Vanessa Amorosi is an Australian singer and recording artist. To date she has sold over 1.6 million albums.
Life and career
Early life
Amorosi was born in Beaconsfield, Melbourne, Australia. When Amorosi was 4, along with her younger sisters, she would go to tap, jazz and classical ballet classes, which were being run by her uncle. She attended Emerald Primary and Emerald Secondary School.[1] At the age of 12 Amorosi started to perform in shopping centers and local council concerts under the supervision of her family. Amorosi was discovered performing at Matrioshka[2], a Russian restaurant in Carnegie, by Jack Strom and signed a recording contract in 1997. After being signed to MarJac Productions (co-owned by managers Mark Holden and Jack Strom) and recording a promo CD titled "Get Here", she secured a deal with Transistor Music Australia. Amorosi also spent a short period training with the army.
Voice and vocal range
Amorosi is known for her versatile vocal ability. She is able to vocally cover many genres of music including, pop, rock, blues, jazz, and gospel. Amorosi is also known for her vocal range. Amorosi's vocal range reaches Soprano C6 in what is perceived to be full chest voice. Amorosi's ability to connect chest voice and head voice is one of her trademark talents. Amorosi's effortless approach to singing in her upper registry is what helped her become well known in both Australia and Germany. She has also been noted for her ability to sing in the whistle registry as well, hitting notes above E6. Amorosi's most powerful vocals can be heard in her song from her 2008 album, Somewhere in the Real World entitled "Start It". In the song "Start It", she can be heard belting two A5's and two B5's in mixed/chest voice and an E6 in the whistle registry. Also in the song "I Am Woman", performed at the ARIA Hall of Fame tribute for Helen Reddy in 2006, Amorosi can be heard belting a sustained C6. A collection of her music is available on the youtube channel, www.youtube.com/VanessAmorosi.
The Power
In 1999, Amorosi released her debut single "Have a Look" which became a Top 20 hit. Second single "Absolutely Everybody", an anthemic dance song, reached the Top 10 and became the longest charting Australian single by an Australian female artist[3]. It remained in the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart for over six months after its release[4]. "Absolutely Everybody" was released internationally and reached the Top 10 in many European countries including the United Kingdom and Germany where it received a gold certification. Amorosi performed at many large events such as the NRL Grand Final, the opening of the Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island and the new millennium on "New Year's Eve" at Darling Harbour.
In 2000 two more singles "Shine" and "The Power" became major Australian hits, and her album The Power reached number one on the Australian album charts. Amorosi received six ARIA nominations[5] in the year 2000 awards and The Power was nominated[6] for "Best Female Artist" and "Best Pop Release" in the ARIA Music Awards of 2001. Her largest audience came in September 2000 with performances at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics and at the Paralympic Games. At the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics she sang the Olympic song titled "Heroes Live Forever". Amorosi won the APRA Award[7] in 2001 for "Most Played Song" on Australian Radio with "Shine" and received international acclaim in Germany where she won "Best International Newcomer"[8] at the 2001 VIVA Comet Awards. Later that year she also made a special appearance at the Goodwill Games Opening and Closing ceremonies in Brisbane. In 2001 she performed at the AFL Grand Final.
In August 2002 Amorosi traveled to Manchester where she was one of the stars of the Commonwealth Games Hand-Over Ceremony, performing her hit "Shine" and a new song written especially for the event, "I’ll always be a Melbourne girl".
In February 2003, Amorosi performed her "Blues" set[9] for the first time at the Melbourne International Music And Blues Festival and traveled to Germany to perform her latest European single "True To Yourself" on "Top of the Pops" and the hugely successful long-running show "Wetten, dass..?" which screens throughout Europe[10].
For her service to music she was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal by the Government of Australia in April 2003.
Over the next few years, Amorosi maintained a low-profile presence in the music industry, recording and performing in Australia and throughout the world. In a radio interview in 2008 she admitted being hired to perform at a number of Melbourne gangland functions, including one for the baptism of the daughter of convicted murderer Carl Williams, during that period.[11]
On 25 January 2006, it was revealed that Amorosi was now under the management of Ralph Carr, having completed her seven year management with MarJac Productions. She is quoted on the website as saying, "I have been with my previous management for seven years and thought both parties had gone as far as we could together... Moving over to Ralph Carr Management seemed like a natural progression, given the acts he has successfully managed. I am excited and enthused."
