Anthony Callea

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Anthony Callea

Anthony Callea at the 2012 Multicultural Festival Canberra, in February 2012
Background information
Birth name Anthony Cosmo Callea
Born (1982-12-13) 13 December 1982
Origin Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres Pop, pop rock, dance-pop (recent)
Occupations Singer-songwriter, musical theatre actor
Years active 2004–present
Labels Sony Music Australia (2004–2009)
ABC Music / Universal Australia (2013–present)
Website www.anthonycallea.com.au

Anthony Cosmo Callea (born 13 December 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter who rose to prominence after being the runner-up in the 2004 season of Australian Idol. He was signed to Sony Music Australia until 2009 and is now an independent artist. Callea's debut single "The Prayer" is the fastest-selling single by an Australian artist,[1] held the No.1 spot on the ARIA Singles Chart for five weeks, a record for the debut single of an Australian Idol contestant,[2] and was the second-highest selling Australian single of the last decade.[3]

Callea has accumulated a string of awards including an ARIA Music Award, Channel V Artist of the Year, Pop Republic Artist of the Year, MTV Viewers' Choice Award, Variety's Young Entertainer of the Year, MO Award and a Gospel Music Award and is known for his powerful trained voice and his versatility in a range of genres in releases and live performances. All but one of the tracks on his second album A New Chapter were co-written by him. October 2011 saw Callea release his first new music in four years, a single titled "Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh", self-funded,[4] released and distributed as a fully independent venture through his own production company, Vox Enterprises. The dance-pop track was co-written in LA with two-time Grammy-nominated and official DJ for the Black Eyed Peas, Poet Name Life.[5] It signals a departure from the ballads for which he is known and was released in digital format only.

His albums, DVD and singles have all debuted in the top 20 of the ARIA Charts with the exception of "Oh Oh Oh Oh", an EP titled Last to Go released in February 2012 and his fourth album released in 2013.[6] However, "Oh Oh Oh Oh" debuted at number 6 on the Official Independent Music Charts AIR Charts,[7] and in its first week, peaked at number 17 on the ARIA Top 20 Australian Artists Singles Chart.[8] Last to Go reached number 7 on the Independent Distribution Singles Chart.[9][10]

In March 2013, it was announced Callea signed a record deal with ABC Music and would release his third studio album on 26 April 2013. The new release, entitled Thirty, was the first of two albums he planned to release this year through ABC Music, and were distributed by Universal Music.[11] The second, released on 8 November 2013 was a Christmas album titled This Is Christmas.

Biography

Early years

In his first venture into television Anthony Callea, credited as Anthony De Fazio, appeared in an episode of Funky Squad, "The Wrong Side of the Tracks", in 1995.

Australian Idol

Anthony Callea began entering talent contests as a child and trained with the Johnny Young Talent School. He auditioned and was selected for the final 30 in the television series Australian Idol in 2004. Based on viewer votes, he did not make it through the first round of competition, but was invited back as a "Judge's Choice Wildcard", where his performance earned him a place in the final twelve.

Over the weeks of the competition, his popularity with the Australian public grew. During his run on the show, he gave several performances that earned him high praise from the judges, including his rendition of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water", Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" and Andrea Bocelli and Céline Dion's duet "The Prayer." Judge Ian 'Dicko' Dickson said Callea's performance of the latter was the finest he had seen during his two years with the show. The competition concluded in November 2004 with Callea finishing as runner-up to Casey Donovan. He cited Cosima De Vito as his favourite contestant of the first series of Australian Idol. Callea was the first idol contestant in the competition that had never been included in the bottom three for the contestants who had the lowest votes each week.

Australian Idol performances

Post-Idol career

2005–2006: Anthony Callea

Callea was immediately signed to Sony/BMG Records, and his first single, "The Prayer" was released in December 2004. It debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number one, and remained there for five consecutive weeks. Within seven weeks, it was certified four times platinum, selling in excess of 280,000 copies.[12] In 2010 ARIA named it as the second-highest selling single of the last decade, which also made it the second-highest selling Australian artist song of that decade.[3] His next single, the double A-side "Rain"/"Bridge over Troubled Water" spent two weeks at number one. His self-titled album debuted at number one in the week of 4 April 2005, and remained at the top of the chart for three weeks. His third single "Hurts So Bad" debuted at number ten on the ARIA Charts, while the album's final single, "Per Sempre (For Always)" debuted at number five.

