Lisa Helen Mitchell (born 22 March 1990) is an Australian musician and singer-songwriter who grew up in Albury, New South Wales.

Her debut extended play, Said One to the Other (4 August 2007), topped iTunes in Australia and she signed with London-based publisher, Little Victories, a subsidiary of Sony/ATV.

[9] Her varied inspirations include Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens and Neil Young, which her father favoured as she was growing up,[10] as well as Patti Smith, Regina Spektor, Clare Bowditch, Joanna Newsom, and later, Lou Reed and Velvet Underground.

From August to October 2006, Lisa Mitchell rose to national prominence as a contestant on Australian Idol Season 4, performing cover versions and two of her own compositions, which were "See It in Your Eyes" and "Too Far Gone".

[12][13] Mitchell had auditioned in Albury in April, aged 16, and moved through the selection process to the final six before being eliminated in mid-October.

[14][15] In June 2009 Mitchell reflected on her time on Australian Idol: "I was uncomfortable with elements of the show and unhappy about the compromises sometimes.

"[16] Starting in March 2007 Mitchell performed live from her home on her MySpace page,[17] with her first online gig reaching 10,000 viewers.

On 5 January 2008 Mitchell appeared on an episode of SBS-TV's celebrity music quiz show, RocKwiz, where she performed "Incomplete Lullaby", solo, and then duetted with Quan Yeomans on "Raspberry Beret".

[28] In April 2008 Mitchell moved to London to continue writing for her debut album, collaborating with Ant Whiting, Ed Harcourt and Sacha Skarbek.

Paul Lester of The Guardian declared Mitchell to be New Band of the Day as "there's more to [her] than an ability to hold a note, although she does that very well indeed, even if her voice is perhaps too idiosyncratic for one of those reality programmes, a little too quavery, kooky and girly".

[27][32] After the February 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, a number of benefit concerts were organised; Lisa Mitchell performed an unaccompanied set, supporting Tex Perkins, at the Ding Dong Lounge in Melbourne.

In June Mitchell performed at the Glastonbury Festival 2009, which also included fellow Australian artists, The Temper Trap.

[37] While The Age's Andrew Murfett noted it was "a sparkling debut album" and Mitchell told him "I'm happy where I am at the moment ...

In October Mitchell supported Newton Faulkner (aka Crispin Hunt) on his Rebuilt by Humans Tour across the UK and Republic of Ireland which included shows in Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, and Newcastle.

In March that year "Neopolitan Dreams" was covered by Lena Meyer-Landrut, on the quarter-final episode of TV show, Unser Star für Oslo, when she was competing for the opportunity to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest.

National Theatre Tour, where she was supported by Sydney-based country blues duo, Georgia Fair, and indie rock group, Boy & Bear.

[36] On 31 May that year "Neopolitan Dreams" was featured on Showtime's The United States of Tara, Season 2 Episode 11 "To Have and to Hold".

In May 2011 Mitchell was featured on vocals for Georgia Fair's single, "Marrianne", alongside their guitarist-singer, Jordan Wilson, and Boy & Bear's Dave Hoskings.

[50] In October that year Mitchell headed to Hume's rural studio to start recording tracks, "It's beautiful; it's nice to be out in the country every day.

[51] Lisa Mitchell released a single, "Spiritus", on 27 March 2012 and undertook a national tour of church venues, Heavenly Sounds, in June with Georgia Fair supporting her.

[20][52] A music video for "Spiritus" featured Georgia Fair's Wilson as her "love interest" and the single peaked at number 91.

[53][54] Rob McNicol of Scene Magazine noted that Mitchell "exposed her philosophical and spiritual side when she began explaining the meaning of the album.

She discussed a bunch of real world issues – division of society, the negative impact of money, and the lack of wisdom being passed through the generations – all the while keeping an optimistic outlook on life".

[54] While Victoria Birch of FasterLouder found "There's tension between the security of Mitchell's off-kilter folk beginnings and a desire to buck against the pigeonhole's gravitational pull.

[56][57] In early February the following year Mitchell performed at the Melbourne Zoo, supported by Georgia Fair, with proceeds to "help fight wildlife extinction".

[60] On 28 September 2014, Lisa Mitchell released a new song "Wah Ha"[61] as a limited free download, premiering the single on Richard Kingsmill's show on triple j.

[62] Mitchell followed the release with a video produced with friend and collaborator Kirrilee Bailey,[63] and sold-out shows in London.

[65] On 26 February 2015, a remix of "Wah Ha" by Sydney electronic trio Seekae was premiered by online music magazine Hypetrak.com.

[67] The music video, set in Mitchell's childhood hometown of Albury, was inspired by her observations of how "guys spend time together, how they show affection – it's always playing games or joking around or drinking, I notice a real buoyancy, or light-heartedness which I think is quite different to girls.