Dami Im has been on a rollercoaster journey in the music trade ever since she gained The X Factor again in 2013.
After being thrown right into a controlling and dismissive contract with Sony Music, the Sound of Silence singer pushed again in opposition to the label in 2020, in search of freedom.
Finally out, Im says she’s stronger now and empowered by the messages and help she receives from women each day.
“I’ve had female artists reach out to me, thanking me for speaking up about my experience and giving so much love,” she tells 9Honey Celebrity.
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“A lot of these female artists have shared their own trauma with me – of similar things they’ve gone through in the music industry, and it’s sad because many of them didn’t make it through to the other side,” she shares.
“They weren’t able to have a voice to speak out against what they’d experienced.”
It’s for that reason Im is a significant supporter of the Australian Women in Music Awards annually, which make a degree of recognising the work and influence of women in the Aussie music scene.
Today, on International Women’s Day, the awards have opened nominations for the 18-category ceremony.
“There are so many talented women in the music industry, and these awards do so much to highlight their extraordinary artistry and achievements,” Im says of the inaugural celebration.
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“And for me, anything that amplifies the movement of women pushing against such a male-dominated industry is powerful.
“I need all women in music, whether or not they be on stage or behind the scenes, to be recognised for the wonderful work that they do.”
Speaking about her own experience in the industry, Im says her journey has undeniably been shaped and moulded in a certain way because she is a woman.
“For me, it has been actually troublesome at occasions,” she says.
“When I used to be attempting to navigate by means of a extremely male-dominated trade and communicate up to males in fits who had been dictating what goes on, and due to this fact feeling that as a girl, my voice was being silenced for a very long time – that was a tough time for me.
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Not solely that, however Im notes she’s been subjected to persistent questioning by the media she is aware of no man would ever be, or has ever been requested on the identical price that she was, purely as a result of she is a girl.
“Ever since I found my fame like 10 years ago, I’ve always been asked about when I’m going to have a baby,” she reveals.
“Any time media saw a photo of me with some baggy clothes on, they’d say something. It was always like, ‘Yeah, congrats, you’re pregnant’.”
For her, the feedback had been unusual, and they began to make her really feel self-conscious.
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“That was something I was really sensitive about because it was just following me around and I was quite young,” she stated.
“I wanted people to focus on my achievements as a musician, and as a singer-songwriter, but it felt like people thought I was only good for having children.”
Im says the question was requested to her at a number of the most inappropriate occasions, and its supply all the time felt “unfair”.
“It’s one of the many things that women in media have to navigate through,” she says, reflecting.
“Looking back, I do wish I had somebody who would understand or mentor me through that. But I really felt like I was alone.”
These days, Im is in totally different territory. Her life, personally and career-wise, is buttressed by a small community of people she really cares about, who additionally care about her.
When she thinks again, there’s one second she attracts on typically that represents a way of energy for her, and a shift in her mindset.
“That moment where I decided to leave Sony and I asked for a meeting in the boardroom, there was a scene where I walk into the room and have a meeting with these men in suits and tell them exactly what I need,” she says.
“It was basically a ‘Thank you, but no, thank you’ kind of moment. That was something thing that really gave me strength.
“Now I strive and deliver these little moments of braveness with me on a regular basis, to bear in mind I’ve that alternative and likelihood to imagine in my resolution and again my instinct.”
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