Callea's DVD Live in Concert was released on 7 November 2005. It debuted at #3 in the ARIA DVD Chart and awarded Platinum status.

2006–2007: A New Chapter

Callea released the single "Live for Love" on 4 November 2006, the first from his second album A New Chapter, the only song on the album which he did not co-write. Both the single and the album, released on 25 November 2006, debuted at number 9. The album contains a mix of genres characteristic to Callea, including power ballads and more up-tempo songs. Callea also contributed his version of the Brian McKnight song, "Home", to the compilation album Home: Songs of Hope & Journey, which was released in order to raise funds for BeyondBlue, an anti-depression organisation. The second single "Addicted to You" debuted at no. 19 when released in February 2007.

2007–2010

2011–present: Last to Go, Thirty and This Is Christmas

Callea is no longer with Sony and will release his third album as an independent artist.[13] Callea released the lead single to his upcoming EP on 7 October 2011. The single was called "Oh Oh Oh Oh". It did not chart in the ARIA Top 100, but reached No.17 on the Australian Artist Singles Chart.[8] In February 2012 Callea released a seven track EP titled Last to Go. The EP peaked at number seven on the Independent Distribution Music Chart.[9][10]

Callea released his third studio album Thirty on 26 April 2013. The album contains a collection of inspirational songs that embrace the artists and music that had influenced him over the years, as well as some original tracks.[14]

On 24 September, Callea announced he would release a Christmas album, titled This Is Christmas on Friday 8 November. The 12-track album included duets with the National Boys Chior and Tim Campbell.[15] It was initially reported that the Christmas album debuted at number 60 on the ARIA Chart however it was later reported that there was a mistake on the Aria official album chart and his album This Is Christmas actually debuted in the TOP 40 at Number 37 but due to a technicality, ARIA cannot change the records to the correct number. [16]

Charity work

Callea has been involved with many charities. He was part of the Tsunami Relief Telethon and was invited to perform at the Red Cross Ball in the presence of Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark. Callea has worked with The Starlight Foundation, the Royal Melbourne Children's Hospital, The Mirabel Foundation and The Salvation Army. More recently, Callea was the ambassador for the 2007 Perth Telethon for the Royal Children's Hospital and in November 2007 was appointed the official ambassador for Vision Australia. For the second year Anthony has been appointed the official ambassador for 2009's Vision Australia's Carols By Candlelight. 2012 marks the ninth year in a row Callea has performed at this event and cites this as one of the highlights of the year.

Tours

Headlining tours

In July 2005, Callea embarked on an extensive east coast of Australia tour adding dates along the way during his Anthony Callea Tour 2005. Supporting Callea on tour was Tina Cousins. From July to September 2007, Callea embarked on his A New Chapter tour with his four-piece band. Callea performed the songs in his album A New Chapter as well as some of his classic songs, playing eighteen shows across the country.

On 6 December 2008, Anthony Callea took a night off from his successful run in Wicked and returned to the music stage for an exclusive Australian show at The Palms at Crown in Melbourne.

Overseas concert

In August 2011 Callea was a headline act at the Stockholm PrideFestival[1][17] which is the largest Pride celebration in the Nordic region where he also sampled new music.

Musicians combined tours

At the Tattoo Spectacular 2007, Callea performed his songs with accompaniment by the massed bands and the Tattoo Choir. The event combined a cast and crew of almost 900 musicians, performers, dancers and singers.

Callea and several other leading Australian performers were invited to perform with the Sydney Symphony at the concert hall of the Sydney Opera House. The performance has been described as a tribute to the greatest film songs ever written and occurred from 7 to 10 May 2008.

