Login
Login

Sherrié Austin

{{short description|Australian actress and country music singer (b. 1970)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}

{{Use Australian English|date=August 2011}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Sherrié Austin

| background = solo_singer

| image = SherrieAustin.jpg

| caption = Austin onboard the USS Enterprise in 2004

| birth_name = Sherrie Veronica Krenn

| alias = Sherrie Krenn

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1970|08|28}}

| birth_place = Sydney, Australia

| origin =

| occupation = Singer, actress

| genre = Country

| years_active = 1984–2011; 2025-present

| instrument = Vocals, guitar

| label = Arista Nashville
WE Records/Madacy
Broken Bow
Circus Girl, LLC

| past_member_of = Colourhaus

|

}}

Sherrie Veronica Krenn (born 28 August 1970), known professionally as Sherrié Austin (formerly known as Sherrie Krenn), is an Australian actress and country music singer. Active as a singer since her teenage years, Austin initially recorded as one half of the duo Colourhaus, which also featured Phil Radford. After leaving Colourhaus, she moved to the United States in pursuit of a solo career. There, she recorded five studio albums, and charted several singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Her highest charting single was the No. 18 "Streets of Heaven" in 2003. Her most recent album was released on 15 November 2011.

Career

=Early career=

Austin got her start in music opening for Johnny Cash in Australia at the age of 14. She later moved to the United States where she took up acting. She is most known in the United States for playing the role of Pippa McKenna on The Facts of Life during its final season.{{Cite web|url=https://www.monagiza.com/stories/now-facts-life-cast/|title=Where are they now? The Facts of Life cast|website=Monagiza.com|first=Nicole|last=West|date=21 November 2017}}

In 1991, she appeared as "Lady Penelope" on episode No. 20 of the first season of the television comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.{{cite web|url=http://epguides.com/freshprinceofbelair/guide.shtml|title=The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (an Episode Guide)|website=EpGuides.com|access-date=29 July 2017}} In the 1990s, she started a singing career, teaming up with Phil Radford in 1992, to form a duo, Colourhaus, which released one album, Water to the Soul.[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p210972/biography|pure_url=yes}} Sherrié Austin | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links | AllMusic] The song "Innocent Child" taken from that album was issued as a single, with "We Talk to the Angels" on the B-side, and it peaked at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.{{cite book|first=Joel|last=Whitburn|year=2013|title=Top Pop Singles 1955-2012|edition=14th|publisher=Record Research Inc.|location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin|isbn= 978-0-89820-205-2|page=185}} The Colourhaus song "Colour Me You" was on the soundtrack of the "Rookie of the Year" episode of the television series Baywatch on 5 October 1992.

=Nashville move=

Afterwards, Austin moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career in country music. Her first solo contract was with Arista Nashville, with the album Words being released in 1997. It produced singles in "Lucky in Love", "One Solitary Tear", "Put Your Heart into It", and "Innocent Man". "Lucky in Love" and "Put Your Heart into It" both reached Top 40 on the country charts with a peak of No. 34 each.

Her second and final album for Arista was 1999's Love in the Real World, led off by the No. 29 "Never Been Kissed", which was followed by "Little Bird". After RCA acquired Arista Records, Austin's publishing company, Reynsong Publishing, formed Wrensong Entertainment and signed to Madacy Entertainment for her next album, Followin' a Feelin', which produced another single in its lead-off single, a cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene".

Later, she switched to the independent Broken Bow Records label. Her fourth album of country music, titled Streets of Heaven, produced her biggest country hit in its title track. Following this single was "Son of a Preacher Man", a cover of the Dusty Springfield song, which was never included on an album.

=Broadway years=

Austin moved to New York City in 2005 and appeared in the New York Musical Theater Festival's production of Bonnie & Clyde. The New York Times commented that she was "a sultry young country music singer who plays the notorious criminal Bonnie Parker and does for this musical what Reba McEntire did for the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun. That twang in her voice provides some much-needed authenticity in excellent pop-country numbers like "Ain't Goin' Back." And it's easy to tell by her hip-swiveling poses that this is a woman who knows how to hold a stage."{{cite news |last=Zinoman |first=Jason |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E1D61730F930A1575AC0A9639C8B63 |title=NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATER FESTIVAL REVIEWS – The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde – Review – NYTimes.com |newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 September 2005 |access-date=9 April 2012}}

The following year, Austin performed in Ring of Fire – The Johnny Cash Musical Show{{cite web |author=The Broadway League |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=406669 |title=Ring of Fire | IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information |publisher=IBDB |access-date=9 April 2012}} at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. She also performed in the production of Warrior, a musical about the American-Indian athlete Jim Thorpe, where CurtainUp.com described her as "outstanding".{{cite web |url=http://www.curtainup.com/nymusicfestival2006.html |title=2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival, a CurtainUp Feature |publisher=CurtainUp.com |date=3 October 2006 |access-date=9 April 2012}} She returned to Nashville in 2006.