On November 22, 2006 it was announced that Amorosi had signed to Universal Music Australia.
Amorosi’s charity work predates her fame, and her involvement with Kids Help Line and the Variety Club led to a number of honours, including a 2003 nomination for Australian of the Year. She still has the farm where endangered animals can find refuge, although she doesn’t get to visit much; her friends run it for her.
She supported Kiss on their 2008 tour of Australia.
Somewhere in the Real World
In 2008 Vanessa released the album Somewhere in the Real World, through Universal Music Australia, on May 24 2008[12] [13]. The album tracks "Perfect" and "Start It" have both been used in promotions for the Seven Network. "Start It" is Channel 7's AFL song for 2008 and will be used again in 2009. Released digitally and in stores on May 24, 2008, Somewhere in the Real World was already sitting at Number 3 on the national iTunes chart within hours of its release and climbing to number 2 within the first 24 hours and finally hitting the number 1 spot on the charts after just 4 days of release. "Somewhere In The Real World" reached Gold sales in Australia.
Singles
The single "Kiss Your Mama!" was serviced to radio on 3 August and released 8 September 2007[14]. On a special edition of Australian Idol she sang her hit song "Kiss Your Mama!".[15]
Amorosi released her second single "Perfect" digitally on 5 April and physically on 26 April 2008.[16] The single made it to number 1 on the digital iTunes charts on the 7th of June 2008. "Perfect" reached Platinum sales in Australia and was the most played Australian song on Australian radio for 2008. "Perfect" is nominated for the 2009 APRA awards for 'Most Played Australian Work'.
The song "The Simple Things (Something Emotional)" was released as the third single on 20 September 2008.
In December 2008, a video for the song "My House" was released onto her website.
Post Somewhere in the Real World
On the 28th December 2008 it was reported in the Melbourne Herald Sun that Vanessa will return to the US in 2009 to start writing her next album with Prince after meeting him in August 2008.
On 20 April 2009, a Vanessa fan website revealed details of a collaboration with U.S. band Hoobastank on a single titled "The Letter". The website, VanessaAmorosi.net, also provided the duet to be streamed in full.[17] Amorosi also appear in the video which was shot in Los Angeles at Lacy Street Studio with director Paul Brown (Alicia Keys, Jack White). The video and single was serviced to Australian media on May 4. The single was released in Australia on June 19, 2009.[18]
Awards and nominations
| Year |
Ceremony |
Category |
Nominated for |
Result |
| 2000 |
ARIA Awards |
Highest Selling Single[19] |
"Absolutely Everybody" |
Nominated |
| 2000 |
ARIA Awards |
Best Female Artist[19] |
Nominated |
| 2000 |
ARIA Awards |
Best Pop Release[19] |
Nominated |
| 2000 |
ARIA Awards |
Breakthrough Artist Single[19] |
"Have a Look" |
Nominated |
| 2000 |
ARIA Awards |
Highest Selling Album[19] |
The Power |
Nominated |
| 2000 |
ARIA Awards |
Breakthrough Artist Album[19] |
Nominated |
| 2001 |
ARIA Awards |
Best Female Artist[20] |
Nominated |
| 2001 |
ARIA Awards |
Best Pop Release[20] |
Nominated |
| 2001 |
APRA Awards |
Most Performed Australian Work[21] |
"Shine" |
Won |
| 2009 |
APRA Awards |
Most Played Australian Work[22] |
"Perfect" |
Nominated |
Discography
Personnel
Current members
- Vanessa Amorosi - vocals
- Danny Spencer - guitars
- James Ryan - guitars[23]
- Rod Bustos - bass[24]
- Paul Cecchinelli - keyboards/percussion
- Leigh Fisher - drums
- John Salerno - drums
- Mellissa Amorosi - backing vocals[25]
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Past members
- Nat Allison - guitars[26]
- Marcel Yammouni - guitars
- Gary Deleo - saxophone
- Luis Schiavi - percussion
- Dave Matthews - drums
- Simon Hosford - guitars
- Andre Dumas - guitars[27]
- Annette Roach - backing vocals
- Daniel ?[citation needed] - drums
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Management
References
Sources
External links
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Vanessa Amorosi |
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| Albums |
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| Singles |
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| Related articles |
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