Biography
A pop singer recognized for her fervent and nimble vocal style, Vanessa Amorosi claimed the distinction of being the first Australian woman to top the ARIA chart with a debut release when The Power appeared in 2000. Performances at both the opening and closing ceremonies of that year’s Summer Olympic Games in Sydney followed soon after. She reentered the Australian Top Ten with Somewhere in the Real World in 2008 and with Hazardous the year after. A ten-year interval between albums, marked by an unreleased project and label disputes, preceded her return via independent releases that included the sixth studio effort The Blacklisted Collection in 2020, noted for its comparatively unpolished approach.
Vanessa Joy Amorosi was born in Melbourne to parents who worked as professional singer-dancers on the Australasian cabaret circuit, so music and singing formed a constant backdrop during her childhood. At age four she and her younger sisters began tap, jazz, and classical ballet lessons at a school operated by their uncle. The decisive shift occurred at fourteen when Amorosi took a part-time singing job at a Russian restaurant. Her commanding voice drew the attention of television producer Jack Strom, who had recently partnered with 1970s pop star Mark Holden to establish a management company. In 1997 Amorosi signed a management agreement with the pair and began work on her debut album. After every major label passed, a deal was secured with BMG-distributed independent Transistor Recordings, making her the label’s first Australian signing. She traveled to London in May 1999 to cut several tracks, among them her debut single, under producer Steve Mac, whose credits already included Boyzone and Five and would later extend to Westlife.
The single “Have a Look” reached the Top 20 in 1999. Its successor, the dance-pop number “Absolutely Everybody,” climbed to number six and remained in the Top 40 for 27 weeks. Issued in April 2000, The Power album attained the summit of the chart, the first debut by an Australian woman to do so. Five major hits in total emerged from the record, generating international attention for her work. That September Amorosi became the sole artist invited to appear in both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sydney Olympics.
After signing with CBK/Universal, Amorosi’s second album Change surfaced in Germany in late 2002. It never received an Australian release aside from advance singles such as “Spin (Everybody’s Doin’ It),” which entered the national Top 40. In 2003 she delivered a blues set at the Melbourne International Music and Blues Festival and performed a track from Change on Germany’s Wetten, Dass…? and the U.K.’s Top of the Pops, both broadcast from German studios.
Following a management change in 2006, Amorosi signed with Universal Music Australia. She opened for Kiss on an Australian tour in early 2008 before releasing her third album, Somewhere in the Real World, in May. The project and its single “Perfect” both reached number four on the respective domestic charts. In 2009 she scored a Top 40 hit with “The Letter,” a collaboration with Hoobastank, then debuted at number one with her own “This Is Who I Am.” The track appeared on her fourth studio album Hazardous, which also contained the Top Five single “Mr. Mysterious” and itself peaked at number seven on the Australian albums chart.
Amorosi resurfaced in 2011 with a pair of tracks from a project then titled V; only “Amazing” charted, reaching number 83. That November she announced the album’s postponement and her departure from Universal. The following year she toured with Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, including a date at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, and later contributed to his 2013 album Lucky Numbers. She also joined the lineup of a Beatles tribute concert Stewart organized at the Hollywood Bowl in 2014. A duet with New Zealand singer Jon Stevens, “Something ’Bout You,” drawn from the 2017 album Starlight, was produced and co-written by Stewart. In April 2019 Amorosi issued the solo single “Heavy Lies the Head” through a partnership between Universal Music Australia and independent label Angel Works. The song appeared on Back to Love, released that November and marking her first full-length album in a decade.
Just seven months afterward, in June 2020, she delivered The Blacklisted Collection, adopting a more raw and intimate sound. Her sixth studio album overall, it became the first to be issued under her own imprint. She followed quickly with another release in 2021, the soulful, gospel-tinged Volume 1.
Vanessa Joy Amorosi was born in Melbourne to parents who worked as professional singer-dancers on the Australasian cabaret circuit, so music and singing formed a constant backdrop during her childhood. At age four she and her younger sisters began tap, jazz, and classical ballet lessons at a school operated by their uncle. The decisive shift occurred at fourteen when Amorosi took a part-time singing job at a Russian restaurant. Her commanding voice drew the attention of television producer Jack Strom, who had recently partnered with 1970s pop star Mark Holden to establish a management company. In 1997 Amorosi signed a management agreement with the pair and began work on her debut album. After every major label passed, a deal was secured with BMG-distributed independent Transistor Recordings, making her the label’s first Australian signing. She traveled to London in May 1999 to cut several tracks, among them her debut single, under producer Steve Mac, whose credits already included Boyzone and Five and would later extend to Westlife.
The single “Have a Look” reached the Top 20 in 1999. Its successor, the dance-pop number “Absolutely Everybody,” climbed to number six and remained in the Top 40 for 27 weeks. Issued in April 2000, The Power album attained the summit of the chart, the first debut by an Australian woman to do so. Five major hits in total emerged from the record, generating international attention for her work. That September Amorosi became the sole artist invited to appear in both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sydney Olympics.
After signing with CBK/Universal, Amorosi’s second album Change surfaced in Germany in late 2002. It never received an Australian release aside from advance singles such as “Spin (Everybody’s Doin’ It),” which entered the national Top 40. In 2003 she delivered a blues set at the Melbourne International Music and Blues Festival and performed a track from Change on Germany’s Wetten, Dass…? and the U.K.’s Top of the Pops, both broadcast from German studios.
Following a management change in 2006, Amorosi signed with Universal Music Australia. She opened for Kiss on an Australian tour in early 2008 before releasing her third album, Somewhere in the Real World, in May. The project and its single “Perfect” both reached number four on the respective domestic charts. In 2009 she scored a Top 40 hit with “The Letter,” a collaboration with Hoobastank, then debuted at number one with her own “This Is Who I Am.” The track appeared on her fourth studio album Hazardous, which also contained the Top Five single “Mr. Mysterious” and itself peaked at number seven on the Australian albums chart.
Amorosi resurfaced in 2011 with a pair of tracks from a project then titled V; only “Amazing” charted, reaching number 83. That November she announced the album’s postponement and her departure from Universal. The following year she toured with Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, including a date at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, and later contributed to his 2013 album Lucky Numbers. She also joined the lineup of a Beatles tribute concert Stewart organized at the Hollywood Bowl in 2014. A duet with New Zealand singer Jon Stevens, “Something ’Bout You,” drawn from the 2017 album Starlight, was produced and co-written by Stewart. In April 2019 Amorosi issued the solo single “Heavy Lies the Head” through a partnership between Universal Music Australia and independent label Angel Works. The song appeared on Back to Love, released that November and marking her first full-length album in a decade.
Just seven months afterward, in June 2020, she delivered The Blacklisted Collection, adopting a more raw and intimate sound. Her sixth studio album overall, it became the first to be issued under her own imprint. She followed quickly with another release in 2021, the soulful, gospel-tinged Volume 1.
Albums
Singles
