Badwi’s decade-long debut

It’s been a long wait for Zoe Badwi fans eager to get their hands on her debut album — two and a half years, to be exact, since her thumping debut single Release Me all but soundtracked the summer of 2008/09.

For Badwi, though, the wait has been much longer. She celebrates a decade in the music industry this year, having started off as a member of short-lived girl group Sirens (who most notably joined Big Brother housemate Sara Marie Fedele for a feeble cover of I’m So Excited, but let’s not hold that against her) in 2001.

“I just want to leak it,” Badwi joked of the album, titled Zoe and set to be released on August 5. “I’m soooo ready to put it out.

“I’ve been slogging it out for so many years — a lot of blood, sweat and tears got me to this point.

“I love playing in bands, so I never really had solo plans, but I’m so grateful it’s all worked out that way. I’m in control of everything and it’s me that people are seeing now.”

SYDNEY: Win an intimate night with Zoe Badwi

MELBOURNE: Win an intimate night with Zoe Badwi

The resulting album is well worth the wait. As with Neon labelmate Wynter Gordon’s recently released debut, it’s all-killer no-filler, refuting the widely held notion that dance artists are strictly singles acts.

“There are some full-on club bangers on the album, then there’s more poppy stuff. There’s even a ballad, which might surprise some people. I thought it was nice to show a lot of different sides of myself.”

It’s also an almost wholly Australian-made album, with Badwi working with local friends like TV Rock, Denzal Park, DNA and Amy Pearson instead of shipping herself off to the hit factories of the US or Sweden.

Badwi listed Pearson, herself a singer, as her favourite collaborator.

“We write a lot together and just share our lives,” she said.

One of the album’s undoubted highlights is Until You’re Over Me, a soaring heartbreak anthem Badwi admitted was lined up as the next single.

“I did that with Amy, the DNA boys and TV Rock too. It got passed around and worked on by all of us. An idea comes from one and it gets passed on.

“That’s what I love about this album. It’s not ‘mine’ or ‘yours’, it’s ours, we’ve all worked really hard on it and we’re all very proud of it.”

It should follow her biggest hit to date, Freefallin’, up the charts. Interestingly, Badwi said that song — her first top 10 hit — took some getting used to, having been written by Pearson and Denzal Park without her involvement.

“When you start out, you want to do it all, but sometimes songs come your way that you’d be stupid not to take. I love the song, it tells my story, I believe in it and it’s an undeniable feelgood song. It was weird at first, but I’m way past that now.”

Having the single go platinum no doubt went some way to helping her get over it.

“Not even that — it’s me telling the story, I’ve made it into my own. It’s really my signature song now, and I couldn’t be happier.”

The album’s been signed in the UK and South Africa, with Freefallin’ about to be released in France and the US in Badwi’s sights too. But before that, she’ll play shows in Australia in support of the album’s local release. She was putting the finishing touches on a tight 25-minute club set when we spoke.

“There are some surprises, some mash-ups, some golden oldies in there. I’m finishing the mix at the moment so I can’t reveal too much.”

Details of the tour are still being finalised, but expect to see Badwi at a gay club near you in the coming months.

“I’m so lucky that the gay community has welcomed me with open arms. I love playing gay gigs. I really think the community loves their music and gives back 100 percent to the performer. I play at gay clubs and I see people in the audience even singing along to the backing vocals!”

The response isn’t always so rapturous. Badwi made headlines earlier this year when she shot the video for the single Accidents Happen on location in Potts Point. The shoot had to be abandoned after a resident in one of the area’s high-rise apartments started wreaking havoc.

“Some nasty piece of work, he was! He got a slingshot and catapulted something at one of our crew members, then threw a bucket of water over our cameras. It was a busy Friday evening and we weren’t being very loud, but he ended up getting the council rangers to shut us down, even though we had a permit.

“When we came back a couple of days later to continue the shoot, I antagonistically made them turn the music up nice and loud,” she laughed.

INFO: Zoe (Warner/Neon) out August 5.