Australian pop star Jessica Mauboy may have launched her singing career by reaching the finals of TV's Australian Idol in 2006, but she soon transcended pop idol status with her upbeat blend of contemporary pop and R&B. Mauboy presented her first studio album, Been Waiting, in 2008 and toured with Beyoncé before going on to top the Australian album chart for the first time with her songs from the television series The Secret Daughter in 2016. The hour-long drama starred Mauboy as singer Billie Carter. She hit number one again with 2019's Hilda, her fourth studio long-player.

Born in Darwin in 1989, Jessica Hilda Mauboy earned her first taste of celebrity at 14, when she won a local talent search and scored a recording deal with Sony. Her country-inspired rendition of the Cyndi Lauper hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" went nowhere, however, and she returned to relative obscurity until auditioning for the Network Ten amateur talent showcase Australian Idol 2006. Despite a few bumps in the road -- most notably a sore-throat performance that nearly resulted in elimination -- Mauboy advanced to the finals. Considered the favorite by prognosticators, Mauboy nevertheless fell to Damien Leith on the series' November 13, 2006 finale. A month later, she signed to Sony BMG, and in February 2007, released a live album, The Journey. It cracked the Aussie Top Five thanks in part to the lead single, a cover of the Christina Aguilera ballad "Beautiful." Soon afterward, Mauboy joined the group Young Divas, assisting in the release of their second album, New Attitude. However, by mid-2008, she had left them to focus on her solo ambitions.

Later in 2008, she released her debut studio album, Been Waiting, which featured her first number one single, "Burn." Been Waiting reached number 11 on the album chart in Australia. The success earned Mauboy a support slot for Beyoncé on the Australian leg of her world tour and a lead role in the musical film Bran Nau Dae. Leaning even further toward R&B, her sophomore album, 2010's Get 'Em Girls, out-sold her debut, peaking at number six on the album chart, with four of the singles achieving platinum status. Returning to acting, she co-starred in the 2012 biographical film The Sapphires, about a Vietnam War-era Aboriginal Australian girl group. By 2013 -- the year she released her third studio album Beautiful -- Mauboy had cemented her status as one of Australia's biggest stars, with an almost constant presence in the charts. Beautiful reached the Top Three. She was even invited to perform at the 2013 Eurovision song contest, representing Australia's love for the contest two years ahead of their first year as competitors.

2016 saw the release of her first number one album in Australia, titled The Secret Daughter. The record was primarily a soundtrack to the TV series of the same name, which featured Mauboy in the titular role. The Secret Daughter, Season 2 followed in 2017 and hit number two.

Mauboy returned with her fourth official studio long-player, Hilda, in 2019. With assists from her acting fame and the Top 30 single "Little Things," it debuted at number one on Australia's album chart. ~ Jason Ankeny & Marcy Donelson, Rovi