O'Shea (band)

O'Shea is an Australian country music duo composed of husband and wife Mark (born 16 February 1977) and Jay O'Shea (previously Kylie Smith, born 17 January 1974).[1] Since relocating to Nashville in 2007, the duo has seen success as artists and songwriters, with nine #1 singles on the Australian country charts,[2] as well as finishing fifth in the Country Music Television 2009 series Can You Duet.[3]

O'Shea
O'Shea at CMA Music Festival, 2010
Background information
Born	Mark O'Shea – 16 February 1977 Jay O'Shea – 17 January 1974
Genres	Country
Instruments	Mark O'Shea – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, keyboards Jay O'Shea – Vocals
Years active	2007–Present
Labels	Trauma
Associated acts	Zinc
Website	therealoshea.com
Members	Jay O'Shea Mark O'Shea

O'Shea hosts O'Shea USA, a television show currently in its sixth season on Foxtel's Country Music Channel.[2] Mark and Jay are also social media hosts for RodeoHouston.

Their 2015 album, The Famine and the Feast, reached number 1 on the ARIA Country Sales Chart.[2] Their albums have sold in the Australian Recording Industry Association Annual Top 100 Country Chart in 2013[4] and 2015.[5] All four of O'Shea's albums have entered the Australian charts.[6]

O'Shea has been awarded five Golden Guitar Awards, Australian country music's highest honor.[2]

Early careers

Mark and Jay have seen success around the globe, both as independent artists and as a duo. Originally from Dalby, Queensland, Mark's musical career took off at the young age of seventeen when he won the Gympie Music Muster talent competition in 1993,[7][8] which subsequently led to a record deal. Mark's debut album was honored with two Golden Guitar Awards from the CMAA for Best New Talent of the Year (1996) for the track "The Swimming Song"[9] and Best Video (1997) for "The Dreamer".[10] Eventually Mark left his solo career to form rock/pop group Zinc that signed with Los Angeles-based label, Trauma. The band's first single, "The Morning After" (co-written with Mark Hudson), reached No. 22 on the ARIA Charts in 2004.[11] In 2006, Mark toured as a guitarist for artist Ronn Moss and also had his own song, "When We Kissed", recorded and released on Moss' Uncovered album in 2005.[12]

Jay had been involved in the performing arts from a young age as well; she toured the UK and Europe with the Australian Dance-Drill team at age 15.[13][14] In 2003 Jay signed her first publishing deal with Warner Chappell London. While working in London, Jay co-wrote "Rutinas" with Wendy Page and Jim Marr. The song became the hit single on Chenoa's album Nada Es Igual and reached No. 1 on the Spanish chart in 2005.

Career as O'Shea

2007–2011: The Formative Years

In 2007, Mark and Jay moved to Nashville, Tennessee and began performing as a duo. It wasn't long before O'Shea was travelling across the U.S. to open for artists Phil Vassar,[15][16] Jimmy Wayne, Sara Evans, and the Oak Ridge Boys.[17]

In 2010, the pair began hosting their own TV show called O'Shea USA which aired on Australia’s Country Music Channel (CMC).[18]

2011–2013: Mr. and Mrs.

In 2011, the duo signed with Sony Australia to release their debut album Mr. and Mrs.[19] The album featured 11 tracks written/co-written by the duo alongside Nashville co-writers Dave Berg, Josh Leo, and Georgia Middleman and debuted at No. 9 on the ARIA Charts.