Callea was invited to perform a series of concerts with the renowned 65 piece 'Australian Philharmonic Orchestra' (APO) for New Year's Eve 2012 Timeless Classics along with some of Australia’s most talented popular and classical singers at the Sydney Opera House and Melbournes Hamer Hall from 27 December to New Year's Eve 31 December 2012 at Hamer Hall.

Supporting tours

During the Australian leg of Diana Ross's I Love You 2006 tour, Callea performed as her support act. During the Australian leg of Westlife's Face to Face Tour, Callea performed as their support act, Westlife's Arena Tour in February 2007. On 26 March 2008, Celine Dion commenced the Australian leg of her Taking Chances world tour. Callea performed as the special guest support act.

Anthony Callea had been announced as the special guest of the Australian leg of Whitney Houston's Nothing but Love World Tour opening in Brisbane on 22 February 2010. The arena tour played in Brisbane, Hope Estate Hunter Valley, Sydney, Melbourne, and finished in Adelaide.

In July - August 2012 Anthony was invited by Tina Arena to join her as Special Guest on her National Australian Symphony of Life Tour. Together they performed two magical and moving duets, The Prayer and I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You the love duet from The Mask of Zorro - the song that made Tina famous in France. The final show of the tour at Melbourne's Arts Centre Hamer Hall was filmed for a Foxtel special aired on Studio 132 on 17 November 2012 and was released on CD and DVD 23 November 2012.

Anthony was handpicked [18] to support Mariah Carey for her first Australian shows in 14 years. He performed as her special guest at one of three concerts at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition CentreTuesday 1 January 2013.

Anthony once again joined Tina Arena when she returned to Sydney and Melbourne in February 2013 for four shows due to overwhelming demand for an Encore performance of her highly popular Symphony of Life concert..

Notable performances

  • Performed a one off special concert for the Australian Flood Victims at Rally For Relief at Rod Laver Arena Melbourne on January 2011[19]
  • In February 2009 Anthony was joined by his long-time idol Tina Arena to perform an impromptu performance of The Prayer at the re-launch of Melbournes Grand Hyatt[20][21]
  • Was handpicked to sing for Queen Elizabeth II in March 2006 at Commonwealth Day Church Service in Sydney
  • Tribute performance at the 2005 Logies Awards for 2004 tsunami victims
  • In 2005, on what was to be Luciano Pavarotti final trip to Australia, the request of Pavarotti, Callea was flown over to Perth to sing at a Gala event that was being held in his honour.
  • Performed number-one hit "The Prayer" at the 2005 ARIA Music Awards after winning the highest selling single of the year.

Television work

It Takes Two series 2

In 2007, Callea was one of the professional voices on the Seven Network's weekly musical competition program, It Takes Two, in which celebrities from non-musical fields were teamed with professional singers to perform a duet each week. Callea was paired with radio DJ Jo Stanley and finished in second place, competing against Jolene Anderson and David Campbell at the finals.

Performances

It Takes Two series 3

In 2008, Callea again performed as one of the professional voices on the Seven Network's weekly musical competition program, It Takes Two, in which celebrities from non-musical fields are teamed with professional singers to perform a duet each week. Callea's partner for season three was ironwoman Candice Falzon. The third series began airing on 12 February 2008. Callea and Falzon were eliminated in week seven, finishing in fifth place.

Performances

Ultimate School Musical: Fame

In January 2010 it was confirmed that Callea joined the cast of Foxtel's Ultimate School Musical: Fame,[22] filming the series alongside Ruby Rose and others in Melbourne.

Ultimate School Musical: Fame features school children attempting to put on a professional musical in just six weeks. Callea is the series' voice coach.

After an extensive audition process across high schools throughout Australia, the students of Essendon Keilor College in Melbourne won the much sought after opportunity to be cast in Ultimate School Musical: Fame, a 10-part series to premiere exclusively on FOX8 under the guidance of director Eddie Perfect,theatre producer John Frost, choreographer Kelley Abbey and singer Callea.[18]

Theatre/Musicals

Dead Man Walking

In September 2007, in his first musical production, Callea played a supporting role in Dead Man Walking, the true story of Sister Helen Prejean, an unconventional nun, who accompanies murderer Joe de Rocher to his death by execution. It explores the opposing desires for vengeance and forgiveness in this extreme situation, and the commitment required to love or to hate a fellow human being.