=Nashville return=

Austin co-wrote Danielle Peck's 2007 single "Bad for Me", the title track to Blake Shelton's 2008 album Startin' Fires, George Strait's "Where Have I Been All My Life" off his 2009 album Twang, and Tim McGraw's duet, with wife Faith Hill, "Shotgun Rider" off his Let It Go album in 2007.{{cite web |url=http://www.cmt.com/lyrics/tim-mcgraw/shotgun-rider/20397558/lyrics.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325131005/http://www.cmt.com/lyrics/tim-mcgraw/shotgun-rider/20397558/lyrics.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 March 2010 |title=Tim McGraw : Lyrics |publisher=CMT |date=22 March 2012 |access-date=9 April 2012}} Austin left Broken Bow in 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1585038/country-labels-keep-rosters-full-despite-album-sales-dip.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411032354/http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1585038/country-labels-keep-rosters-full-despite-album-sales-dip.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 April 2008|title=Country Labels Keep Rosters Full Despite Album Sales Dip|website=CMT.com|access-date=29 July 2017}}

She was named one of 2011's "25 Most Beautiful People" by Nashville Lifestyles Magazine.{{cite web |url=http://nashvillelifestyles.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=DN&Date=20110928&Category=NL&ArtNo=109200809&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=16 |title=Nashville Lifestyles |publisher=Nashville Lifestyles |access-date=9 April 2012 |archive-date=25 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425051622/http://nashvillelifestyles.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=DN&Date=20110928&Category=NL&ArtNo=109200809&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=16 |url-status=dead }}

In summer 2011, The Sundance Channel announced that Austin and her friend Shane Stevens would be on the second season of Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys, which was filmed in Nashville and features women and their gay best friends.{{cite web|url=http://www.sundancechannel.com/sunfiltered/2011/06/sundance-channel-announces-new-season-of-girls-who-like-boys-who-like-boys|title=Sundance Channel Announces New Season of GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS|date=June 2011|website=SundanceChannel.com|access-date=29 July 2017}} The season started 18 November 2011.

=''Circus Girl'' (2011)=

Austin's most recent album, Circus Girl, her first in eight years, is described as a series of stories interpreted by a strong woman, about women, and for women. Austin feels it's something her female fans have been clamouring for, for quite some time.{{cite web|url=http://www.sherrieaustinmusic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96&Itemid=219|title=Official Artist Website for Singer, Songwriter and Actress Sherrie Austin|website=SherrieAustinMusic.com|access-date=29 July 2017|archive-date=30 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730013410/http://www.sherrieaustinmusic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96&Itemid=219|url-status=dead}}

"The last few years I had been complaining about that fact that there weren’t any females speaking to women above the age of 30, so I started thinking about how I was writing my songs and came up with the idea for "Friday Night Girls"... I wanted to write a three-minute song with every Sex and the City episode that had ever existed, so I did. I quickly noticed that the women in my audiences loved it and so I switched my songwriting focus for a while to concentrate on that audience, who are my peers, to speak to them", says Austin.

Circus Girl was released independently on 15 November 2011.

Discography

= Studio albums =

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title

! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Album details

! colspan="4" | Peak chart positions

style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:45px;"| US Country

! style="width:45px;"| US

! style="width:45px;"| US Indie

! style="width:45px;"| US Heat

scope="row" | Water to the Soul
(as Colourhaus)

|

| —

| —

| —

| —

scope="row" | Words

|

| 41

| —

| —

| 35

scope="row" | Love in the Real World

|

  • Release date: 10 August 1999
  • Label: Arista Nashville

| 14

| 150

| —

| 8

scope="row" | Followin' a Feelin'

|

| 43

| —

| 38

| —

scope="row" | Streets of Heaven

|

| 22

| 144

| 6

| 3

scope="row" | Circus Girl

|

  • Release date: 15 November 2011
  • Label: Circus Girl, LLC

| —

| —

| —

| —

colspan="6" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart

=Singles=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
rowspan="2" | Year

! rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Single

! colspan="3" | Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2" | Album

style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:45px;"| US Country
{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008 |publisher=Record Research, Inc |page=36 |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-89820-177-2 }}

! style="width:45px;"| US

! style="width:45px;"| CAN Country

rowspan="2" | 1992

! scope="row" | "Innocent Child"

| —

| 50

| —

| rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"| Water to the Soul {{small|(as Colourhaus)}}

scope="row" | "Moving Mountains"

| —

| —

| —

rowspan="2" | 1997

! scope="row" | "Lucky in Love"

| 34

| —

| 31

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5" | Words

scope="row" | "One Solitary Tear"

| 41

| —

| 85

rowspan="3" | 1998

! scope="row" | "Put Your Heart into It"

| 34

| —{{efn|"Put Your Heart into It" did not enter the Hot 100, but peaked at number 4 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, which acts as a 25-song extension of the Hot 100.}}

| 36

scope="row" | "Tenderly"

| —

| —

| —

scope="row" | "Innocent Man"

| 74

| —

| 87

rowspan="2" | 1999

! scope="row" | "Never Been Kissed"

| 29

| 89

| 31

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2" | Love in the Real World

scope="row" | "Little Bird"

| 49

| —

| 43

rowspan="3" | 2001

! scope="row" | "Jolene"

| 55

| —

| —

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3" | Followin' a Feelin'

scope="row" | "Time, Love & Money"

| —

| —

| —

scope="row" | "In the Meantime"

| —

| —

| —

2003

! scope="row" | "Streets of Heaven"

| 18

| —{{efn|"Streets of Heaven" did not enter the Hot 100, but peaked at number 13 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, which acts as a 25-song extension of the Hot 100.}}

| —

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2" | Streets of Heaven

rowspan="2" | 2004

! scope="row" | "Drivin' Into the Sun"

| 50

| —

| —

scope="row" | "Son of a Preacher Man"

| 46

| —

| —

| {{n/a}}

colspan="6" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart

;Notes

{{notelist}}

=Music videos=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
Year

! style="width:14em;"| Video

! Director

1992

! scope="row" | "Innocent Child"

|

rowspan="2" | 1997

! scope="row" | "Lucky in Love"

| Roger Pistole

scope="row" | "One Solitary Tear"

| Steven Goldmann

1998

! scope="row" | "Put Your Heart into It"

| Gerry Wenner

rowspan="2" | 1999

! scope="row" | "Never Been Kissed"

| rowspan="2" | Morgan Lawley

scope="row" | "Little Bird"
rowspan="2" | 2001

! scope="row" | "Jolene"

| Peter Zavadil

scope="row" | "In the Meantime"{{cite web |url=http://www.cmt.com/videos/sherrie-austin/388021/in-the-meantime.jhtml |title=CMT : Videos: Sherrie Austin: In the Meantime |publisher=Country Music Television |access-date=14 October 2011}}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

| David McClister

2003

! scope="row" | "Streets of Heaven"

|

2004

! scope="row" | "Drivin' Into the Sun"

| Gerry Wenner

2011

! scope="row" | "Naughty or Nice"{{cite web |url=http://www.cmt.com/videos/sherrie-austin/709544/naughty-or-nice.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131062321/http://www.cmt.com/videos/sherrie-austin/709544/naughty-or-nice.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 January 2012 |title=CMT : Videos: Sherrie Austin: Naughty or Nice |publisher=Country Music Television |access-date=13 November 2011}}

| David Shamban

Awards

=Country Music Awards of Australia=

The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) are held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.{{cite web|url=https://www.country.com.au/awards/past-award-winners|title=Past Award Winners|access-date=2 November 2020}}

{{awards table}}

|-

| 1998

| Sherrié Austin for "One Solitary Tear"

| New Talent of the Year

| {{won}}

{{end}}

Filmography

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Sherrie Austin}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Sherrie}}

Category:1970 births

Category:Living people

Category:Australian country singer-songwriters

Category:Australian women singer-songwriters

Category:Australian television actresses

Category:Arista Nashville artists

Category:BBR Music Group artists

Category:21st-century Australian singers

Category:21st-century Australian women singers

Category:Actresses from Sydney

Category:21st-century Australian singer-songwriters