While working with Nashville-based Australian producer Mark Moffat, the duo recorded the hit single "Old School". The video for the single reached No. 7 on Australia's Country Music Channel in 2010.[20] The next single released, "Smash", co-written with Kim Carnes, reached No. 1 on CMC's Top 50 Video Countdown.[21] In 2011, O'Shea performed at CMC Rocks the Hunter and hosted the DVD coverage of the event.[22][23]

.[24]

All of this culminated in O'Shea being awarded the 2012 CMAA New Talent of the Year Award.[25]

2013–2015: One + One

Their album One + One debuted at number 3 on the ARIA Country Charts and cracked the top 30 on the all genre chart in 2013.[26]

2015–2017: The Famine and the Feast

In 2015, the duo's album The Famine and the Feast reached number 36 on the ARIA Charts,[27] and number 1 on the ARIA Country Albums chart.[28]

2017–Present: 61-615

In 2017, O'Shea released the studio album 61-615, which reached number 16 on the ARIA charts. The album's first single, "Start Over", written by Mark, Jay, and singer-songwriter Alex Lloyd, peaked at #1 on The Music Network's national Country Airplay chart.[29]

Awards

Award	Category	Artist	Year
Golden Guitar	Best New Talent	Mark O'Shea	1996[30]
Golden Guitar	Best Video	Mark O'Shea	1997[31]
Golden Guitar	Best New Talent	O'Shea	2012[32]
Golden Guitar	Group or Duo of the Year	O'Shea	2014[33]
Golden Guitar	Video Clip of the Year	O'Shea	2017[34]

Discography

Studio Albums

Album	Year	AUS [35]	AUS Country Albums year-end	Record Label	Notes
Mr. & Mrs.	2011	39		Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
One + One	2013	24	34[36]	Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
The Famine and the Feast	2015	36	75[37]	O'Shea
61-615	2017	16		Sony Music Entertainment Inc.	Nominated for ARIA Music Award for Best Country Album

Track Listings

Mr. & Mrs.

#	Track Title	Co-Writers	TIME
1	Smash	Kim Carnes	3:46
2	Worth Fighting For		3:25
3	Back to Me	Josh Leo	3:38
4	Old School		2:49
5	When the Girls Get Together	Shawn Colvin, Josh Leo	3:57
6	Meant to Be	Kim Carnes	3:50
7	Same Old Brand New		4:21
8	Lay Your Love On Me		3:41
9	Amen		4:17
10	Every Day Is a Good Day		3:28
11	Look At You Now		4:18

One + One

#	Track Title	Co-Writers	TIME
1	This Could Be Our Year		3:37
2	Be With You Tonight	Tim Nicholls	3:23
3	Thank You Angels		3:44
4	Red Lights and Last Names		4:41
5	Empty		3:32
6	It Never Goes Away	Billy Burnette	3:17
7	Dancing In the Minefields		3:37
8	Looking Down On the Stars		3:23
9	Missing Miracles		3:57
10	The Swimming Song		2:15
11	Wish You the Worst		2:46
12	There's No Place Like Home (feat. McAlister Kemp)		3:29
13	One + One	Kim Carnes	3:07

The Famine And The Feast

#	Track Title	Co-Writers	TIME
1	Parade		3:13
2	Bad Day Good (feat. Steve Wariner)		3:31
3	Alone		3:33
4	Sorry I Was Right		3:35
5	Family Is Everything		3:42
6	I Get Through		3:24
7	One Sure Thing		3:37
8	The Truth Walks Slowly (In the Countryside) [feat. Rob Hirst]	Rob Hirst	5:02
9	Right Where You Left It		3:06
10	Here I Am	Tim Nicholls	3:25
11	Just Love		3:23
12	Have That Again		3:42

61-615

#	Track Title	Co-Writers	TIME
1	Start Over	Alex Lloyd	3:25
2	Dream Believe	Will Hoge	3:21
3	The Trouble With You		3:47
4	Just Got Real (feat. Lloyd Spiegel)		3:57
5	Karaoke and Corona		3:20
6	I Will Not Give Up		4:29
7	Nowhere Fast		3:54
8	Once and for Always	Nathan Chapman	3:01
9	Winning		3:31
10	Do It for Me		3:52
11	These Days		3:34
12	Playing to Win (feat. The Wolfe Brothers & Travis Collins)		3:09
13	Recover	Emily Weisband	4:45

