Emma Donovan

Emma Donovan
Background information
Born	1981
Genres	R&B, Soul, Country, reggae
Occupation(s)	singer-songwriter
Labels	HopeStreet Recordings
Associated acts	The Donovans The Black Arm Band Stiff Gins
Website	www.EmmaDonovan.com

Emma Donovan (born 1981) is an Indigenous Australian singer and songwriter. She is a member of the renowned Australian musical family the Donovan family. She started her singing career at age seven with her uncle's band, The Donovans. In 2000, she became a founding member of Stiff Gins, leaving the band three years later to release the solo album Changes in 2004. She performs with The Black Arm Band, and released a solo EP, Ngaaraanga, in 2009.

She has been nominated for multiple Deadly Awards including Female Artist of the Year, and performed at the opening of the 2004 Olympic Torch Relay. She won Best Female Artist at the 2009 BUMP Awards. Donovan appeared in the ABC series Dynasties in 2004, and was the subject of the 2005 SBS TV documentary Emma Donovan: Gumbainggir Lady.

Emma Donovan was born in 1981 at Liverpool, Australia, a suburb of Sydney. Her father, Neville Councillor, is from Geraldton in Western Australia, and he's of Naaguja and Yamatji heritage. Her mother, Agnes Donovan, is a Gumbainggir/Danggali woman from the Nambucca Valley on the north coast of New South Wales, where Emma was raised.

Donovan's musical singing career started at a young age. Her grandparents Micko and Aileen Donovan, years before her birth, founded the Aboriginal country band The Donovans, which consisted of their five sons and daughter Agnes singing at local events. Emma's uncles still perform as the Donovan Brothers band. At the age of seven Emma began periodically singing with the Donovans. Her family and mother Agnes encouraged and supported her singing, Agnes taking her to talent competitions around the country. Agnes also helped developed Aboriginal showcases at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in the late 1990s, which Emma took part in.

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