Country Artist & Songwriter
Biography
Sammi Palinkas is an Australian contemporary country Artist & Songwriter who started singing at the age of 3. After growing up on a diverse range of music including Country greats such as Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, and Loretta Lynn, Sammi’s journey in the music industry began at a young age, winning a national televised singing competition (Channel 7, 20th Century Fox, Gold FM & partners) at the age of 8, celebrating the release of the Children's movie "Anastasia" and sending her family on an all-expenses paid trip to Paris.
Sammi's love for performing led her to many stage and TV appearances, including at the age of 11 she played "Pepper" in SEL/GFO’s Melbourne season of "Annie" at the Regent Theatre starring Anthony Warlow. Over the years, she has developed her craft and written for many years between Australia and the US (LA, NY, Nashville) collaborating with renowned songwriters and producers including Andrew Bolooki (Selena Gomez, The Weeknd, Post Malone), Fiona Kernaghan (Mindy McReady, Tina Arena), Sally Barris (Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack), Sam Gay (Deric Ruttan, Little Texas, Bryan White) and Templeton Thompson (Reba McEntire, Jo Dee Messina & Little Texas), amongst others. She has been on stage for as long as she can remember, performing to crowds of over 25,000 people, as well as national television audiences. Most recently Sammi performed the National Anthem for the televised VFLW Grand Final (AFL, Channel 7) for the second year running, appeared as the headline act at “Big Hug Day” (3AW/Channel 9/Eynesbury Homestead) in October, and performed to 14,500+ people at “Carols by Kingston”. She was named in NSAI's (Nashville Songwriters Association International) "One's to Watch" list for her single “Don’t Blink”, and recently announced as a 2023 and 2024 Country semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition (ISC) for her singles "Meet in the Middle" and "No Settlin'" respectively.
Having already made waves in the country music scene, Sammi is currently recording her debut album with award-winning Producer Rod McCormack (Paul Kelly, The Wolfe Brothers & Lee Kernaghan). Her first Country single “Meet in the Middle” debuted at #3 on the Australian iTunes Country chart, #8 All Genre and charted on the official CountryTown National Airplay Chart Top 50. Follow up singles “You’ve Lived”, “Don’t Blink” and “Let Your Hair Down” all debuted in the Top 10 on the Australian iTunes Country chart, as did her Christmas single “From Me to You”. Most recently she released country power ballad “She’s Mine to Love” demonstrating her capability as both a singer and heartfelt writer, “In a Country Song" and "Sunset State of Mind".
Her latest single “No Settlin’” reached the official CountryTown National Airplay Chart Top 50. Her anthemic and powerful first single for 2025 "What This Woman Wants" is set to be another significant milestone leading into Palinkas’ debut album release in mid-2025.
Sammi performed her first headline show at George Lane (St Kilda) in February, and is looking forward to bringing her full-band show to stages in 2025, including recently announced prestigious country music festival "Savannah in the Round" (Mareeba) in October.
Sammi’s musical influences are evident in her dynamic vocal range and powerful stage presence, drawing inspiration from the likes of Shania Twain, Keith Urban, Carly Pearce, LeAnn Rimes, and Carrie Underwood.
