Australian pop singer Merrill Bainbridge was born June 2, 1968 in Melbourne. A performer from before she was 10, Bainbridge lent her vocal skills to a variety of cover bands in her teenage years. She spent her early twenties getting gigs as a studio backup singer, and through those connections met Siew, the producer who would help create the biggest hits of her career. Her debut single, the sweetly carnal “Mouth” was an instant success in her home country, hitting number 1 and staying there for over a month. The song also hit number 4 in the United States, and charted in New Zealand, the UK, and Germany. That set the stage for her debut album, 1995’s The Garden, to go top 5 in Australia. The album’s second single, “Under the Water”, a love song about a lover who drowned, reached number 4 in Australia. The success led to her being nominated for five awards at the 1995 Australian Record Industry Awards. Her 1998 album Between the Days spawned the top 40 hit “Lonely” and featured a duet with Shaggy on the Sonny & Cher classic “I Got You Babe”. Although a single from 2003 was supposed to signal a third album, that LP never materialized.