Rent

In November 2007, Callea played the lead role Mark Cohen, a filmmaker and video artist, and Roger's roommate, in the Perth production of the critically acclaimed American Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical Rent.

This was Callea's second musical production. He starred alongside his now-partner, Tim Campbell.

Wicked

On 12 February 2008, it was announced that Callea would originate the role of Boq in the Australian premiere production of the Broadway musical Wicked, which opened in July 2008 at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. Callea played his final performance 11 January 2009.

Grease The Musical

On 24 March 2013, musical theatre producer John Frost revealed the cast of his new revival production of Grease (musical) announcing Callea had been cast as Rydell High's rock star student Johnny Casino. He'll star alongside Rob Mills (in the lead role of Danny)and Gretel Scarlett, who takes on the character Sandy. Bert Newton, Todd McKenney, Lucy Maunder and Stephen Mahy will also star. The new production of 'Grease' hits Brisbane's QPAC from Tuesday 27 August, The Lyric Theatre in Sydney from 13 October and Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre from Thursday 2 January 2014.

Personal life

On 27 March 2007, after speculation and tabloid rumours dating back to his Idol appearances, Callea publicly acknowledged that he is gay by issuing a statement confirming his sexuality and thanking his fans and his then-partner, Paul.

"Yes, I am gay," Callea said. "I have no issue with my sexuality now, but it's taken time to become confident with who I am and happy with who I am. I'm comfortable enough to come clean now. It's a weight off my shoulders".[23]

On 30 March 2007, Michael Kirby, then a judge of the High Court of Australia, described Callea as an "admirable Australian" for coming out. Justice Kirby added, "In terms of influencing popular culture and understanding of the reality of human sexual diversity, I would trade ten judges for one popular singer."[24]

Callea has also admitted to suffering from depression in his teenage years, saying, "I went through major depression. I hated myself. I had to see a psychologist. I wasn't talking to anybody. My parents didn't know what was wrong with me."[25] Callea has since supported beyondblue, an Australian initiative against depression, by contributing his version of a Brian McKnight song, "Home", to a compilation album, Home: Songs of Hope & Journey by various Australian artists to raise funds and bring attention to the organisation and its cause.

In February 2008 he and actor/singer Tim Campbell confirmed that they were in a relationship.

Discography

Anthony Callea discography

Callea performing at The Palms at Crown Concert, 8 December 2008
Releases
↙Studio albums 3
↙EPs 1
↙Singles 7
↙Video albums 1
↙Music videos 7

The following is a complete discography of every album and single released by Australian pop music artist Anthony Callea.

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart
positions		 Certifications
AUS
[26]
Anthony Callea 1
A New Chapter
  • Released: 26 November 2006
  • Format: CD, digital download
  • Label: Sony Music Australia
 9
Thirty
  • Released: 26 April 2013
  • Format: CD, digital download
  • Label: ABC Music
 18
This Is Christmas
  • Released: 8 November 2013
  • Format: CD, digital download
  • Label: ABC Music
 37[16]

Extended plays

Title Album details
Last to Go
  • Released: 21 February 2012
  • Format: Digital download
  • Label: Independent

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Year Title Peak chart
positions		 Certifications Album
AUS
[26]
2004 "The Prayer" 1
  • AUS: 4× Platinum[29]
 Anthony Callea
2005 "Rain" / "Bridge over Troubled Water" 1
  • AUS: 2× Platinum[30]
"Hurts So Bad" 10
"Per Sempre (for Always)" 5
2006 "Live for Love" 9 A New Chapter
2007 "Addicted to You" 19
2011 "Oh Oh Oh Oh" — Last to Go
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Soundtrack appearances

