{"id":44925,"date":"2021-10-18T14:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T18:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=44925"},"modified":"2021-10-18T19:59:27","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T23:59:27","slug":"katie-underwood-joins-bardot-bandmate-belinda-chapple-to-debut-duo-kabel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/katie-underwood-joins-bardot-bandmate-belinda-chapple-to-debut-duo-kabel\/","title":{"rendered":"Katie Underwood Joins Bardot Bandmate Belinda Chapple to Debut Duo Ka\u2019Bel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Bardot bandmates Belinda Chapple (left) and Katie Underwood (right) have reunited to release their first single as Ka’Bel.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Katie Underwood and Belinda Chapple battled through a pandemic, an ocean between them, and their own doubts to form a duo and release new single “Broken Hearted” under the moniker Ka’Bel – 20 years after they experienced massive national success in Bardot<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They met for the first time in the hothouse of reality TV. Both had taken part in Australian reality TV show Popstars<\/em> back in 2000, which took the winning contestants and formed them into pop band Bardot. Together with Tiffani Wood, Chantelle Barry, Sophie Monk and Sally Polihronas, they were picked from over 2,500 wannabe entertainers who auditioned for the show. Having made it through multiple elimination rounds, the band were moved into a shared house and flown to Sydney to record a debut single. The program was hugely popular in Australia and each of the girls was followed by paparazzi, their every word and outfit analysed – and criticised. The relentless attention resulted in chart-topping hits (debut single “Poison<\/a>” ranked number 1 on the ARIA singles chart after selling over 60,000 copies in its debut week) and major album sales, but it also proved an exhausting and damaging experience of the music and TV industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat didn’t<\/em> we learn?\u201d reflects Underwood from her Melbourne home. \u201cOne of the really amazing things about Popstars<\/em> and the Bardot experience was that it wasn’t like being in a normal band\u2026 we did everything all at once, to the max. Almost immediately upon forming the band, we started recording. We also started preparing for tours, doing dance routines, doing fitness programs, doing media training, constantly being interviewed, doing fashion shoots, makeup shoots, product endorsements\u2026 everything you could possibly do with and around a band we did in the first year, even in the first six months\u2026it was like an industry apprenticeship. We did everything, [and though we] didn’t get paid very well, we learned a lot. \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year after they stormed the Australian charts, the band was flown to the UK to promote their singles and begin work on a second album. It was there that Underwood informed the band she was quitting. Soon after, the band made changes to management, released the album Play It Like That<\/a><\/em>, and toured, but ultimately broke up officially in April 2002. While their second album didn’t blow up in the charts like their first<\/a>, it was strong. It featured co-writing credits from all the members of the group, and their live performances at the time proved that there was no production trickery: they were all genuinely talented singers in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bardot-era Underwood and Chapple<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It seemed inevitable that some, if not all, of them would continue to make music. And so it’s proven. Last year, in celebration of their 20 year anniversary, Underwood, Chapple and Wood performed “Poison” online from their respective remote locations. It preceded a greatest hits album<\/a> on vinyl in January this year, in addition to a remix compilation album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll through 2020 we were in communication with two of the other Bardot members, Tiffany and Sally, and tossing around ideas about what an online reunion would look like and whether we want to revisit the Bardot stuff,\u201d Underwood explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, Wood and Polihronas stepped back from any commitment due to other commitments, and it was touch-and-go as to whether Chapple and Underwood would continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe floated the idea of what it would look like if it was the two of us – would people think that we’re desperate?” remembers Underwood. “I think that was Belinda’s concern initially. She was concerned what people would think, but only for a hot minute, and then it was more the logistics, because she was still living in Singapore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Chapple overseas, she and Underwood hadn’t been in contact until the end of 2019 when they reconnected to discuss the anniversary, apart from a brief reunion in 2010. But that didn’t mean their connection was lost. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s two years or two decades that have passed, we picked up as if it was yesterday,” says Underwood. “[Our relationship has] probably matured a little bit because we\u2019ve had our trials and tribulations over the years. She seems always to be comfortable sharing her truth with me, and me with her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, they went ahead with Ka’Bel once Chapple and her husband decided to move back to Sydney, though she recorded the vocals for \u201cBroken Hearted\u201d in Singapore. She emailed the result to Underwood, who added her vocals, with production by LA producer Dylan Bowes. The song was sourced by their talent agent Joe Dadic; with both Underwood and Chapple determined that they\u2019ve proven themselves as songwriters decades before, they were selective about a ready-made song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n