She first hit our screens as a contestant on Australian Idol, and since then Ricki-Lee has has a TV and radio career, been married and divorced, and fought a serious weight battle.

But now, a newly confident slim-line Ricki-Lee is reinventing herself after what she says has been years of being strung along by the industry.

“I feel like I have rediscovered a whole new side of myself, and a whole new love and passion for music and what I do,” Ricki-Lee said.

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“I felt like I was a bit of a puppet at times, I was being controlled and I felt like I wasn't free to say the things I wanted to say, and do some of the things I wanted to do, and it was affecting my music.

"It was affecting my outlook, it was affecting my energy, and it was affecting my enjoyment of what I do,” she admitted.

After stepping away from music to try her hand at television and radio, Ricki-Lee is back - all guns blazing - with her new look and a new sound.

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“I took a big risk and packed some bags and went overseas for four months. I spent some time in the US, and spent my own money to go into studios and write with people and just get out what I needed to get out, with no pressure.

"Nobody knew I was going over there to write music or anything like that, and it was a big risk.”

The risk is now paying off, and the new single has delighted her record label.

On top of that, after shedding almost 30 kilos she's back to being cover girl material with a show-stopping shoot for next month's Maxim Magazine.

The former Australian Idol contestant is clearly back with a military-sized bang. It might not be raining diamonds just yet, but the sparkle she feared she had lost has certainly returned.

“It really is a new me,” she said. “There is a completely new outlook, and a completely new energy about it, and I can’t wait to share it with everyone. I am just so excited that I can finally talk about it.”

Contact details

• Raining Diamonds by Ricki-Lee Coulter - www.itunes.apple.com
• Ricki-Lee's official site - www.ricki-lee.com