Tina Arena

Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, musical theatre actress and record producer. She is one of Australia's highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwide. Arena is multilingual, singing and recording in English, Italian, French and Spanish.

Arena has earned several international and national awards, including a BRIT Award, seven ARIA Awards and two World Music Awards for Best-selling Australian Artist (1996, 2000). In 2001, she was awarded a BMI Foundation Songwriting Award (Broadcast Music Inc) by the American performance rights organisation for co-writing "Burn" with Pam Reswick and Steve Werfel. In 2011, Arena became the first Australian to be awarded a knighthood of the French National Order of National Merit, presented by the President of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, for her contributions to French culture, and ceremonially awarded by Frédéric Mitterrand, the Minister of Culture and Communication of France.

In 2015, Arena was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association ARIA Hall of Fame. On Australia Day, 26 January 2016, Arena was recognised in the Australia Day Honours and appointed a member in the General Division of the Order of Australia "for significant service to the music industry as a singer, songwriter, and recording artist, and as a supporter of charitable groups". In 2016 Arena was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

In March 2019, the Government of Australia appointed Arena as a board member of the Australia Council for the Arts for a three-year term.

Life and career

1967–87: Early life and career beginnings

Arena was born in the Melbourne suburb of Keilor East, to Giuseppe "Joe" Arena and Francesca "Franca" Catalfamo (both from Valguarnera, Sicily), Sicilian immigrants, in Melbourne on 1 November 1967. Giuseppe was a rural worker in Sicily and then a cane cutter in Cairns in 1955. By the following year he was a labourer in Melbourne and later worked for Victorian Railways. Arena grew up in Keilor East, Victoria with two sisters, Nancy and Silvana; As a child, she listened to Spanish, Italian and French songs that were in her family's record collection. At the age of six, she was the flower girl at her cousin Gaetano's wedding, and at the reception she urged her father to approach the host so that she could sing—Daryl Braithwaite's version of "You're My World"—it was her first public performance.

Arena's family call her Pina, which is her shortened first name. She changed her first name from Filippina to ''Tina'', her stage name becoming ''Tina Arena'', when she appeared as a child performer on the national television talent show ''Young Talent Time'' in 1976, at age 8. For secondary schooling, she attended a Catholic girls' college, St. Columba's College, Essendon, in Melbourne. Recalling her upbringing, Arena says, "It was a very Italian household, it was a very traditional household. There was a lot of love but there was a lot of discipline. And there was no room for pretentiousness. Really, there just wasn't."

''Young Talent Time'' years

Arena received singing lessons from Voila Ritchie who recommended her to appear on a television talent quest and variety show, ''Young Talent Time'', an Australian weekly television variety program produced by Lewis-Young Productions and screened on Network Ten.

When Arena was selected to appear on ''Young Talent Time'' in 1974, the producers at Lewis-Young Productions and Network Ten asked her to change her first name from Filippina to "Tina"—creating her stage name, "Tina Arena"—so as to be more relatable to the wider national audience. In the mid-1970s, there was a minority of ethnic diversity represented in the Australian mainstream media, especially on primetime television. Initially appearing as a ''Young Talent Time'' contestant in 1974, Arena went on to permanently join the cast as a regular member of the show's Young Talent Team in 1976. She then quickly, and affectionately, became known on the show by her nickname "Tiny Tina". For her first appearance she performed ABBA's " Ring Ring".

As a core member of the Young Talent Team performing live on Australian national television each week, Arena sang cover versions of popular music tracks. In 1977, she released a split album, '' Tiny Tina and Little John'', alternating tracks with fellow Young Talent Team member, John Bowles.

As a member of the Young Talent Team, Arena appeared in TV specials, in TV commercials, at shopping centres and on tourist venues. In September 1982, she became a "coach" for new team members, Danielle Minogue and Mark McCormack; Arena told ''The Australian Women's Weekly''s Debbie Byrne that "They seem to be settling down a lot quicker than I did. They both have a really professional attitude." At 14, she told Byrne "my aim: to be a recording artist and actress but, now, I have to concentrate simply on what I'm doing and that can take enough effort."

Arena left the ''Young Talent Time'' show in October 1983, ahead of her 16th birthday, due to the Network Ten ''Young Talent Time'' series age-limit contract stipulation to give way for younger members. Arena performed the songs "The Way We Were" and " MacArthur Park" for her finale set on her farewell ''Young Talent Time'' episode. Arena starred in ''Young Talent Time'' from 1976 to 1983—making her the show's longest-serving cast member.

Arena completed her Higher School Certificate (final year of secondary school) and was hired as an insurance clerk; however, she resigned after three months to pursue a music career.

