Thelma Plum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thelma Plum
Thelma Plum performing in April 2023
Background information
Birth name	Thelma Amelina Plumbe
Born	(1994-12-21) 21 December 1994 (age 30) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Origin	Delungra, New South Wales, Australia
Genres	Folk
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter guitarist musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	2012–present
Labels	Footstomp Warner Music Australia

Thelma Amelina Plumbe (born 21 December 1994), known as Thelma Plum, is an Aboriginal Australian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She comes from Delungra, New South Wales. Her first album, Better in Blak, came out in 2019 and reached number 4 on the Australian music charts.

Thelma has won several awards, including one for the best album artwork at the 2019 ARIA Music Awards.

Early life

Thelma Amelina Plumbe was born in Brisbane on 21 December 1994. She is a Gamilaraay woman. Her family is from Delungra, New South Wales. Thelma went to the Music Industry College in Brisbane and spent most of her younger years there.

Career

2012–2017: Starting out with Triple J Unearthed

Thelma Plum in 2016

In May 2012, Thelma Plum put her songs "Blackbird" and "Father Said" on a website called Triple J Unearthed. This website helps new Australian musicians get noticed. In July 2012, she won the first-ever Triple J's National Indigenous Unearthed Music competition. She was also nominated for a Deadly award, which celebrates Indigenous Australians, for Most Promising New Talent.

Her first official song, "Father Said," was released in November 2012. Thelma then released her first collection of songs, called an extended play (EP), titled Rosie in March 2013. Her second EP, Monsters, came out in July 2014. Around this time, she moved to Melbourne.

Thelma performed at the Womadelaide festival in 2014 and 2019. She has toured all over Australia and her songs have been played often on the national radio station Triple J.

2018–2021: Better in Blak album

Thelma Plum released her first full album, Better in Blak, in July 2019. The video for the song "Better in Blak" was nominated for Film Clip of the Year at the National Indigenous Music Awards. In October 2019, she was named one of the top Australian female artists changing the music scene. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019, she was nominated for six awards and won Best Cover Art for her album's artwork.

The Better In Blak album became very important for Blak women. It featured songs that became like anthems for them.

In January 2020, Thelma Plum made history when "Better in Blak" reached number 9 on the Triple J Hottest 100. This was the highest ranking for an Indigenous artist at that time. A few months later, she got sick with COVID-19 during the global pandemic.

In May 2020, Thelma released her own version of the Powderfinger song "These Days". In October of that year, she performed at the 2020 AFL Grand Final, which is a big Australian sports event.

2022–2023: Meanjin and When Rosie Met Monsters

In July 2022, Thelma Plum announced her third EP, Meanjin. She also released a new song from it called "When It Rains It Pours."

The Meanjin EP is like a "love letter" to Brisbane, the city where she grew up. She wrote the songs for it while staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thelma's Meanjin EP won Album Of The Year at the 2023 National Indigenous Music Awards.

In November 2022, Thelma shared news about When Rosie Met Monsters. This release combines her first two EPs, Rosie and Monsters, onto vinyl, CD, and cassette.

2024: I'm Sorry, Now Say It Back

In November 2023, Thelma Plum released "We Don't Talk About It." This was her first new music in over a year. Her second studio album, I'm Sorry, Now Say It Back, was released in October 2024.

Discography

Thelma Plum has released several albums and EPs. Here are her main studio albums and EPs.

Studio albums

Extended plays

Awards and nominations

Thelma Plum has won many awards for her music. Here are some of the main ones:

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are a big music awards show in Australia. Thelma Plum won one award from six nominations in 2019.

National Indigenous Music Awards

The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) celebrate the achievements of Indigenous Australians in music. Thelma Plum has won two awards from these.

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) celebrate live music in Australia.

Queensland Music Awards

The Queensland Music Awards celebrate artists from Queensland, Australia.

Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition

This competition celebrates great songwriting and helps raise money for music therapy.