‘I will never get over being an artist’: Jessica Mauboy joins Indigenous Hall of Fame

You learn to expect the unexpected as a journalist. But receiving a personal serenade from the voice of Jessica Mauboy when you pop into an afternoon Zoom call isn’t on the list of likely scenarios.

First shock. Then appreciation. Then you just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Much like her effortless vocal riffs, Mauboy is a joy to behold. Even through a screen, she radiates kindness and warmth. The musician credits her upbringing in the Northern Territory as one of the reasons she’s remained so grounded, even after a music career that’s spanned more than 20 years.

Mauboy is the newest inductee into the National Indigenous Music Awards Hall of Fame, a place reserved for First Nations artists who have had a longstanding and significant impact on the industry.

The annual NIMA ceremony has been a celebration of First Nations music in Australia for more than two decades. Award recipients in 2024 included Malyangapa Barkindji rapper Barkaa and hip-hop collective 3%. Other recent winners include Baker Boy, Thelma Plum and King Stingray.

Mauboy speaks fondly of the event, held in her hometown of Darwin. She remembers being in the mosh pit as a 10-year-old, dancing to the music of Yothu Yindi. Looking back as an adult, she says she is grateful that she experienced culture, community and advocacy through song.

“The NIMAs, and what it holds in that space, opens doors and paves pathways … It’s more than an award show. For me, it’s a space where community, culture and creativity comes together,” Mauboy says.

“It’s such a melting pot of diversity … All the performers and all the different First Nations people coming from community and from their language groups. And it’s such a space of recognition and acknowledgment.”

Mauboy’s induction means that she stands among superstars such as Archie Roach, Kev Carmody and her own childhood favourite, Yothu Yindi. But fame doesn’t come from nowhere. In her own words, Mauboy started “way from the bottom”.

The musician cut her teeth busking at the Arcade Mall in Darwin and sang with a local choir during childhood. She even had a brush with the professional industry as a teenager, winning a Telstra-sponsored “Road to Tamworth” competition in 2004 and releasing a country-inspired version of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

”You’ve just got to start somewhere,” she says. “It doesn’t always have to be the big stage. There are different places and different spaces … every stage is going to be different. Every audience is going to give something to you that is completely different.”

That’s the advice she would give to up-and-coming Indigenous artists in Australia. And her message to the industry? To support and book the young musicians who are embarking upon such a time-consuming career.

“Allow them to be part of your space … it’s about collaborative spaces. And I think that’s why I love music so much … we allow artists to collaborate, and we make amazing stuff. And then it’s about people giving us the space to go out and perform.”

Now 36, Mauboy started her career in 2006, when she was a runner-up in the fourth season of Australian Idol. A year later she joined the Young Divas alongside Paulini, Kate DeAraugo and Emily Williams. The pop group gained recognition for their noughties-style covers of hits from Diana Ross and Patti LaBelle among others.

Career milestones have been plentiful since. Mauboy starred in 2012 film The Sapphires (winning an AACTA award for best supporting actress). She represented Australia on the Eurovision stage in 2018, making the finals and placing 20th. She even returned to her competition TV roots, this time as a judge on The Voice Australia.

But accolades aside, 2025 has been a year of firsts. In January, she gave birth to her first child, Mia. In August, she released While I Got Time, the first single under her own independent label.

The track’s stripped-back production creates a raw and intimate atmosphere for listeners. Mauboy says it was an intentional decision to bring attention to what the song is really about – her loved ones.

“The deep reflection and focus on what truly matters in life is our family … I obviously miss my family and have been living away from them for a long time,” she says.

“Particularly being a new mum ... we really drew from those emotions. The impact of people coming into your life, and people going. And also just letting go of the past, moving on with grace and just embracing a new future,” she says.

As a girl growing up in the country’s Top End, Mauboy learnt that music was a way of expressing community and connection. This is a relationship that she’s maintained with her craft.

“I will never get over being an artist, and how amazing it makes me feel to make music and be creative,” she says. “Everything I know I’ve learnt from growing up in Darwin. The way, the culture, the body language and communication, the smell of the place …

“It taught me so much about never forgetting where I come from … I think it’s really shaped me into being respectful, being connected.”

The 2025 National Indigenous Music Awards will be held on August 9 at the Darwin Amphitheatre and streamed on YouTube.