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Little Birdy is an Australian indie rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in 2002 by singer and guitarist Katy Steele, drummer Matt Chequer, guitarist and keyboardist Simon Leach, and bass guitarist Scott O'Donoghue. They gained public attention when their single "Relapse" gained popularity on alternative radio stations such as Triple J, leading them to be signed by the record label . They released three studio albums (all three of which entered the top ten in the ARIA charts), two EPs, and ten singles in their original run.
A demo, leaked to radio, was played on alternative stations. A friend of the band dropped a copy at band manager Phil Stevens' home (manager of The Waifs, John Butler Trio and The Flairz). Stevens offered his management services. The band supported Placebo, Morcheeba, and The Superjesus in Perth concerts. A home recording of one of their songs won a WAMi Award for "Indie-Alternative Song of the Year". Triple J, a national radio station, started playing an early version of "Relapse", while local Perth radio station Nova 93.7 aired a demo of "Baby Blue". As a result of independent media coverage and radio playing demos, Australian labels sought to sign the band. Little Birdy opted for the independent label with distribution through Virgin Records-EMI. Steele, along with Leach, who was a graphic designer, quit their jobs and became full-time musicians after the signing.
Their second EP, This Is a Love Song, was issued in March 2004 and debuted at No. 22. Also in that month, Steele won the inaugural Jessica Michalik, presented by The Big Day Out. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2004, "Relapse" was nominated for 'Breakthrough Artist - Single'.
In October, the band released their debut album, BigBigLove, which was produced and engineered by Paul McKercher (The Cruel Sea, Spiderbait, Augie March) and peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It contains new versions of "Beautiful" (renamed "Beautiful to Me") and "Relapse", and includes "I Should've Known" with its original title of "Andy Warhol". The album received generally positive critical reviews. Two tracks reached the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004, "Beautiful to Me" at No. 8 and "Tonight's the Night" at No. 78. Another track, "This Is a Love Song", taken from their This Is a Love Song, attained No. 40.
In 2005, at the WAMi Awards, Steele won 'Best Female Vocalist' and "Beautiful to Me" won 'Most Popular Music Video'. Additional nominations were, Leach for 'Best Guitarist', the band for 'Best Popular Act', 'Most Popular Commercial Pop Act' and 'Best Indie/Pop Act', and BigBigLove as 'Most Popular Album'. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2005, BigBigLove was nominated in four categories: 'Breakthrough Artist - Album', 'Best Rock Album', 'Producer of the Year" (McKercher), and 'Engineer of the Year' (McKercher). Also that year, Little Birdy's version of "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" from the tribute album, She Will Have Her Way, of Neil Finn and Tim Finn songs performed by female Australian and New Zealand musicians, reached No. 96 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2005.
During 2006, the band recorded tracks for their second album, Hollywood, which peaked at No. 9 in October. The first single was "Come on Come on", in September, which reached No. 18 – the group's highest-charting single to date. It was placed 11th on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2006.
In 2008, the band relocated to Melbourne and started recording a third album, Confetti, which they released in May 2009 and peaked at No. 6. A website was created for previews of new recordings and videos of studio sessions. The album was self-produced and the band worked with engineer-mixer Steven Schram. It was nominated for 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' and 'Engineer of the Year' (Schram) at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009. In February, they issued a music video for the first song, "Brother". The song features Paul Kelly on backing vocals and harmonica.
Confetti's first official single, "Summarize", was released in April, it was followed by "Hairdo" and "Stay Wild". In February 2010, Chequer announced on the band's website that Steele moved to New York and expected to work on her debut solo album, Leach was working on solo material, O'Donoghue was working with other bands, and Chequer himself was doing production work. Steele trialled some solo material at four Australian concerts in May.
Little Birdy appeared at Sound Relief at the Sydney Cricket Ground in March 2009, which was a benefit concert for victims of Victorian bush fires and Queensland floods.
! |- | 2004 | "Relapse" | Breakthrough Artist - Single | | |- |rowspan="4" |2005 |rowspan="2" | BigBigLove | Breakthrough Artist - Album | |rowspan="4" | |- | Best Rock Album | |- |rowspan="2" | Paul McKercher for Little Birdy's BigBigLove | Engineer of the Year | |- | Producer of the Year | |-
|- | 2003 | "Andy Warhol" | Indi Pop/Rock | |-
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| rowspan="2"| 2003
| Little Birdy
| Most Popular Local Original New Act
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| Katy Steele (Little Birdy)
| Most Popular Local Original Female Vocalist
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| rowspan="2"| 2005
| "Beautiful to Me"
| Most Popular Music Video
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| Katy Steele (Little Birdy)
| Best Female Vocalist
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| 2006
| Katy Steele (Little Birdy)
| Best Female Vocalist
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