Sandee Facy Still That Girl

Wearing her heart on her sleeve, Melbourne country songbird Sandee Facy has raced up the charts with her stories and songs on her debut EP, Still That Girl, released February 19.

Still That Girl, the EP, has debuted at No. 5 on the iTunes Country Albu ms Chart and No. 21 on the All Genre Albums Chart.

The current single, Hummingbird, has been making all the right moves, flying onto charts and sitting on the Australian Country Radio chart from December to February. It remains the focus track as it celebrates a young life lost her battle with cystic fibrosis.

Hummingbird was inspired by the life of Natalie, the daughter of a dear family friend, who passed away just shy of her 21st birthday, and the song now serves as a celebration of her life, with the blessing of her family.

Since last April, Facy has released four singles in quick succession from the EP, starting from the title track, and leaving Take It Slow for listeners to savour as the final, and previously unreleased, track that farewells the collection of songs.

Facy said the EP, Still That Girl, was now a bridge to the next step in her musical career.

"I am releasing these songs as a collection so people can get to know who I am and I hope they want to hear more stories and music they can relate to," she said.

"The song, Still That Girl, was written from a memory of mine, and because of the all the hard yards that we've all been through, I think everyone can relate to it as it's all about having a fun memory of you as a kid. Whether you were you at the beach or playing cricket, mine was as a 10-year-old and I was on a mini bike and I remember it was like yesterday - the sun hitting my face, the wind in my hair, and I was up in Northern Michigan. My parents didn't come looking for me until I ran out of petrol because I was up in the country - no worries, just freedom!

"I wrote that song to make people feel better in hard times and remind them that, that inner child is still with you and having fun is still okay – you don't have to leave that behind as an adult."

Hummingbird was the first song Facy wrote, inspired by the passing of her friend's daughter and recorded it only for the family, but she was encouraged to re-record it and release it publicly.

"I want people to get to know me as an artist and hope to connect with my stories," she said.

The song, Last Time, was about when she had her heart broken when she was 18 or 19.

"The message there is that, in life, if you follow your gut, you fare a lot better," Facy said.

"Then there is Take It Slow, a jazzy tune that I loved and put in, which is about not letting life pass you by without really embracing things."

Facy, who hails from a musical family in the US, and part of the Australian culture for over 25 years, looks forward to new audiences experiencing her rockin' country style of music through this EP, with plans to release even more new music in the coming months.