ANNA Weatherup can clearly remember being struck with a realisation when she walked off the set of The Voice nine years ago.
The reality TV music show delivered Weatherup with her largest ever audience after she turned all four judges - Ricky Martin, Delta Goodrem, Seal and Joel Madden.
Weatherup's stint on the show was highlighted by an opportunity to deliver a stunning duet of Christina Perri's A Thousand Years with Celia Pavey, now best known as Vera Blue, and a solo performance of Fields Of Gold by String.
But the Cessnock singer-songwriter realised she wasn't being true to herself.
"Doing the show made me realise I wasn't chasing art, I was chasing trying to make a name for myself in the Australian industry, so I could feel validated and relevant," Weatherup says.
"I had the rude awakening, you're focusing on the wrong thing there.
"You just need to make art and be true to yourself and put your focus on that.
"So that's why this album is so big. It's not just an album, it's a life-changing experience."
The album Weatherup is referring to is Crossing The Sea, a record which has been slowly coming to fruition for almost a decade.
The singles Little Bluebird and Passenger have been released over the past two years and on Thursday Weatherup unveiled the third single, The River, before the album is dropped in early 2023.
The River is a majestic example of what to expect on Crossing The Sea.
It blends Weatherup's love of '90s rock with classic '70s Americana reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac, complete with her voice that effortlessly ranges from naive sweetness to the smokiness of lived experience.
"I was inspired to write it after watching that [2000] movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?," Weatherup says.
"I love that George Clooney movie and the baptism scene, it sparked the inspiration.
"For me it's about the world being reborn into some change after damaging the planet and each other.
"I had bit of a spiritual upbringing, so I'm always exploring spiritual concepts with music when I'm writing it."
Weatherup grew up on a mango and lychee farm outside of Townsville.
Music began in church where she'd sing every Sunday as a way to keep her out of mischief.
"I was bit of a trouble-maker, a big trouble-maker actually, so they thought it would be best to get me up to sing so I would be distracted," she says.
"It kind of worked. I always wanted to be a singer growing up on the farm in North Queensland. I would dream of being on stage.
"I had one of those tape recorders where you pressed play and record at the same time. I worked a little Stevie Nicks one day."
Eventually Weatherup made her way to Sydney, before moving to Cessnock 10 years ago to be closer to her husband Tim Burcham's children.
Burcham is not just Weatherup's partner in life, he's also a musical partner.
Crossing The Sea features songs written by both Weatherup and Burcham individually and together. Burcham also plays drums on all bar two of the album's 11 tracks.
The two he doesn't appear on are the title track and Streets, which feature a special guest in English drummer Simon Phillips.
The 65-year-old member of Modern Drummer magazine's hall of fame is best known for being a long-term member of Africa hit-makers Toto and as a session musician for The Who, Jeff Beck, 10cc, Judas Priest and Tears For Fears.
Just how Phillips came to appear on Weatherup's album is proof of the amazing ability of the internet to connect people.
Having never met Phillips, Burcham decided one night to reach out via email.
"He just had a moment where he said, 'I'm sick of this, I'm just gonna take a chance and I'm gonna contact Simon Phillips'," Weatherup says.
"I said, 'don't be ridiculous, that would never happen.' Anyway he did.
"He was really determined one night and was very passionate about it and sent an email and by the next morning we had a reply."
Phillips offered to play on the tracks, on the condition he actually liked the songs. After he approved of what he heard, he promptly laid down his percussion recording and emailed it back to Weatherup and Burcham.
"We kept in touch with him from there and had a Zoom meeting a week later to say thank you and we've stuck up this friendship with Simon Phillips," she says.
For Weatherup the impending release of Crossing The Sea, feels like the end of an arduous journey.
It's as if she's navigated through her own existential ocean during the making of the record.
"[The album title] ties into the journey I've been on while making this album," she says.
"It's crossing to the other side and coming through so many trials and fears and life, just to have this beautiful piece of art.
"I feel like I've gone on this transformation, so the album title is almost like Jumanji. It's affected my reality. If that makes sense?
"I've come through so much to make this record.
"You've just got to have a bit of faith to get started."
MGM Distribution have agreed to handle Crossing The Sea's release so Weatherup said fans can expect her to be "playing a lot of shows" next year around the country.
Anna Weatherup's single The River was released on Thursday.
