Melisa Bester
Birth nameMelisa Bester
Also known asE^ST (2014–2022)
Born (1998-01-02) 2 January 1998
South Africa
OriginCentral Coast, New South Wales, Australia
GenresIndie pop, electronica
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, musician
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2014–present
LabelsWarner, Parlophone, Fueled by Ramen
Member ofHeadaches

Melisa Bester[1] is a South African-born Australian singer-songwriter and musician, best known for her former solo project E^ST. Under that moniker, Bester released four extended plays: Old Age (2014), The Alley (September 2015), Get Money! (July 2016) and Life Ain't Always Roses (October 2018). Her debut studio album, I'm Doing It, was released on 31 July 2020. Bester also toured nationally as a support act for Twenty One Pilots in March–April 2016 and for Panic! at the Disco in October 2018.

Biography

Melisa Bester was born in South Africa and moved to Australia's Central Coast as a child.[2]

2014–2018: Career beginnings

Bester released her debut four-track extended play, Old Age, in July 2014.[3] Dean Elphick of Happy Mag, described her first EP, "One thing that was evident on that debut was that she already sounded like a confident, established artist. Lots of people can sing well but it's obvious she has serious songwriting ability that stretch beyond her young years."[4] In September 2015, she performed a mashup of The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and Massive Attack's "Teardrop" for a Like a Version session on Triple J national radio.[4] Her second four-track EP, The Alley, was issued in September 2015.[4]

Bester then collaborated with Jim Eliot on the song "Life Goes On" in 2017.[5] On 27 July 2018, it was announced that she signed with rock label Fueled By Ramen.[6] She was the opening act for Twenty One Pilots during the Australian leg of the Blurryface tour in March–April 2016. She also backed Panic! at the Disco local leg of the Pray for the Wicked tour in October 2018. She headlined her own tour in support of her fourth EP, Life Ain't Always Roses, which was released on 26 October 2018.

2019–present: I'm Doing It, hiatus and return

In March 2020, Bester announced the release of her debut studio album, initially scheduling it for release on 12 June 2020. The album was preceding by the singles "Talk Deep" "Flight Path", "Fresh Out of Love", "Maybe It's Me" and "I Wanna Be Here".[7] The album was later delayed and released on 31 July 2020.[8] Following a run of shows in early 2021, Bester took an extended hiatus from music. She briefly resurfaced in 2022 to appear on the song "Funeral" by Sydney singer-songwriter Nick Ward on his debut EP, Brand New You. She joined Ward in the triple j studios to perform it for Like a Version, as well as a cover of blink-182's 2000 single "Adam's Song".[9]

In October 2023, after her accounts had been deactivated for over two years, Bester returned to social media to announce that she would no longer be performing as E^ST. Simultaneously, Bester announced that she had started a new musical project under the name Headaches in collaboration with songwriter and producer Maxwell Byrne – also known as Golden Vessel.[10]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details
Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[11]
I'm Doing It 12

Extended plays

List of EPs released, showing year released and label details
Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[13]
Old Age
  • Released: 1 July 2014[14]
  • Label: I Am East/Warner Music Australasia
    (EAST01)
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
 —
The Alley
  • Released: 18 September 2015[15]
  • Label: Cap/Warner Music Australasia
    (825646050017)
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
 —[upper-alpha 1]
Get Money!
  • Released: 1 July 2016[17]
  • Label: Warner Music Australasia
    (5419723172)
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
 96
Life Ain't Always Roses
  • Released: 26 October 2018[18]
  • Label: Warner Music Australasia
    (5419703144)
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD
 —[upper-alpha 2]

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles released, with selected certifications shown
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
AUS
"Old Age" 2014 — Old Age
"The Alley" 2015 — The Alley
"Get Money!"
(featuring Mallrat)[20]		 2016 — Get Money!
"Life Goes On"[21] 2017 —[upper-alpha 3] Non-album single
"Blowjob"[24] 2018 — Life Ain't Always Roses
"I Don't Lack Imagination"[25] —
"Alien"[26] —
"Friends"[27] —
"Talk Deep"[28] 2019 — I'm Doing It
"Flight Path"[29] —
"Fresh Out of Love"[30] 2020 —
"Maybe It's Me"[8] —
"I Wanna Be Here"[12] —
List of singles as featured artist, showing year released and album
Title Year Album
"Get Me a Drink"
(Alice Ivy featuring E^ST & Charlie Threads)[31]		 2017 I'm Dreaming
"Bigbright"
(Golden Vessel featuring Elkkle, E^ST & Duckwrth)[32]		 2018 Slowshine
"Nobody"
(Kwame featuring E^ST)[33]		 2019 Please, Get Home Safe
"Funeral"
(Nick Ward featuring E^ST)[34]		 2022 Brand New You

