Vanessa Amorosi

Vanessa Amorosi is one of the most successful pop artists in Australia and now, following her international release through Universal Music, she is destined for worldwide success. Here's the story so far….

Vanessa Amorosi was born in Melbourne on the 8th of August 1981 to parents who were professional singer/dancers working in the Australasian theatre restaurant and cabaret circuit. When Vanessa was just 4, along with her younger sisters, she would go to Tap, Jazz and Classical Ballet classes, which were being run by her uncle. She took to dance like a duck to water and it was

… More obvious to everyone that Vanessa had a promising future. At the age of 12 Vanessa started to perform in shopping centres and local council concerts under the supervision of her family.

At the age of 14, Vanessa began volunteer work, helping disadvantaged children. The impact of making friends with children that had a terminal illness was to have a lasting effect on Vanessa who continues to work for the betterment and welfare of children through her involvement in Kids Help-Line and as a patron of the Variety Club. Vanessa also enjoyed a short period training with the army, but fortunately for the entertainment industry and her fans, was soon back in the civilian world continuing to sing. One venue, in which she regularly performed, was a Russian restaurant. It was here, in 1997, that Jack Strom heard Vanessa sing. She was only 15 years old at the time.

Jack had worked with and observed many of the world's greatest performers during his long television production career but as he says, he got "goosebumps" on first hearing Vanessa's amazing voice. Jack brought Mark Holden along to hear the young girl in the Russian restaurant. Mark had himself achieved considerable success as a singer, songwriter and producer and was equally impressed after hearing a special and unique voice coming from one so young.

In 1998, at just 16, Vanessa signed to Mark and Jack's management company, MarJac Productions. This resulted in Vanessa being signed to an Australian production company, CBK Productions, and independent record label, Transistor Music, for distribution in Australia and New Zealand. The way in which to best showcase this unique voice soon became obvious when Mark and Jack discovered to their pleasant surprise, that Vanessa was also an extremely talented songwriter. Thus began the rapid rise to success of this extraordinary young lady.

Vanessa's debut single HAVE A LOOK (produced by Steve Mac (Boyzone, Five, Westlife), was released in July 1999.

It achieved Gold status in just seven weeks and was a huge hit across the country - certainly an impressive start to a new recording career.

ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY was the second single to be released (November 1999) and also instantly became a huge success, going Gold in just 3 weeks. This incredibly infectious track had everything going for it. It wasn't just a good song with wonderfully positive lyrics, it was a fabulous pop record, that made you just want to get up and dance. This track achieved Double Platinum sales in Australia and became the longest ever charting single by an Australian female artist .

Vanessa's first year as a professional entertainer, which included highlights such as a performance at the NRL Grand Final to an audience 150 million television viewers worldwide, climaxed with performances at the Sydney Opera House and at Darling Harbour on New Year's Eve 1999, ushering in the new Millennium.

In April 2000, Vanessa's debut album, THE POWER, was released, and entered the Australian charts with Gold sales at the no.1 position and achieved Platinum status just three weeks later, confirming her position as one of the most incredibly successful artists in Australian history. More than sevently thousand copies of the album were sold in just one month.

This extraordinary album reflects Vanessa's versatility as a vocalist and songwriter with a selection of R&B, Pop/Dance and Pop ballad tracks and has already reached Quadruple Platinum sales in Australia where it was also the fourth top selling album for the year.

With THE POWER sitting at the top of the album charts and ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY still refusing to leave the singles charts, Vanessa's third single SHINE was released. This powerful and inspiring ballad jumped straight into the charts at no. 4 position, went Gold in just two weeks, and Platinum just one month later. SHINE has won the APRA award for being the most played song on Australian radio in 2000 and PPCA award for being the most played song in all media in 2001.

Only one year after the release of her first single in Australia, Vanessa launched her international career and by all indications, is set to repeat her incredible achievements on a worldwide scale. In fact Vanessa's music can already be heard in over fifty countries.

ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY, named "record of the week" by the UK Music Industry magazine "Tip Sheet" debuted at number seven in the U.K. and reached no. 2 in Ireland (Platinum sales), no. 3 in Austria, no. 5 in Germany where it went GOLD, no. 6 in the Czech Republic and no. 8 in Switzerland and Luxembourg, to mention just a few.

SHINE, HAVE A LOOK and EVERYTIME I CLOSE MY EYES have also been released overseas and have charted well in EUROPE where Vanessa's has also made many live appearances in television shows, including several of the major music awards shows. Vanessa's debut album, THE POWER has been released internationally and has already gone GOLD in Germany. Another recent single in Australia, a remix of the album track "The Power", has also gone GOLD.

