Christine Anu

Born in 1970 in Cairns, Queensland, Christine Anu ranks as Australia's foremost urban-style pop singer. Her mother's lineage traces to Saibai Island, located just off Papua New Guinea's southern coast, while her father originated from Mabuiag Island nearer the Torres Strait's center; the family had settled in Queensland decades beforehand. Ties to this heritage surfaced whenever her father took up his guitar, spread mats across the veranda at home, and led everyone in island-song singalongs. Apart from those occasions, her childhood in Cairns followed the pattern of any local youngster, filled with television and dreams of singing onscreen. Dance, however, first brought her notice, prompting a move from her family in Cairns to inner-city Sydney for training.

A year performing as backup vocalist for songwriter Neil Murray's group the Rainmakers launched her singing path; the Australian musician had founded and long served with the seminal aboriginal rock band the Warumpi Band. In December 1973 she delivered the lead vocal on a dance-oriented remake of Paul Kelly's "Last Train" as her debut single, with Paul Kelly supplying backing vocals. Her next release, "Monkey and the Turtle," blended urban dance textures with a traditional islander fable translated by an uncle. Three months later came her interpretation of Neil Murray's Warumpi Band song "My Island Home," already Anu's signature piece, issued ahead of the May 1995 album Stylin' Up, produced by Not Drowning Waving's David Bridie. The single earned Neil Murray a Song of the Year Award. Stylin' Up positioned Anu as an urban pop diva and delivered her initial hit via the dancefloor celebration "Party." Album promotion cast the singer and dancer as a prominent role model and spokesperson for Australia's aboriginal people.

Five more years elapsed before her second album appeared. A shift in direction arrived in 1997 when she took the lead role in the hit musical Rent, though she later declined to repeat the part on Broadway in order to portray an Arabian exotic dancer in Baz Luhrmann's film Moulin Rouge. Come on Down, again featuring contributions from Paul Kelly and David Bridie, retained the dance emphasis of the debut while moving into the broader pop mainstream. For her 2000 Sydney Olympics ceremonies performances she chose to revisit "My Island Home," and a new version appeared on the album.