What's next after Keith Urban? Julia Dunn launches her own original CD

It's going to be hard to top a duet with Keith Urban, but 16-year-old singer-songwriter Julia Dunn is going to try.

In July 2015, Dunn,then 15, won a contest at a Moncton radio station to sing in front of thousands of country music fans.

"That really got my dreams in motion to motivate me to start this album," Dunn told Angela Walker on Mainstreet P.E.I.

• Keith Urban shares the stage with P.E.I. teenager Julia Dunn

Dunn said the moment she took the stage beside Urban was surreal.

"He started introducing me and the butterflies were just going. It was crazy," she said.

"It was a dream, I kept looking over at him and I didn't think it was real. I couldn't comprehend it in my head. It was awesome but also kind of sad because I know that was probably the highlight of my life."

A UPS guy came to the door and he came with the CDs and I ripped the box open because I knew exactly what it was. Julia Dunn

More than a year later, Dunn,now in Grade 11 at Colonel Gray High School, is getting set to release her debut original CD, simply called Julia Dunn.

Her producer was Islander David Rashed of Haywire fame.

"He was amazing helping me, whether it was co-writing, helping me out with words and he did all the music behind it and guidance with everything," Dunn said.

She's been writing songs since she was 12, and that gave her a starting point for the CD.

Mainstreet PEI8:49Julia Dunn

She once sang a duet with Country muisc star Keith Urban, and now 16 year old Julia Dunn is releasing her debut original CD. She spoke with Angela Walker

"What I find easiest to write about is personal experiences, things that have happened to me," she said.

"I actually lost my grandfather in February and I wanted to have a tribute to him somehow so I wrote a song for him."

Her youthful exuberance comes through when talking about seeing the CD for the first time.

"I was home alone a couple of weeks ago and a UPS guy came to the door and he came with the CDs and I ripped the box open because I knew exactly what it was."

"As soon as I took the first one out, I screamed and my sister yelled down to me, 'are you OK?' and I was like, 'I'm fine,'" laughed Dunn.

Dunn sat down and listened to the album from start to finish.

The launch party is planned for Dec. 1 at the P.E.I. Brewing Company. Dunn has her own website and will be using social media to spread the word about her album.

Island teen performs with Keith Urban

9 years ago

Duration 3:19

Julia Dunn had a weekend to remember after singing with the country music star at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival. Video courtesy of Glenna Richards.

She plans to play the festival circuit on P.E.I. next summer and hopes for some off-Island appearances, as well.

"I would love to pursue music full-time, but if it doesn't work out you have to have that backup plan and I'd like to be a pediatric allergist if music doesn't work, but I hope music will always stay in my life," said Dunn.

And she'll always have the memories of her time on stage with Keith Urban.

"It would be amazing to be able to do that all the time."

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