Speaking at her BIGSOUND keynote address in 2017, Arena described her childhood to teenage experience on ''Young Talent Time'' as an inclusive apprenticeship into the television light-entertainment and musical industry in Australia, Arena noted:

It was 40 years ago and there were no ethnic faces on ustraliantelevision. It was an extraordinary apprenticeship. Young Talent Time was inclusive and welcoming. The only downside of Young Talent Time was when I was trying to transition to an adult.

Starting a solo recording career

At age 17, Arena signed a record deal with Graffiti Records, which released her debut single, " Turn Up the Beat", in 1985. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described it as having a "dance-pop" style. ''The Sydney Morning Herald''s Tim Elliott said that it "failed to impress". It had been recorded in the previous year with Brian Cadd producing at Flagstaff Studios in Melbourne. When the single did not appear in the top 50 her planned album was scrapped.

Following her 1985 recording, Arena sang advertising jingles and worked on the pub and club circuit to earn a living. She performed solo shows and in bands, including as a member of a nine-piece ensemble, Network. She also appeared in musicals. In 1987, she supported American artist Lionel Richie on his Australian tour following a number of charity performances.

1988–93: Debut solo album – ''Strong as Steel''

During 1988, Arena appeared as a guest on Australian TV shows recalling her tenure on ''Young Talent Time'' and looking for a new record label. In 1990, she had a singing and dancing role in the David Atkins' musical, ''Dynamite'', for a 10-month run. Also that year she signed with EMI and reinvented her image as a raunchy disco diva. In April she issued a single, " I Need Your Body", which peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart. McFarlane described it as "uptempo" with the associated music video "projecting a raunchy disco-diva persona ... flaunting a pouting rock starlet with bouncing cleavage and attitude to burn." Australian journalist, Ed Nimmervoll, noticed that she used "raunchy videos showing off her cleavage as if to prove she was a woman now."

The artist followed with another single, " The Machine's Breaking Down", in July 1990, which peaked in the top 30. Her debut solo album, '' Strong as Steel'', was released in October, and peaked at number 17 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Most of the album was produced by Ross Inglis. Penelope Layland of ''The Canberra Times'' opined that "the frantic single, 'I Need Your Body', is quite uncharacteristic of much of the music on Tina Arena's album, ''Strong As Steel''. In fact, it is one of the weakest tracks on an album which bounces with potential pop hits."

According to music historian Ed Nimmervoll, Arena "was not comfortable. This was not her. This was not what she wanted to be for the rest of her life. Tina went into seclusion while she decided what to do next, moving to Los Angeles to be a nobody again." She had relocated to LA in 1991, where she took more singing lessons and started song writing. Upon return to Australia, in 1993, she performed in the local December 1992 to February 1993 musical theatre production, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', as the Narrator, at the State Theatre, Melbourne. In 1992 Arena sang background vocals on the debut album by Australian singer-songwriter Rick Price, titled '' Heaven Knows'', which was released in July 1992, and she appeared in the 1993 music video by Price for the single " A House Divided".

1994–96: Second solo album – ''Don't Ask''

Arena's second solo studio album, ''Don't Ask'', was released on 14 November 1994. It was produced by David Tyson for Columbia Records. According to Nimmervoll, during recording "Tina nearly broke down. This was an all-important moment in her career." Arena co-wrote all 10 tracks of the original Australian version. Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Chains; or at "Performer:" Tina Arena

Ian McFarlane noticed it demonstrated a "more mature, sophisticated, soul-tinged style and approach ... ndher powerful, crystal clear voice more than adequately matched the material on offer." Kelvin Hayes of AllMusic felt that "a lot of ''Don't Ask'' remains twee. However, there are good moments." It peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart—a year after its release—and remained in the top 50 for 83 weeks. It reached No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 12 in New Zealand.

''Don't Ask'' was the highest-selling album of 1995 in Australia and one of the biggest-selling albums by an Australian female singer to date. It has sold over two million copies worldwide and was certified 10 times platinum by ARIA in 2011 for shipment of over 700,000 copies in that country alone. The success of the record made her a "priority artist" for Sony, who marketed her in the US. Her European success was realised: ''Don't Ask'' charted in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.

The lead single, "Chains", was issued ahead of the album in August 1994 and peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It also reached No. 6 in the UK, No. 7 in New Zealand, No. 9 in Ireland and No. 20 in Canada. In 1995, she toured Europe, appearing on ''Top of the Pops'' which broadcast to an audience of 60 million people. In the European market Arena was an unknown and a fresh commodity, she opined: "I loved every minute of that—of people not knowing who I was. I guess it was tiring fighting the individual thing. It was good to not be a part of a past and being accepted as an artist. Not having to carry this ''Young Talent Time'' luggage which was constantly shoved in my face." Five additional singles were released, "Sorrento Moon (I Remember)" (January 1995), " Heaven Help My Heart" (May), " Wasn't It Good" (September), " Show Me Heaven" (November) and "That's the Way a Woman Feels" (February 1996).

