Tina Arena

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Biography

Tina Arena (born Filippina Lydia Arena ; 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Music Awards|ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Awards|World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist. She has sold over eight million records worldwide to date. Tina has accepted the position of judge on the 2011 reboot of Young Talent Time in Australia. The original 1977 series made her a household name.

Early life

Arena was born to Italian Immigration to Australia|immigrants , Giuseppe and Franca Arena, living in the Melbourne suburb of East Keilor, Victoria. She has two sisters, Nancy and Silvana. Her family calls her Pina which evolved into her stage name, Tina. Arena attended St. Columba's College, Melbourne , in Essendon, from 1980 and graduated in 1985.

Music career

1974–1983: Young Talent Time

Arena began her career as a 7-year-old, singing live on the variety television show Young Talent Time . 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, working the club circuit alone and in bands and also appearing in musicals.

1988–1991: Strong as Steel

In 1987, at the age of 20, she was reinvented as a raunchy disco diva with the national Number 3 platinum selling single " I Need Your Body ". It gave her a successful album, Strong as Steel , and more hits, but for Tina this was a momentary digression, as this was not a music style or image with which she was comfortable with.

1994–1996:'Don't Ask

After a couple of years, Arena broke the stigma of a TV childhood and carved out a successful solo career with Columbia Records . The David Tyson-produced '' Don't Ask '' was Australia's biggest selling album of 1995 and one of the biggest selling album by any Australian female singer to date. ''Don't Ask sold over five million copies worldwide and was certified 10 times platinum in Australia.

1997–2000: In Deep and Notre Dame de Paris

The follow-up album, In Deep (Tina Arena album)|In Deep , produced by Foreigner (band)|Foreigner 's Mick Jones (Foreigner)|Mick Jones , was also a multi-platinum success. The singles " I Want to Know What Love Is " and " Burn (Tina Arena song)|Burn " even had minor success in some U.S. airplay charts and Arena's songwriting abilities were particularly well noted in Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville where a number of pedigreed country music 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 , Baillie & the Boys|Kathie Baillie ("Love's Funny That Way") and LeAnn Rimes ("You Made Me Find Myself").

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 album became Top 3, which the album peaked at #3 and was certified 3× Platinum in France. Her first French single " Aller plus haut " has sold 1 million copies in France and peaked at #2 on the French singles chart, her second French single "Les trois cloches" was released in 2000, which peaked at #4.

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 (1998 TV series)|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 .

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 (musical)|Notre Dame de Paris , as Esmeralda, and as Sally Bowles in the Sam Mendes -directed Cabaret (musical)|Cabaret in 2002.Webb, Carolyn (11 July 2002). The Age . Retrieved on 3 January 2009. Arena returned to the London stage in April 2007, starring as Roxie Hart in the hit West End production of Chicago (musical)|Chicago .

2000: Sydney Olympic Games

During the opening ceremony, Tina performed The Flame.

2001–2002: Just Me

Despite her international success, Arena's popularity in Australia had begun to wane with her fourth album Just Me (Tina Arena album)|Just Me failing to match the success of ''Don't Ask and In Deep'', but still managed to certify Gold in Australia and France. The album spawned a Top 10 ARIA single and #1 Australian radio airplay single, 'Symphony Of Life'. Tina performed the track at the closing of the Gay Games , when the international sporting event was held in Sydney.

2003–2005: "Never (Past Tense)" and Greatest Hits (1994–2004)

A foray into dance music in 2003 was also successful when Arena was featured on The Roc Project's "Never (Past Tense)" which reached #1 on the United States Billboard charts|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 (song)|Slow " also appearing on the chart. The track was also featured heavily on the US TV series Queer as Folk (2000 TV series)|Queer as Folk and on the Queer as Folk soundtracks#Third Season (2003)|soundtrack album . Arena performed the Tiësto remix of "Never" along with a new remix of "Dare You to Be Happy" live at the official Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras afterparty in March 2005.

In 2004, Arena released her first compilation album Greatest Hits 1994-2004|greatest hits album and release a new single Italian Love Song , peaked at #33 on the ARIA Charts, became her last single peaked in the top 50. After that she had a subsequent tour in late 2004-early 2005.

2005–2007: Un autre univers

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 " which peaked at #3 on the French charts and stayed in the top 5 for over 10 weeks. The song received the award for Song Of The Year in France. A second single " Je m'appelle Bagdad " is released in June 2006, peaking at #6.

