mmg.com.au

For Shepparton musician Briana Lee, songwriting is like therapy.

It’s this creative outlet that has helped Ms Lee, 25, cope with the sudden death of her father in March last year.

‘‘For me, writing my emotions and my feelings down is how I deal with things,’’ Ms Lee said.

‘‘I talk about things as well, but it’s music that helps.’’

The country music singer-songwriter launched her debut album recently, dedicating the title track A Part of You to her dad.

Ms Lee said she started writing the song in the emotional period between his death and funeral.

‘‘I was thinking to write it for Dad’s funeral, but there’s no way I could have sung it,’’ she said.

‘‘I could have possibly recorded it, but I didn’t want to rush finishing it for the sake of that because my dad was such a great person, words were really hard to put down.

‘‘I really like the song, but it’s hard to sing. I sang it at the launch and I couldn’t get myself together at the start. Even when I tried to introduce the song I was bawling my eyes out.’’

The album, parts of which were recorded in the country music mecca of Nashville in the United States, also includes I’d Believe In Loving You, a decade-old song written by Ms Lee as a teenager.

‘‘Dad had always really liked that song,’’ Ms Lee said.

‘‘It was a maybe for the album, but I put that one on the album because he always really liked it.

‘‘He was a huge supporter of me.’’

Having been so long in the making, Ms Lee said it was satisfying to see all her effort finally come together at her CD launch.

‘‘It’s exciting, it’s really nice that people are actually buying my album,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s selling really well, people are ordering it from all over the world.

‘‘It’s really nice to have all that support. I know that (my dad) would definitely have been there and been really, really proud.’’

For more information, visit www.brianaleemusic.com