Entertainment
22 October, 2026
‘Ember’ sparks new era for Nadine
THE release of her debut single has marked a major milestone in the creative journey of local musician Nadine Cockrem.
“It’s very exciting. It’s probably something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while, but you know, life, family, business, everything, just gets in the way. And I thought if I don’t do it now, I’m probably never going to,” the Mareeba singer-songwriter said.
Nadine’s debut single, Ember, was released on 2 October and has since featured on radio stations like ABC Country and Australian Country Radio, thanks to her PR agent at Rock This Country.
“It’s really cool. The first time I heard it (on the radio) I was pretty emotional. It just feels amazing to have it out there,” the 39-year-old said.
The song, written over a decade ago, was inspired by the falling apart of an unhealthy relationship.
Nadine expresses raw emotion and paints the picture of feeling like an ember, glowing bright and flying high before burning out and falling to the ground, representing promises made in the relationship without any follow through – particularly with the line, “You light me up just to watch me burn again”.
“I wrote the song about 12 years ago when I was in an emotionally abusive relationship, or toxic I guess you can call it,” she said.
“It was just the feeling I felt of trying the best that I could, trying to see the good in someone, and it’s just not working. You’re kind of losing yourself, they’re losing themselves, and it’s just something that you’ve got to move away from to become better.
“In a way, I am thankful for it because it’s taught me a lot about myself… it was a really challenging time. But it was just how I felt, like the ember being lit up and let down and lit up and let down.”
Nadine first discovered her natural ability for writing when she was about 16.
“Writing has always been something that I’ve loved to do. I even used to enter my songs in songwriting competitions and things like that,” she admitted somewhat embarrassingly.
“But that’s what I love to do. I love writing and I think it’s an outlet for me to get that emotion out of my body, I guess.
“It’s like turning your pain into art and making something that was once horrible into something that’s healed. Something that you can give to other people to maybe help them out too.”
Nadine said to expect more songs from her in the future, with release dates set for the end of January and end of April next year.
“The next song is probably a bit more upbeat. I wrote that about letting go,” she said.
“Then the third one’s more of a good feeling song, and the last two are kind of ballad-y acoustic songs. They’re all just about emotion and feeling, I think.”
Ember is available now on all streaming platforms.
