On the eve of Australia Day, the talented singer tells Katherine Chatfield why her hometown of Darwin will always be her favourite.
Impossible as it seems, Jessica Mauboy doesn’t seem to notice the 36-degree heat and sweltering humidity as she stands amid tropical palms in the Northern Territory.
“I just breathe it in,” she smiles at the melting Woman’s Day team. “I’m used to it. I love it. It’s home.”
Although Jess could easily have stars in her eyes after an awesome year that included recording her hit album Been Waiting, starring in Aussie movie Bran Nue Dae, and winning an ARIA award for Highest Selling Single, there’s no doubt the 20-year-old still has her feet planted firmly on the red earth she was raised on.
Even as a make-up artist flutters around Jess, her family joke with their little girl, forgetting her superstar status entirely.
“I don’t know many Aussies who can’t laugh at themselves, or who take life too seriously,” Jess says. “For me, Australian spirit means we encourage everybody to follow their dreams, even if it means letting your daughter sing to every TV commercial that comes on, just like my parents did.”
And it’s clear there’s nowhere Jess would rather be than with her family. “Every time I get a break, Mum says ‘Do you want to go on holiday?’” Jess laughs. “But all I want to do is come home, go fishing and wear thongs.
“I grew up in the bush. I have fond memories of going out in the dinghy to go crabbing with my dad.”
But there is another reason the Idol graduate is keen to return to the town she calls home, besides the beloved bushland. Her boyfriend of one year, Themeli Magriplis, is based here, forcing the smitten couple to conduct a long-distance relationship between Darwin and Sydney, where Jess has bought her own apartment.
“I’m always so anxious to see him,” she grins. “I was the only one awake on the plane from Sydney because I was so excited!”
The couple first met when Jess was on a girls’ night out at a Darwin club. They felt an instant connection the moment they spotted each other across the room.
“It was love at first sight,” Jess remembers. “For some reason he just caught my attention straight away. I couldn’t stop staring at him. Later that night I could feel someone staring at me. I turned, and bang, I was connected.”
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