangerous”. “Forbidden”. “A murderous family secret”. One character tells the other: “If we slip up we both go to jail.”
In the soundtrack, a female voice comes in: “Welcome to my future / Reality’s a rumor / Player one this is my game…”
That is, of course, Jessica Mauboy’s ‘Glow,’ her debut song after joining Warner Music in November.
The proud Kuku Yalanji and Wakaman woman’s involvement with the show do not begin with the promo.
The singer made her soap debut in Summer Bay in late 2016, portraying herself performing at a festival organized by Evie MacGuire before the town was ravaged by a blaze.
That appearance, she recalled, was more about avoiding forgetting the words due to stage fright and dealing with the fact that it was being filmed in the middle of a really cold winter.
The disco-influenced ‘Glow,’ on the other hand, came from a different time in her career, a new beginning, as she put it.
With the transfer to Warner, she was able to collaborate with new collaborators such as George Maple and Cosmos Midnight’s twin brothers Cosmo and Patrick Liney.
‘Glow’ was about accepting herself and being the woman she wanted to be, according to her.
It was simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic.
It brought back memories of her mother dancing in the kitchen to Donna Summer, Diana Ross, and Cher music when she was a child.
These women were strong, loud, and thought independently, and they were in charge of their jobs.
It was futuristic at the same time because it was about not dimming yourself for others.
Speaking about the song, Mauboy admitted she became tired of being a ‘yes person’.
“Mentally, it was self-destructive: my body and my mind were saying, ‘Hey, you gotta really take care of yourself.’
“‘Glow’ stems from realizing it’s okay to stop, zoom out and start over fresh.”
That starting point came 15 years after she first broke into the charts.
“I really wanted to capture that sense of knowing myself.
“‘Glow’ is my confidence song. It’s my reminder that I’m where I need to be, that I’m just being. And that’s okay.”
Mauboy is also a judge and mentor on Channel 7’s relaunched version of The Voice Australia.
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