''Backbone'' is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

singer

Anthony Callea Anthony Cosmo Callea (born 13 December 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter and stage actor who rose to prominence as the runner-up in the 2004 season of ''Australian Idol''. Callea's debut single, a cover of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli' ...

. The album is produced by James Roche of

Bachelor Girl Bachelor Girl are an Australian pop duo, formed in 1992 by Tania Doko as vocalist and James Roche as musician, producer and arranger. Their 1998 debut single, " Buses and Trains", was a top-10 hit in Australia and New Zealand; it peaked in the ...

and was released on 16 September 2016. It reunites Callea with

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with whom he signed in 2004 and released two studio albums and two number 1 multi-platinum-selling singles. Callea said, "I'm so fortunate that

Denis Handlin Denis Anthony Handlin AO (born 1951) is an Australian former entrepreneur and business executive who served as chairman and chief executive officer of Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand and president of Sony Music Entertainmen ...

and

have embraced my idea of ''Backbone'' and allowed me to make this exciting album with them." Upon announcement of the album, Callea said "With ''Backbone'', we have explored songs that we all know and love – and we've been able to get to the core of these songs, their lyrics and melody, bringing them to the surface with organic and creative musical instrumentation and vocal delivery." He added, "I wrote the title track when I was in

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, and it sums up the essence of this album."

Reception

Myke Bartlett from The Weekly Review said, "If the choices are a tad obvious, the renditions aren’t. In stripping some songs back and slowing others down, Anthony finds something new in the well-worn." A staff writer in Out in Perth gave the album 4 out of 5 saying, "A friendly sing-a-long with an acoustic guitar and piano. Kicking things off with

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’s "

Man in the Mirror "Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released in January 1988 as the fourth single from Jackson's seventh solo al ...

", which is much more laid back than the original. Callea tackles

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’s " Somebody to Love" acapella which showcases his vocal abilities. A ballad version of

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’s " Love in the First Degree" is a highlight, while a gender swap take on

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s "

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" is nice too."

Track listing

Tracks on ''Backbone'' are "stripped back" renditions of 80s and 90s tracks.

Tour

Callea promoted the album with a 5-date tour. * September 2: Tweed Heads (Twin Towns) * September 3: Mount Pritchard (Mounties) * September 23: Revesby (Revesby Workers Club) * September 24: Campbelltown (The Cube) * September 30: Melbourne (The Palms at Crown)

Charts

''Backbone'' debuted at number one in Australia. It was Callea's second number one album and first since his 2005 ''

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'' debut album. ''Backbone'' sold 2949 in the first week, becoming the lowest selling number one debut of all time in Australia.

Personnel

* Adam Rhodes - Engineer * Matt Neighbour - Engineer * Carlo Parisi - Drums * James Richmond - Percussion * James Roach - Piano * Mark Amato - Piano * Isaac Moran - Guitar * Craig Newman - Double bass/ Electric bass * Kellie Santin - Saxophone * Suzanna Ling - Violin * Ruby Paskas - Violin * Natasha Conrau - Violin * Katie Yap - Viola * Charlotte Jacke - Cello / String Captain * Susie Ahern - Backing vocals * Annette Roche - Backing vocals * Rocky Loprevitte - Backing vocals

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Anthony Callea albums Sony Music Australia albums