Fildza | Aug 2000

Vanessa Amorosi is another singing sensation coming up from down under. Only 19 years old, she has achieved success other people her age can only dream of. For starters, she sold 30,000 copies of her first single in less than four weeks. Following that, she performed in front of 110,000 spectators at the Rugby League Grand Final in 1999 and the list goes on.

If you think that you can categorise her to the likes of Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera, think again. This girl is no sweetie pie! She got her motorbike license only recently and enjoys camel racing, bungee jumping, dirt biking and so much more! But the thing unique about her is that she literally owns a zoo!

She has pets but not the ordinary pets. She has a frog which ate up another frog, a chicken that keeps crowing (probably the chicken thinks that it is a rooster!), a pet rat, a dog, a cat, a few horses, a camel and she is getting a wombat soon!

For a singer who travels around a lot, she tries to find time to be with her pets. She is buying ten acres of land so that her pets can run free! Ten acres is equivalent to the perimeter from the Benjamin Sheares Bridge to the Concourse! That is mammoth compared to the limited space we have in our HDB flats.

That aside, Vanessa was brought up in a musical family. Her parents were performers and she was exposed to tap, jazz and ballet classes when she was only four. Her first public performance was made when she was 12 and there's no stopping her ever since.

Her second single, "Absolutely Everybody" was released a month after performing the National Anthem at the Grand Prix. It has sold more than 70,000 copies after its release and it will be released to the region soon.

Her album, "The Power" has a nice mix of dance, pop, r&b and ballads. With the variety of songs that can be found in the album, it is evident that this lady is capable of bringing different kind of tunes. Her voice is no doubt powerful and it reflects her versatility as an artist and vocalist.

She is chosen to perform "Absolutely Everybody" on October 1st, during the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics 2000. But being able to perform alongside her favourite singer, Tina Arena, at the opening of the Olympics is an experience that she is really looking forward to. Besides Tina Arena, she will also be joining Olivia-Newton John and John Farnham to sing the sporting event's theme song, "Heroes Live Forever" on the opening ceremony.