The Gosford-born starlet found fame on The Voice at the age of 19, but a lot has happened since then.
Karise juggles music with parenting her four-year-old son Blayden, which can be a challenge.
“My son does miss me. At the end of my last tour he said to me, ‘No more going on the plane Mummy! You need to stay home!’” she laughs.
“He’s a tough kid. Definitely one day I’d like to have another one or two.”
Karise released her last studio album Born to Fight in November last year and has a few gigs lined up for the rest of 2019.
She’s worked tirelessly to maintain a career in music – but she admits it was hard to earn the respect of the industry peers after leaving the show.
“I believe the music industry here in Australia does tend to look down on people who win. [I’ve had] certain people who don’t want to work with me purely because I came off a talent show,” she confesses.
“You’ve got to build your street cred over the years here. It’s all about proving yourself and it takes a little bit more time to gain the respect of people who have toured and toured and finally broken into the industry.
It’s up to you as an artist ‒ you can make it work for you or against you. And leave your arrogance at the door!”
Karise will perform two Christmas specials exclusive to Bird’s Basement in Melbourne this December.
Read more in the latest issue of New Idea out now!