Live Review: Opera-turned-pop artist NORA releases debut single, “Don’t Make Me Found”

I’d struggle to name a classic opera-trained singer on Top 40 radio. Now in her fourth year of her Classical Voice at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney-raised NORA is trying to do just that: a jump from the opera theatre to the dance floor, beginning with the release of her debut single, dance track “Don’t Make Me Found”. 

“It’s exploding the moment of when a friendship turns into something more, the ‘I think I like them, I think they like me too -- wow!’”

Starting choir at age five, then opera at eleven, NORA grew up performing in several Australian shows as child leads, including three seasons of La bohème. She turned to pop songwriting as a creative outlet during COVID isolation, to sit down at a piano and write every day. “Even if it was a couple of words, or a simple melody, I had to get something out of it,” she said. She wrote the original melody, lyrics, and chords to “Don’t Make Me Found” in May, going through a string of producers before finding the right match for a softer sound, linking up with and childhood friend Chelsea Warner, R&B instrumentalist and producer. “It’s a reflection of the lack of sense you’re feeling in the moment that you don’t want broken, not a moment of thinking or logic.”

NORA draws from a wide palate of music taste: she grew up listening to her parents’ ABBA and Madonna records, and her first concert was to see Bon Jovi. For sonic inspiration for her debut, NORA looked to artists such as Dua Lipa and Sydney-based dance duo Lastlings, influences clearly reflected in the track. 

As of publication after release weekend (Monday 1 March), “Don’t Make Me Found” is #1 on triple J Unearthed Dance charts,  #4 on Pop, and #6 overall. 

Looking to the future, NORA is developing more songs in the pipeline and hopes to work towards an EP this year—keep an eye out for this up-and-coming singer.

Words by Mack Perry

Image: Supplied

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