Tina Arena
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| Tina Arena | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Filippina Lydia Arena |
| Born | November 1, 1967 |
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genre(s) | Pop, French pop, classical, rock, dance |
| Occupation(s) | singer, songwriter, actor |
| Instrument(s) | voice, piano |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Label(s) | Columbia, EMI, Sony BMG |
| Website | tinaarena.com |
Filippina Lydia Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. Over her long career in the entertainment industry she has won numerous awards, most notably 5 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist. Tina Arena is worth an estimated $US25 million.
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[edit] Biography
Arena was born to Sicilian immigrants, Franca and Giuseppe Arena, living in the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds. She has two sisters, Nancy and Silvana. Her family calls her Pina. Her stage name, Tina, comes from changing the first letter from 'P' to 'T'.
A child star of the pre-reality-TV generation, Arena began her career as a 7 year old, singing live on Australia’s longest running variety television show, Young Talent Time (1971-1989). Even as a young girl she was known for her powerful voice and stage presence, but she dropped from sight for several years following her Young Talent Time tenure, years she spent trying to get up a recording career, working the club circuit alone and in bands, and appearing in musicals. In 1990, at the age of 21, she was reinvented as a raunchy disco diva with the national #3 Platinum selling single "I Need Your Body". It gave her a successful album, Strong as Steel, and more hits, but for Arena this was a momentary digression, as this was never a music style or image with which she was comfortable.
After a couple years, Arena broke the stigma of a TV childhood and carved out a successful solo career with Columbia Records. The David Tyler-produced Don't Ask was Australia's biggest selling album of 1995, and the biggest selling album by any Australian female. Don't Ask sold over 1.3 million copies worldwide and sold 10x Platinum in Australia. "Chains" scaled the charts in the UK to #6, and charted well throughout Europe, earning her numerous awards in the process.
The follow-up album, “In Deep”, produced by Foreigner's Mick Jones, was also a multi-platinum success. Some tracks like "I Want To Know What Love Is" and "Burn" led to minor success in some U.S airplay charts. Interestingly, Arena's singing and songwriting abilities were particularly well noted in Nashville where a number of pedigreed country artists have since covered her songs, including Wynonna Judd ("Heaven Help My Heart", "Love's Funny That Way"), Jo Dee Messina ("Burn"), Pam Tillis ("If I Didn’t Love You"), Terri Clark ("Unsung Hero"), Kellie Coffey, Kathie Baillie ("Love's Funny That Way") and LeAnn Rimes ("You Made Me Find Myself").
An attempt by Sony to "break" Arena into the American market prompted the release of "If I Was a River", penned by Diane Warren, prior to In Deep's release there. The single was not particularly successful despite numerous promotional appearances on television shows such as Donny & Marie, but in 1999 she met label-mate Donna Summer who asked her to join her in concert to sing "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)". The duet was well received and subsequently released on Summer's live album Live & More Encore.
A foray into dance music in 2003 was also successful when Arena was featured on The Roc Project's "Never (Past Tense)" which made it into the United States Billboard dance Top 10. This marked 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.
Arena's collaboration with Marc Anthony, "I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You", from the Mask of Zorro soundtrack, gave her a new kind of European success, tipping the scales of her success in France where both the song and the movie became Top 10 hits. She began to record in French, and her single "Aller plus haut" moved in excess of one million units. Her debut French language album “Un Autre Univers” was released in December 2005 and was yet another Platinum milestone for her there, riding high in the French Charts for well over a year and featuring the award winning single Aimer jusqu'à l'impossible. She is now credited as being one of only five non-French artists to achieve album sales in excess of one million units in France.
Regardless of her recording achievements, musical theatre has always remained more than just a sideline for Arena. Her performance in the Australian production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, while still in her teens, was applauded by the show's producer, Andrew Lloyd Webber. She has since made acclaimed appearances in the UK production of Notre Dame de Paris, as Esmeralda, and as Sally Bowles in the Sam Mendes-directed Cabaret in 2002. Arena returned to the London stage in April 2007, starring as Roxie Hart in the hit West End production of Chicago.
In late October 2007, it was announced that Arena's sixth studio album titled Songs of Love & Loss would be released on 1 December 2007. It was confirmed to be a cover album recorded with a full string orchestra conducted by Simon Hale. A promotional tour of Australia in early November included appearances on Dancing with the Stars and Sunrise. Five concert dates backed by a 35 piece orchestra were held in December–January: three at the Sydney Opera House and two at Melbourne's Hamer Hall.
While Arena was still promoting Songs of Love and Loss in Australia, her first French single in two years, "Entends-tu le monde?", was made available to French radio. The video was shot in and around Sydney during the promotional tour of her home country and went on heavy rotation on French music television channels upon its release.