At the ARIA Music Awards of 1995, Arena was nominated in six categories and won four trophies: Best Pop Release and Song of the Year for "Chains"; and Album of the Year and Best Female Artist for ''Don't Ask''.ARIA Music Awards for Tina Arena:
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At the 1996 ceremony she received five more nominations and won Highest Selling Album for ''Don't Ask''. Other accolades she earned were Variety Club Entertainer of the Year, an Advance Australia Foundation award, and a World Music Award.

1997–2000: ''In Deep'' and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games

Arena relocated to Los Angeles in 1996 and 1997, to record her third solo studio album, '' In Deep'' (18 August 1997), which became her second number-one album in Australia. For the Australian version of the album Arena co-wrote eleven of its twelve tracks—her fellow writers include Mick Jones (of Foreigner), David Tyson, Christopher Ward, Dean McTaggart, Pam Reswick and Steve Werfel. The album included her cover version of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is", originally written by Jones who produced Arena's version. ''In Deep'' "was recorded predominantly live in the studio in an attempt to bring the material closer to Tina's stage performance persona" with four tracks produced by Tyson and the rest by Jones. ''In Deep'' was certified 3× platinum in Australia. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic found the US version of the album showed that "Her own songs, co-written with a team of others, are perfectly good contemporary pop/rock, and she sings them with passionate commitment" and it was "brimming with potential hit singles (it spawned three in Australia)."

''In Deep'', in its different versions, provided ten singles, with the lead one, "Burn", appearing in July 1997, which had some US airplay. The track was co-written by Arena with Reswick and Werfel. In Australia it debuted at No. 2 and was certified gold upon its release. It was also a hit in Asia. Besides the English-language version she also recorded it in Spanish and Italian (in the form of " Ti Voglio Qui"). The second single, " If I Didn't Love You" (November) appeared in the ARIA top 50. In April of the following year she issued " Now I Can Dance", which peaked at No. 13. In the UK Arena released "Whistle Down the Wind" (June 1998) as a cover version single, it was the title track from the 1996 musical of the same name, her version reached the UK Singles Chart top 30.

In April 1998, Arena performed at the 50th birthday celebration for Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Arena performed at the celebration, along with John Farnham, and featured musical performances by Elaine Paige.

Arena's duet with US artist, Marc Anthony, "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You", from the feature film soundtrack for '' The Mask of Zorro'' (July 1998), gained her European chart success. The track was issued as a non-album single in Australia in September, but did not reach the top 50. It was included on the French release version of ''In Deep'', appearing in October, which peaked at No. 3 on the French Albums Chart—a year after its first entry—and spent 88 weeks on that chart. It also reached the top 10 in Belgium and top 40 in Switzerland. It was certified 3× platinum by Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) in May 2001 for sales in France. "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You" had been issued in Europe in September 1998, it peaked at No. 3 in France—her first charting single in that market. It also reached No. 3 in the Netherlands and top 10 in Belgium.

Arena toured the US from March 1999, to promote the album's local release, as well as another single, " If I Was a River", which did peak in the UK top 40. Sony attempted to "break" Arena into the US market by the release of "If I Was a River", penned by Diane Warren. Ruhlmann felt the label had an "obvious plan is to turn her into a down-under Celine Dion" however the album and its singles "had no commercial impact upon release in the U.S." and "must be considered a disappointment." Her US foray included appearances on TV shows such as '' Donny & Marie''. In February 1999, she teamed with label-mate Donna Summer to perform a cover version of " No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"; the duet appeared on Summer's live album, '' Live & More Encore'' (June 1999).

Arena's first French-language single, " Aller plus haut" (English: "Go Higher", July 1999), appeared on the continental version of ''In Deep'', which peaked at No. 2 on the local singles chart. It also became her first number-one hit on the Belgian Singles Chart. Her second French-language single was a cover version of " Les trois cloches" (English: "The Three Bells", January 2000), which reached No. 4 in France and another number-one hit in Belgium. From May that year she lived in London while she appeared in the lead role of Esméralda for the stage musical, ''Notre Dame de Paris'' during a six-month run. Carr, by now her ex-husband, had claimed in ''Business Review Weekly'' (2000) that Arena was paid $200,000 per week when she was performing in ''Notre Dame de Paris''.

Arena sang "The Flame" (written by John Foreman) at the 2000 Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympics on 15 September. Seven Network covered the national broadcast across Australia, which become the highest rating TV telecast in Australian history. John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John, Vanessa Amorosi, Human Nature and Julie Anthony were some of the other Australian artists who appeared at the opening ceremony and contributed to the various artists' album, '' The Games of the XXVII Olympiad: Official Music from the Opening Ceremony'' (September 2000). She recalled, "When I sang at the Olympics, I cared about the fact that I was Australian. And I was touched because I was an ethnic girl, of ethnic blood but that WAS Australian. Because I was born here, this is where I grew up, this is where I learned everything."

