It’s not just the curly blonde hair and guitar that’s drawing comparisons to a young Taylor Swift for Fremantle’s Harriet Hawthorne, with the Australian Idol top 30 competitor ready to fill the blank space that is her bright future with a successful music career.
Dubbed “mini Taylor” at her audition by judge Amy Shark, the 19-year-old artist views herself as a songwriter first, much like the American superstar.
“It’s a very high compliment and praise, and it makes sense to me because I grew up listening to her music and I think I take a lot from her as a songwriter, I’m very lyrics based in a similar way that she is,” she told The West Australian.
“And obviously I can see the curly hair and guitar, I can definitely see where people are coming from.”
Inspired by young pop diva Olivia Rodrigo, and likened to legend Joni Mitchell by her mother, Hawthorne’s job behind the bar at live music venue Freo.Social puts her front row to a wide range of artists each night.
It means her dream of being a star feels both worlds far away, and within arms reach.
“There’s a little part of me that I think a lot of artists can relate to; It’s like every time you see someone, you sort of wish it was you up there,” she said.
But as a champion of local artists, the teen added it’s not a burden when you’re “as much a performer as I am an enjoyer of live music”.
As a former high school student at Fremantle’s John Curtin College of the Arts, her community may be more familiar with the singer’s surname of Kenworthy than Hawthorne, her middle name, which rounds out her stage persona.
Especially the teen’s loved ones, who sat by her side during her audition earlier this month after being present for the years leading up to it.
“I had a little watch party with all my close friends and family, and I’d honestly never felt more supported in my life, it kind of felt like one of the first times I’d ever felt like people saw what I was actually capable of,” Hawthorne revealed.
Proud to showcase her star power on a national stage, the teen’s first official musical release actually came months prior to landing a place in the show’s top 30 along three other West Aussies.
Dropping her single Flowers laced with vitriol in November, she hopes an entire album is not too far away — whether her Idol hopes are cut short or she goes deep.
Hawthorne’s even prepared to get behind the bar again if that’s what it takes.
“It’s something that I want so badly that I’m going to work for it, no matter where I end up with Idol,” she said.
“Whether that means I’m back in the bar, getting those hours up to earn the money to record. That’s something that I’m willing to do.”
Watch Harriet Hawthorne in action on Australian Idol this Sunday, March 1 from 7pm on 7 & 7plus.
https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/music/harriet-hawthorne-freosocial-bartender-and-mini-taylor-hopes-to-go-deep-in-australian-idol-c-21776446
