Rachael Leahcar

Rachael Wendy Bartholomew (born 22 February 1994), known by her stage name Rachael Leahcar, is an Australian singer and songwriter, born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia. She participated on the first season of The Voice Australia, coming in third place. Shortly after, she signed a record deal with Universal Music Australia. Her debut album Shooting Star, which contained songs she performed on The Voice, as well as newly recorded covers, was released on 13 July 2012. The album debuted at number five on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Life and career

1994–2011: Early life

Rachael Leahcar (born Rachael Wendy Bartholomew) was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia (her performing surname is her first name spelled backwards). Leahcar was born with retinitis pigmentosa and legally blind with only 10% visual function. She found her love of music at a very early age and has been singing and playing instruments ever since. At the age of 12, Leahcar was accepted into the South Australian Public Primary Schools choir. The same year, she auditioned and was accepted into the music program at Brighton Secondary School. Also at the age of 12, she entered Fellini's Search for a Star competition, where she made it through to the grand final and was chosen as one of the top 3 performers of the evening, winning $200 and the judges' encouragement award of $1000 worth of recording time at Quentin Eyres Studio.