Videos

Video	Rank	Year
"Old School"	No. 7 on CMC	2010
"Smash"	No. 1 on CMC	2011
"Meant to Be"	No. 1 on CMC	2011
"When the Girls Get Together"	No. 1 on CMC	2012
"Everyday Is a Good Day"	No. 1 on CMC	2012
"Swimming Song"	No. 7 on CMC	2012
"Thank You Angels"	No. 1 on CMC	2013
"Be with You Tonight"	No. -	2013

Network and online media

Mark and Jay host O'Shea USA, a television show which is currently in its sixth season on Foxtel's Country Music Channel, on which they have interviewed notable guests such as Garth Brooks, Chris Young, and Thomas Rhett.[2] Mark and Jay are also social media hosts for RodeoHouston (the media arm for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo), where they interviewed artists.

Personal lives

Mark and Jay became a couple in 1996 and subsequently married. They have two daughters.[38]

In 2014 Jay collaborated with her birth father, Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst on "The Truth Walks Slowly". Jay met Hirst in 2010 following a long search for her birth parents, after they gave her up for adoption when they were teenagers.[39]

Mark is a keen angler.[40]

Charitable work

Mark and Jay O'Shea have contributed their talents to the charitable organizations such as World Vision and HeartKids.[41]

References

1. "Rocker's secret love child revealed". news.com.au. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
2. "The Story | O'Shea". Retrieved 20 February 2019.
3. "CMT : Can You Duet : Episodes".
4. "ARIA Country Albums Chart 2013". Australian Recording Industry Association.
5. "ARIA Country Albums Chart 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association.
6. "australian-charts.com – O'Shea – Karaoke And Corona". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
7. "The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales on September 5, 1993 · Page 147". newspapers.com. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
8. "The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales on June 26, 1994 · Page 169". newspapers.com. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. Jones, Jennie (30 September 2004), "Zinc invades the airwaves – Band bids to break into pop music mainstream", The Daily Telegraph
12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. http://www.addt.com.au/highligh.htm
14. "Jay at IACmusic.com, presented by Independent Artists Company – Unsigned – Band Site".
15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. "G'Day O'SHEA from Peoria, IL" – via YouTube.
17. "Nashville FM – Fan Favorite O'SHEA Had To Leave CMT's Can You Duet". Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
18. "Digital Rodeo Produces "O'SHEA USA" TV Series to Air on CMC Australia". digitalrodeo.com. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
19. "Latest Radio News, Talk Shows, Sports, Hosts, Personalities". All Access.
20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 April 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
21. "Noticias de Actualidad". Noticias de Actualidad.
22. "CMC Rocks The Hunter @ Hope Estate Winery". Liveguide.
23. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
24. "Aria Country Charts Oct. 2011". Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
26. "O'Shea achieve highest ARIA entry". Alberts.
27. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
28. "ARIA Australian Top 40 Country Albums". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
29. "MULTI-AWARD WINNING DUO O'SHEA RELEASE THEIR NEW ALBUM '61-615' OUT NOW!". Sony Music Australia. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
30. Enterprises, Lady Luck. "1996 Country Music Awards – CMAA Awards". ALLdownunder. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
31. Enterprises, Lady Luck. "1997 Country Music Awards – CMAA Awards". ALLdownunder. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
32. "Jayco Tamworth". Jayco Tamworth. 30 January 2012. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
33. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
34. "Another Golden Guitar! | O'Shea". Retrieved 24 February 2019.
35. "australian-charts.com – Discography O'Shea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
38. "The Story – O'Shea". therealoshea.com. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
39. "Entertainment Country music star Jay O'Shea discovers her birth father is Midnight Oil's Rob Hirst". couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
40. "Australian Fishing: Profile: Mark O'Shea – Country musician, angler – Fishing World". fishingworld.com.au. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
41. O'Shea (13 February 2013), O'SHEA | Thank You Angels | CHD & HeartKids, retrieved 24 February 2019

Further reading

• Rose, Anna. "Dynamic Duo". capitalnews.com.au. Retrieved 9 June 2017.

External links

• Official website
• www.facebook.com/therealoshea