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2000 in October, Arena received an Outstanding Achievement Award. In the following month she issued her first compilation album, ''Souvenirs'', which reached the ARIA top 40.

2001–07: ''Just Me'', "Never (Past Tense)" and ''Un autre univers''

Arena's fourth solo studio album, '' Just Me'', was released on 12 November 2001 and debuted at No. 7 in Australia; it reached the top 50 in France and top 70 in Switzerland. She co-wrote tracks with Nile Rodgers (Madonna, Diana Ross), Desmond Child (Ricky Martin, Aerosmith), Robbie Nevil (Earth, Wind & Fire), Mark Hudson (Eric Clapton, Cher), Victoria Shaw and Peter-John Vettese ( Dido, Paul McCartney). The album explored different genres, containing more upbeat tracks as opposed to her two previous studio records which featured her soprano voice on slow pop ballads. Although written after the divorce from Carr, she said that the record is not angry nor bitter but rather a "celebration of womanhood". It was certified gold by ARIA and by SNEP (France).

To promote ''Just Me'' she showcased it for 150 people, mostly Australian TV and media personalities, in Melbourne. The record provided four singles including, "Symphony of Life" (September 2002), which peaked at No. 8 in Australia and top 50 (as "Symphonie de l'âme") in France. In November 2008 she performed the track at the closing of the Gay Games, when the international sporting event was held in Sydney. She was featured on '' 2'' (November 2002), a duets album from Olivia Newton-John for which the pair recorded an uptempo track, "I'll Come Runnin'".

In March 2002, Arena posed for a semi-nude photo shoot by James Houston for ''Black+White'' magazine. She explained, "This shoot isn't about shock value, and it's not porn, it's an elegant, understated and honest exercise in challenging my sexuality and learning to love myself again." She appeared in ''Cabaret'' in August that year in Sydney in the lead role of Sally Bowles.

In April 2003, Arena and US electronica group, Roc Project, released a dance music single "Never (Past Tense)", which reached number 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Dance Airplay Chart in October 2003. The single included seven house and electronic dance music remixed versions by various DJs. This was the first time three performers associated with ''Young Talent Time'' were simultaneously in the chart's Top 10 with Dannii Minogue's " I Begin to Wonder" and Kylie Minogue's " Slow" also appearing on the chart.

"Never (Past Tense)" was used on the US TV series, ''Queer as Folk'', and on its associated soundtrack album (2003). The singer-songwriter performed the Tiësto remix with a new remix of " Dare You to Be Happy" live at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras after party in March 2005. By 2014 she had performed at the Mardi Gras for a fourth time: she is one of the gay icons of this generation.

In October 2004, Arena released '' Greatest Hits 1994–2004'', her second compilation album, which peaked at No. 10 in Australia. The compilation provided a newly recorded track as a single, " Italian Love Song" (November), which reached the top 40. After its release she left the recording label, striking a new deal with Sony Music BMG, France. She embarked on an Australian national tour in late 2004 to early 2005, to support the album.

Her debut French-language album, '' Un autre univers'' was released in December 2005, and gained a platinum certificate from SNEP in February 2006, it peaked at No. 9 on the French charts and remained for 78 weeks.

''Un autre univers'' lead single, " Aimer jusqu'à l'impossible" which peaked at No. 3 on the French charts, in November 2005, and stayed in the top 5 for over 10 weeks. The single was her biggest French hit to date on the French national charts In February 2006, the single achieved platinum sales in France. The single peaked at No. 1 in Belgium and was a top 20 hit in Switzerland. The song received an award for Song of the Year in France. A second single " Je m'appelle Bagdad" was released in June 2006, peaking at No. 6 in France and No. 8 in Belgium. The third and final single from the album, " Tu aurais dû me dire (Oser parler d'amour)" (English: "You Should Have Told Me (Dare to Speak of Love)"), was issued in October.

Arena toured France, including two concerts at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris. She performed her French hits and some of her Australian repertoire. In July, she appeared on '' The Footy Show'' where she performed, with fellow Australian singer Kane Alexander, direct from Munich's Prince Regent's Theatre.

In 2006, she appeared on various European TV shows to promote the album and has appeared in Night of the Proms, ''Star Academy'', Fête de la Musique, Les Enfoirés and the NRJ Music Awards where she performed her single, " Aimer jusqu'à l'impossible" (English: "Love Even the Impossible", November 2005) backed by her French contemporaries: Anggun, Leslie Bourgoin, Amel Bent, Nâdiya, Lââm

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