2007–2008: Songs of Love & Loss

Arena's sixth studio album titled Songs of Love & Loss was recorded independently and self-financed as she no longer had a recording contract in Australia. The album was eventually released on 1 December 2007 after a new deal was struck with EMI Australia. The record was primarily made up of torch songs originally recorded by women in the 1960s and 70s such as Dusty Springfield and Diana Ross and the arrangements featured a full string orchestra conducted by Simon Hale . A promotional tour of Australia in early November included appearances on Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series)|Dancing with the Stars and Sunrise (TV program)|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, Australia|Melbourne 's Hamer Hall . The album peaked at #3 on the ARIA Top Albums chart and was nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Selling Album.

2008–2009: 7 vies and Songs of Love & Loss 2

While Arena was still promoting Songs of Love & 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 her sophomore French album 7 vies which was released on 28 January 2008 and debuted at #12 on the official French charts, her highest debut ever in the country. The single " Entends-tu le monde? " was physically released on 11 February 2008 and debuted at #10 on the French charts, becoming her sixth top ten single there.

August 2008 saw Arena performing with Andrea Bocelli during his Australian tour. The two performed well received duets of " The Prayer (Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli song)|The Prayer ", " Canto della Terra " and a cover of Elvis Presley 's " Can't Help Falling in Love ". Prior to the tour she had been in the UK recording her eighth studio album Songs of Love & Loss 2 , which was released on 15 November 2008. (26 July 2008). Tina Arena official website. Retrieved on 26 July 2008. For this album, her vocals were recorded live with the London Studio Orchestra, again conducted by Hale. Simon Hale|Hale, Simon . Simon Hale Official Website. Retrieved on 3 September 2008.
Alongside fellow Australian singer and songwriter Darren Hayes , Arena appeared as a guest judge during the London auditions of Australian Idol 's Australian Idol (season 6)|sixth season . The episode featuring Arena and Hayes aired on 27 August 2008. She again appeared as a guest judge on 16 November while she was in Australia to promote Songs of Love & Loss 2 .

Arena has been awarded a Ordre national du Mérite|Knighthood of the Order of National Merit , the second highest civil honour in France, by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in February 2009 for her contributions to French culture.Corbett, Bryce (24 December 2008). The Australian . Retrieved on 25 December 2008.Gogoll, Nathan (4 March 2009): Barossa & Light Herald (Retrieved on 14 March 2009)

In March 2009, Arena toured Australia in support of her album Songs of Love & Loss 2 and also appeared as a surprise guest performer at the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras party singing a medley of " Aimer jusqu'à l'impossible " and " No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) " at 3 am accompanied by Alison Jiear on the latter.

2009 also saw the release of Arena's first French greatest hits album, The Best & le meilleur , and The Peel Me Sessions 2003|The Peel Me Sessions , an album of original material recorded in 2003 but rejected by her label at the time Sony.

2010–present

A live CD and DVD was released in Australia in January 2010, The Onstage Collection , where the album peaked at #22 on the ARIA Charts. On 24 July 2011, Arena sang the Advance Australia Fair|Australian National Anthem on the podium of the 2011_Tour_de_France|Tour de France after the victory of Cadel Evans .
Arena has been confirmed as a judge on the upcoming French version of The Sing-Off . She also appeared as a judge on the 2012 version of Young Talent Time in Australia, twenty-nine years after her final regular appearance on the original series.

Personal life

In December 1995, Arena married her manager Ralph Carr. In 1999 they divorced.
In 2000, Arena began dating French artist Vincent Mancini, sometimes credited as Vincent Hare. Together, they have a son Gabriel Joseph, born 17 November 2005. The family travel between France, Australia and the UK, but have been based in Paris since 2008. Famili.fr . Retrieved on 26 October 2009.

Discography

; English studio albums

1977: Tiny Tina and Little John with John Bowles

1990: Strong as Steel

1994: '' Don't Ask

1997: In Deep (Tina Arena album)|In Deep

2001: Just Me (Tina Arena album)|Just Me

2007: Songs of Love & Loss

2008: Songs of Love & Loss 2

; French studio albums

2005: Un autre univers

2008: 7 vies

; Compilation albums

2000: Souvenirs (Tina Arena album)|Souvenirs

2004: Greatest Hits 1994–2004

2009: The Best & le meilleur

2009: The Peel Me Sessions 2003

; Live albums

2003: Vous êtes toujours là

2005: Greatest Hits Live (Tina Arena album)|Greatest Hits Live

2010: The Onstage Collection

; DVDs