In a dark alley, Harriet Hawthorne is a shining light. Her peroxide blonde hair pokes out of a gold star costume, accompanied by a pair of fishnets and her customary knee-high boots. With a spotlight and camera tracking her every move, she glistens as she runs through the streets of Fremantle. 

Hawthorne is recording a scene for her first music video, Bitch With A Guitar. It marks a new chapter for the Perth singer-songwriter, who is putting the finishing touches on to her debut EP, Beginner’s Luck?.  

Beginner’s Luck? features six singles, including Bitch With A Guitar and the heart-wrenching Waiting Out The Rain, which Hawthorne describes as throwing her heart out on a silver platter.  

The EP has been in the works since March, following her experience on the 2026 season of Australian Idol. Her Idol journey began with a stripped-back rendition of Scar by Missy Higgins, gaining her a golden ticket and putting her straight through to the top 30. Hawthorne would go on to make the top 21. 

Hawthorne’s long-term singing coach Janelle Russo urged her to audition for Idol, explaining how success in the fickle music industry means taking up opportunities.  “It can be very difficult to self-promote … so I have always encouraged and advocated for Harriet to put herself out there,” Russo says. 

Going into the show, Hawthorne had her eyes wide open. “I know the nature of these shows … they often try and push you into a certain image,” she says.

In preparation, she made one promise to herself. “No matter what they say or do, I’m not going to stop making music, because that’s what I want to do,” Hawthorne says. “And that’s what I did.”  

The winner of Australian Idol took home $100,000 and a recording package. Hawthorne walked away with a positive disposition and a steely determination to forge her own path. 

Bitch With A Guitar was written when she was 18 about a relationship where someone asked her not to write a song about them. “So naturally, that’s exactly what I did”.  Now 20, it has stuck with her.  “Sometimes songs grow with me, and this is definitely one of them. The meaning has changed slightly over the last year of my life” she says.  

The song’s tongue-in-cheek quality is amplified by the music video. Director Stephanie Senior’s bedroom was used as a set and re-designed to mimic Hawthorne’s.

A warmth of nostalgia is felt throughout, from the 90s and 2000s movie posters on the wall to Hawthorne’s own hand-quilted blanket and mementos scattered across the room.  

It features Hawthorne running down the streets of her hometown, Fremantle, as the aforementioned gold star, leading to her up on a stage in front of a crowd of fans, a subtle nod to her Idol journey.  

Senior explains it took a small village to create the music video.“The number of extras that showed up was insane,” Senior says. “I think the amount of support she has as an artist already is really amazing.”  

This community was built through studying contemporary music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), but also through nights at Mojo’s Bar and its songwriters club.  

Mojo’s has given a stage to many independent artists, Hawthorne included.  Sitting out front of the North Fremantle venue, her face lights up as she talks about the thrill of experiencing music. “I never feel more inspired than when I’m watching live music,” she says.

Smaller venues are a platform for independent and up-and-coming artists like Hawthorne to perform new music and build an audience.  

Creative Australia, the government’s arts investment and advisory body, recently analysed the National Arts Participation Survey. It revealed key drivers for attending live music were to have fun or be entertained, and to socialise or connect with others.

Eight in 10 survey respondents said attending live music events has had a big impact on deepening their existing relationships and friendships, a sense of community and a feeling of belonging. 

Despite this, the survey revealed there has been a 4 per cent decrease in live music attendance at smaller venues like pubs, clubs and bars. While bigger venues like stadiums, arenas, concert halls and theatres have risen in attendance.   

Without the backing of a label, production and events are predominantly self-funded. For Hawthorne, the EP and its rollout is costing at least five figures.  

While working three jobs to fund the project, she also values transparency. An inheritance from her grandfather that was initially set aside for university is now helping to fund her chosen career.   

“I have this picture of him on my wall, where he’s holding like six guitars at once. He loved music, and I just think he would be really happy that this is what his money is going towards.” she says.  

“I am in a very lucky and privileged position, and I think being open about the financials of it are important … Being in the financial position to be an independent artist is not easy, and I don’t find it easy when I’m not even funding the whole thing for myself.” 

Hawthorne juggles hospitality jobs and works as a singing coach alongside making music full time, coming home to admin, gigs, songwriting and marketing. Despite the long days, she sees the benefit in being independent.  

“It’s actually very valuable, because you know that you’re not going to get screwed over when someone else is doing those jobs for you. Because you know how to do them yourself.” 

Russo points out success requires more than just talent. “An artist needs to feel safe expressing a sense of identity. But they’re also people who are not worn down by the hard work and self-belief that is required to be a part of the industry,” she says. 

Hawthorne plays with this sentiment in her EP’s title. “I think multiple times in my life, I’ve had someone undermine my work and just call me lucky.,” she says. “And I’m not. I’m incredibly hardworking. I don’t have a social life. I work day and night, every day,.”