Year Song Artist(s) Movie
2007 "The Healing of a Heart" Anthony Callea Bambi II

Album appearances

Year Song Artist(s) Album
2004 "I Wanna Know What Love Is" Anthony Callea Australian Idol: The Final 12
2005 "The Christmas Song" The Spirit of Christmas 2005
2006 "Home" Home: Songs of Hope & Journey
2012 "The Prayer" Tina Arena/Anthony Callea Symphony of Life
"I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You"

Videography

DVD

Year Title Australia Certification
2005 Anthony Callea Live in Concert 3 Platinum (ARIA)
  • Anthony Callea: "Per Sempre (For Always)" (DVD single)

Music videos

Awards

Award Category About Result
2007
Pop Republic Awards 2007 Australian Male Artist of the Year Himself 3rd
Australian Gospel Music Awards Outstanding Achievement Award "The Prayer" Won
2006
MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2006 Coca-Cola Viewer's Choice Award 2006 Himself Won
Dolly Teen Choice Awards 2006 Hottest Album of 2006 Anthony Callea Won
2005
Pop Republic Awards 2005 Artist of the Year Himself Won
Variety Club Heart Awards 2005 Young Entertainer of the Year Himself Won
MO Award 2005 Australian Performer of the Year Himself Nominated
MO Award 2005 Contemporary Rock Performer Himself Won
Channel V's Oz Artist of the Year Award 2005 Oz Artist of the Year Himself Won
ARIA Awards 2005 Highest-Selling Album Anthony Callea Nominated
ARIA Awards 2005 Highest-Selling Single "The Prayer" Won
ARIA No.1 Chart Awards 2005 ARIA No.1 Single "Rain"/"Bridge over Troubled Water" Nominated

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 McCabe, Kathy (18 July 2011). "Anthony Callea =Daily Telegraph". 
  2. ↑ "The Aria Report". 17 January 2005. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 ARIA’s End Of Decade Charts*(PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  4. ↑ "Callea goes it oh oh oh oh so alone". 23 October 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Two-time Grammy Nominee POET NAME LIFE". 23 October 2011. 
  6. ↑ Discography Anthony Callea Australian-charts.com Retrieved 15 October 2011
  7. ↑ AusIndies.com Retrieved 18 October 2011
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 ARIA Top 20 Australian Singles Chart ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association Retrieved 16 October 2011
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Last to Go. iTunes. Retrieved 19 March 2012
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Independent distribrution Chart. Independent Music Charts. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012
  11. ↑ "New callea... easy as abc". 2 March 2013. 
  12. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2004 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 13 October 2006. Retrieved 14 November 2006. 
  13. ↑ "Anthony Callea". Anthony Callea. Retrieved 2013-10-31. 
  14. ↑ "Anthony Callea, Latest News". Anthonycallea.com. Retrieved 2013-10-31. 
  15. ↑ "Buy This Is Christmas (SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH) Anthony Callea, Christmas, CD". Sanity. Retrieved 2013-10-31. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Aria correction". 21 November 2013. 
  17. ↑ "Stockholm Pride presents". Stockholm Pride org. 18 July 2011. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "We'll see Mariah in the raw: husband". The Daily Telegraph. 12 December 2012. 
  19. ↑ "Anthony Callea To Perform For Flood Victims Today - Undercover.fm News". Undercover.fm. 2011-01-16. Retrieved 2013-10-31. 
  20. ↑ "Anthony Sings An Impromptu Performance Of 'The Prayer' With Tina Arena". 
  21. ↑ "Anthony Callea and Tina Arena". 
  22. ↑ "Ultimate School Musical". Foxtel Fox 8. 24 March 2010. 
  23. ↑ "Anthony Callea's Official Site". Archived from the original on 22 April 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2007. 
  24. ↑ Ross, Norrie (31 March 2007). "Gay Idol receives high praise". Sunday Herald Sun. Retrieved 1 April 2007. 
  25. ↑ AAP (27 March 2007). "Anthony Callea comes out". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 January 2008. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Steffen Hung. "Anthony Callea discography". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2013-12-04. 
  27. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2005 Albums". ARIA. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
  28. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2006 Albums". ARIA. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
  29. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2004 Singles". ARIA. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  30. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2005 Singles". ARIA. Retrieved 5 January 2012.

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