Personal freedom is a running theme in the songs of Caitlyn Shadbolt. Hailing from Gympie, Queensland, the country singer-songwriter appeared on The X Factor Australia in 2014, while still in the final year of her teens. She made her recorded debut the following year with the rocking anthem “Maps out the Window”, all about following one’s inner compass. And there’s no missing the pointedness of 2017’s “My Breakup Anthem”, a sassy assertion of post-relationship selfhood. That same year, Shadbolt tapped fellow X Factor graduate Reece Mastin for the duet “Me Without You”, which folds sharp lyrics about toxic co-dependence into a cathartic power ballad. But let’s not dismiss her capacity for playfulness: 2022’s pop-friendly “Dumb Decisions” (as in “All the best stories come from…”) got a lot of mileage from chronicling tales of boozy idiocy alongside guest Melanie Dyer. That said, Shadbolt circles back around to announcing her personal autonomy on 2025’s “Homemade Honey”, reminding us how great she is at belting out empowering choruses.