Of course it isn't only in the charts that Vanessa has made an incredible impression. Her homegrown success culminated in an invitation for her to open the Sydney 2000 Olympics, performing "Heroes Live Forever" to nearly four billion viewers. Not only was Vanessa invited to perform at the Opening Ceremony, but she also took part in the Closing Ceremony where she sang ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY. In addition, Vanessa performed THE POWER and SHINE at the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games, which was broadcast in 80 countries. Very special honors indeed, especially for one so young.

Vanessa feels a great deal of pride in being able to express herself through music, which is her greatest love. She really enjoys performing with her band and especially enjoyed the opportunity to support Savage Garden on their most recent National Tour of Australia.

Vanessa has also won some impressive awards during the past few years including the "Young Entertainer Of The Year" award from the Variety Club of Australia. She also received a special award from the Governor General of Australia, Sir William Deane, in recognition of her patronage of ‘Kids Help-line' and in appreciation of her being a positive and inspiring role model for Australian youth.

Vanessa was awarded "Best New Australian Artist On Commercial Radio" by the Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters and was also was named "Young Victorian Of The Year" by the National Australia Day Council, having previously won the "Career Achievement Award".

Although it sounds like an overnight success story, Vanessa's feet are planted firmly on the ground…She will always make time for her beloved pets. Vanessa is a keen animal-lover and has the ambition of owning her own farm where her animals, including her horses, sheep, lamas, bird, frog, cats, dogs, fish, camel and of course her pig, will join the many new additions along the way.

As mentioned earlier, Vanessa also takes an active interest in the welfare of children. One of her dreams is to establish a farm where disadvantaged kids will be able to visit and interact with the many animals she intends to keep.



Vanessa has become the most successful female solo pop artists in Australia and one of the most sought-after internationally. She has already performed concerts with her band in Europe, China and the UK, and with guest musicians in South East Asia and Japan.

Vanessa also recorded CHAMPAGNE, CHAMPAGNE, the title track for the new French movie "Absolument Fabuleux". This recording has also been released as a single in France.

In August 2001 Vanessa was awarded "Best International Newcomer" at the Viva Comet Awards in Germany. Later that month she also made a special appearance at the Goodwill Games Opening and Closing ceremonies in Brisbane.

Vanessa's latest album release in Australia, TURN TO ME, included unreleased International recordings and remixes, a CD ROM component, her Olympic anthem HEROES LIVE FOREVER and 9 new tracks. TURN TO ME was released in Australia by Transistor Music on October 29th 2001.

In July 2002, Vanessa and her band returned to Germany for a concert tour of nine cities, appearing at both major music festivals (sometimes before up to seventy thousand people) and in large clubs. She also traveled to Stockholm to record some new tracks for her next album.

In August Vanessa traveled to Manchester where she was proud to be 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 late August Vanessa returned to Europe for a photo shoot, a video shoot and more writing and recording sessions in Stockholm and London.

She returned to Germany with her band in November for some major television appearance and two concerts in Frankfurt (one at the Frankfurt Opera House). She also traveled to Vienna for television appearances and ended the trip in London where she worked with many writers and producers including the highly successful Rob Davis.

At the same time, Vanessa released two new singles from her forthcoming album. In Australia SPIN and in Europe ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER. The new album CHANGE was released mid-November in Europe with the Australian release due mid 2003.

In January, Vanessa performed two outside concerts with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra at the Sandalford Caversham Estate near Perth. The concerts were a huge success and were attended by over ten thousand people. This was the first time Vanessa and her band have performed with a Symphony Orchestra.

In February 2003, Vanessa performed her 'blues' set 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 Das which screens throughout Europe..

Vanessa was awarded a Centenary Medal in April 2003 for her services to children's agencies and the music industry in Australia and was nominated for the Australian of the Year Award in August.

In January 2004, Vanessa and her band performed at a gala black-tie dinner in Los Angeles as a part of a ten day festival promoting Australia to United States business leaders and investors. The event was staged by the Australian Trade Commission and Vanessa received a standing ovation.

In June 2004, after being invited to do so at the personal invitation of the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. John Howard, Vanessa performed HEROES LIVE FOREVER (her song from the 2000 Olympics) at the Prime Minister's Olympic Dinner in Melbourne. Vanessa was accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, The John Farnham Band and an 80 piece choir.