Multi Golden Guitar and Gold Record recipient, Melinda Schneider’s new album TENDER has debuted at #1 on the ARIA Australian Country Album Chart and #1 on the AIR 100% Independent Albums Chart, reaffirming Melinda’s enduring connection with audiences and her place at the forefront of Australian music with her first original studio album in over a decade.
Schneiders’ fifteenth album titled ‘Tender’ has also garnered widespread critical acclaim, Country Music News International Magazine described the album as “ the soul stirring strength of softness”:
“There is a specific kind of bravery required to stay soft in a world that often demands we harden. For Melinda Schneider, that softness isn’t just a personality trait — it’s a superpower. This isn’t merely a collection of eleven songs; it is a vivid, emotionally panoramic map of a woman who has navigated the peaks of fame and the valleys of personal growth, emerging with her most potent work to date”.
The eleven-track LP is anchored by its emotional centrepiece, the soul-pop classic, ‘Tender ’ — a standout duet featuring Diesel.
‘Tender’ is a soulful reflection – a call for men to love with integrity, tenderness, and heart. It speaks to what it truly means to “do right by a woman,” reminding us that real connection is built on honesty, loyalty, and finding the courage and strength to be both powerful and gentle in equal measure.
Melinda and Diesel’s performance on this track is full of soul and their vocal blend is sublime.
Melinda says: “I’ve always been tender — in every sense of the word. As an empath, I feel everything deeply, too deeply. My tenderness once felt like a burden, probably because I was around people who didn’t share my values, but over time it became my strength. Tender celebrates that transformation into safety and authenticity – now I am safe, I can be gentle with myself, and vulnerable with others.”
Diesel adds: “With all the stereotypes of how genders should act, it’s important to remember just to be tender. This song brought me into that feeling with its melody and lyrics from the get-go, and getting to share that space with Melinda vocally is always a treat for me.”TENDER showcases some of the finest producers and musicians from Australia and Nashville – producer and multi-instrumentalist Rod McCormack, producer Wayne Connolly (Boy & Bear, Hoodoo Gurus), Ian Lees (bass), Rod Motbey (guitars), Clayton Doley (Hammond and keys), drummers Pete Drummond and Glenn Wilson and legendary Nashville pedal steel player, Bruce Bouton.
In a unique creative move, Schneider has bridged the gap between the auditory and the visual. As an abstract expressionist, Melinda developed eleven original paintings to represent each song on the album, which were recently showcased at the Tamworth Regional Gallery. “The songs came first, then I created eleven original paintings inspired by each track,” Melinda explains.
TENDER showcases Melinda in extraordinary voice. As she shares, “This album reflects exactly where I am right now — tender, authentic and stronger than ever.”
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