Notes

  1. ↑ The Alley did not enter the ARIA Albums Chart, but peaked at number 14 on the Australian Artists Singles Chart.[16]
  2. ↑ Life Ain't Always Roses did not enter the ARIA Charts, but peaked at number 34 on the ARIA Digital Albums Chart.[19]
  3. ↑ "Life Goes On" did not enter the ARIA Charts, but peaked at number 14 on the ARIA Australian Artists Streaming Chart.[22]

Awards and nominations

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
National Live Music Awards of 2020[35] herself Musicians Making a Difference Nominated

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.[36]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2021 I'm Doing It Best Record Nominated [37]
E^ST Best New Artist Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Instagram".
  2. ↑ "E^ST Niche Productions". Niche Productions. 17 January 2019. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019.
  3. ↑ Patini, Camilla (3 October 2017). "E^ST delivers the breakup anthem you've been waiting for". Purple Sneakers.
  4. 1 2 3 Elphick, Dean (30 September 2015). "Yet another 17 year old to make you feel inadequate, E^ST proves she has talent well beyond her years on The Alley". Happy Mag.
  5. ↑ "E^ST returns with a bouncy new single, Life Goes On". PileRats. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "Welcome E^ST To The FBR Family". Fueled By Ramen. 27 July 2018. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  7. ↑ Young, David James (10 March 2020). "E^ST announces debut album 'I'm Doing It' and intimate showcases". NME. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  8. 1 2 Young, David James (10 April 2020). "E^ST releases new single 'Maybe It's Me'". NME. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Bereton, Greta (4 March 2022). "Watch Nick Ward cover Blink-182's 'Adam's Song' for Like a Version". NME Australia. BandLab Technologies.
  10. ↑ Bester, Melisa. "@iameastofficial on Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  12. 1 2 Langford, Jackson (19 June 2020). "E^ST drops new single [sic] 'Wanna Be Here'". Music Feeds. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  13. ↑ Wallace, Ian (11 July 2016). "Week Commencing ~ 11th July 2016 ~ Issue #1376" (PDF). The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (1376): 17, 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  14. ↑ "Old Age – EP by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 1 July 2014. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  15. ↑ "The Alley – EP by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  16. ↑ Wallace, Ian (5 October 2015). "Week Commencing ~ 5th October 2015 ~ Issue #1336" (PDF). The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (1336): 17, 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  17. ↑ "Get Money! – EP by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  18. ↑ "Life Ain't Always Roses – EP by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  19. ↑ Wallace, Ian (5 November 2018). "Week Commencing ~ 5th November 2018 ~ Issue #1497" (PDF). The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (1497): 10, 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  20. ↑ "Get Money! (feat. Mallrat) – Single by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  21. ↑ "Life Goes On – Single by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. September 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  22. ↑ Wallace, Ian (22 January 2018). "Week Commencing ~ 22nd January 2018 ~ Issue #1456" (PDF). The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (1456): 16, 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  23. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  24. ↑ "Blowjob – Single by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  25. ↑ "I Don't Lack Imagination – Single by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  26. ↑ "E^ST fires another bop out of the cannon 'Alien'". The Interns. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  27. ↑ "Listen: E^ST – Friends". Happy Mag. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  28. ↑ "Talk Deep – Single by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  29. ↑ "Flight Path – Single by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  30. ↑ "Fresh Out of Love – Single by E^ST on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 14 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  31. ↑ "Get Me a Drink (feat. E^ST & Charlie Threads) – Single by Alice Ivy on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  32. ↑ "Bigbright (feat. E^ST & Charlie Threads) – Single by Golden Vessel on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  33. ↑ "Nobody (feat. E^ST) – Single by Kwame on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  34. ↑ "Nick Ward teams up with E^ST for powerful new single "Funeral"". NME Australia. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  35. ↑ "LMIA 2020". The Music Network. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  36. ↑ Barnes, Amelia (5 December 2011). "Rolling Stone Magazine Australia announces 3rd annual awards event". The AU Review. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  37. ↑ "Tash Sultana, Tkay Maidza, and Tame Impala Lead Rolling Stone Australia Awards Winners". Rolling Stone Australia. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
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