In 2012, Karise Eden was absolutely everywhere.
She was the first Australian to win The Voice, under the apparently nurturing eye of her mentor, Seal.
On the week she won, more than three-million viewers watched Karise get her crown, and a week later, she had four songs in the top-five ARIA singles chart.
To put that into perspective, Karise was the first artist to achieve that since the Beatles in 1964.
But it was what happened after the show finished that got everyone talking. After performing just four concerts on her national tour, her final shows were cancelled and she disappeared from the public eye in a cloud of rumours.
Tonight on Australian Story, Karise talked about why she disappeared from the spotlight, after having suffered a complete physical and mental breakdown after her experience on the show. Karise says, “If I could put one word on my journey over the last couple of years it would definitely be ‘turbulent’.”
She shared stories from her troubled childhood, including her various diagnoses of mental illness, self harm and foster care. And the picture that emerged was of a young woman smart enough to know what she could not handle, what was bad for her mental health, and when to walk away from a “dream” that was running out of control.
Top Comments
I know I'm a bit late on the comment here but I just wanted to say that the music industry is a tough place to be involved in even if things are going very well. I've seen some strong people lose it just from touring let alone doing media or having to come up with the next hit. Sure, the rewards can be amazing but that usually only happens to 1% of those get a song on the radio.
The pubs and clubs are full of those who want to still make a living from their 15 minutes of fame, twenty years later.
If you want to be famous, then avoid the music industry. If you love music and would be happy to play crappy venues for the rest of your life then your dreams could come true ... just don't expect to get rich from it.
......glad she's better.