The song was the first single from Arena's forthcoming sophomore French album 7 vies which was released on January 28, 2008 and debuted at number 12 on the official French charts, her highest debut ever in the country. The single "Entends-tu le monde?" was physically released on February 11, 2008 and debuted at number 10 on the French charts, becoming her sixth top ten single there.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- Strong as Steel (1990) #22 AUS – Gold
- Don't Ask (11 November 1994) #1 AUS – 10x Platinum; #11 UK – Silver
- In Deep (1 August 1997) #1 AUS – 3x Platinum; #102 UK; #3 FR - 3x Platinum
- Just Me (12 November 2001) #7 AUS - Gold; #47 FR - Gold
- Un autre univers (5 December 2005) #9 FR – Platinum
- Songs of Love & Loss (1 December 2007) #3 AUS - Platinum
- 7 vies (28 January 2008) #12 FR
- Songs of Love & Loss Deluxe Edition (19 April 2008) #24 AUS
[edit] Live albums
- Vous êtes toujours là (April 2003) #31 FR
- Greatest Hits Live (9 October 2005)
[edit] Compilations
- Souvenirs (2000) #37 AUS - Gold
- Greatest Hits 1994-2004 (17 October 2004) #10 AUS - Platinum
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | Chart Peak | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | UK | US | FR | |||
| 1985 | "Turn Up the Beat" | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1990 | "I Need Your Body" | 3 | – | – | – | Strong as Steel
|
| "The Machine's Breaking Down" | 23 | – | – | – | ||
| "Strong as Steel" | 30 | – | – | – | ||
| "Woman's Work" | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1994 | "Chains" | 4 | 6 | 38 | – | Don't Ask |
| 1995 | "Sorrento Moon (I Remember)" | 7 | 22 | – | – | |
| "Heaven Help My Heart" | 22 | 25 | – | – | ||
| "Wasn't It Good" | 11 | – | – | – | ||
| "That's the Way a Woman Feels" | 31 | – | – | – | ||
| "Show Me Heaven" | – | 29 | 103 | – | ||
| 1997 | "Burn" | 2 | 47 | – | – | In Deep |
| "Ti Voglio Qui" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "If I Didn't Love You" | 41 | – | – | – | ||
| "Now I Can Dance" | 13 | – | – | – | ||
| 1998 | "I Want to Know What Love Is" | 36 | – | – | 13 | |
| "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You" Duet with Marc Anthony |
– | – | – | 3 | The Mask of Zorro soundtrack | |
| "If I Was a River" | – | 43 | – | – | In Deep | |
| "Whistle Down the Wind" | – | 24 | – | – | Whistle Down the Wind | |
| 1999 | "Aller plus haut" | – | – | – | 2 | In Deep |
| "Les trois cloches" | – | – | – | 4 | ||
| "Segnali di fumo" Duet with Luca Barbarossa |
– | – | – | 78 | ||
| 2000 | "Live (for the One I Love)" | – | 63 | – | – | Notre Dame de Paris Cast Recording |
| 2001 | "Soul Mate #9" | 22 | – | – | – | Just Me |
| 2002 | "Dare You to Be Happy" | 43 | – | – | – | |
| "Tu es toujours là" | – | – | – | 11 | ||
| "Symphony of Life" | 8 | – | – | – | ||
| "Symphonie de l'âme" | – | – | – | 48 | ||
| 2003 | "Je te retrouve un peu" Duet with Jay |
– | – | – | 44 | Vous Êtes Toujours Là |
| "Never (Past Tense)" The Roc Project feat. Tina Arena |
– | 42 | 97 | – | ||
| 2004 | "Italian Love Song" | 33 | – | – | – | Greatest Hits 1994-2004 |
| 2005 | "Aimer jusqu'à l'impossible" | – | – | – | 3 | Un Autre Univers |
| 2006 | "Je m'appelle Bagdad" | – | – | – | 6 | |
| "Tu aurais dû me dire (Oser parler d'amour)" | – | – | – | 37 | ||
| 2007 | "To Sir, with Love" | 62 | – | – | – | Songs of Love & Loss |
| "Entends-tu le monde?" | - | – | – | 10 | 7 vies | |
| 2008 | "L'un pour l'autre" | - | - | - | - | |
[edit] Awards
The following lists some of the awards won by Arena during her career.
1983
- Penguin Award: Best New Talent
- Television Society of Australia: Special Recognition
1990
- Countdown Reader's Poll: Best New Talent
1995
- ARIA: Highest Selling Australian Album [Don't Ask]
- ARIA: Best Pop Release [Chains]
- ARIA: Song of The Year [Chains]
- ARIA: Album of the Year [Don't Ask]
- Radio Awards: Most Played Artist
- Variety Club: Entertainer of the Year
- BRIT Awards: Best International Newcomer [Nomination]
- Young Australian of the Year: Outstanding Achievement
1996
- APRA Awards: Song Of The Year [Wasn't It Good]
- World Music Awards: World's Best Selling Australian Artist
- Advance Australia Foundation: Outstanding Contribution
- Radio Awards: Best Australian Performer on Radio
1999
- Alma Awards: [I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You]
2000
- ARIA: Outstanding Achievement
- BMI Awards: For co-writing Burn
- World Music Awards: World's Best Selling Australian Artist
- NRJ: Best New International Revelation
2004
- USA Dancestar Awards: Best Single [Never (Past Tense)] [Nomination]
- USA Dancestar Awards: Best Dance Act [Never (Past Tense)] [Nomination]
2005
- Platinum Award (Australia): Greatest Hits 1994-2004
2006
- France: "La Chanson de L'annee" Song of the Year: [Aimer Jusqu'a L'impossible]
- NRJ: Best French Female Artist [Nomination]
2007
- NRJ: Artiste Feminine Francophone [Nomination]
- Sunrise Australia: Platinum Award for Songs of Love & Loss
[edit] Relationships
Arena's partner is a Frenchman called Vincent Hare (artistic name is Vincent Mancini). They have a son named Gabriel Joseph who was born on November 17, 2005.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Tina Arena Official Myspace
- Tina Arena mania
- Question and Answer session with Tina on Theatre.Com
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