Project Description

Interview with

VANESSA AMOROSI

by Brittany Long

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Long admired and respected for her powerful soaring voice at live shows and on recordings, singer songwriter Vanessa Amorosi has earned her place as being regarded as one of Australia’s most iconic female voices. Infused with soulful r&b and powerhouse rock delivery, Amorosi will return to her live roots as a part of Red Hot Summers series in April May 2019.

Vanessa captured the attention of the Australian public at a tender age with her anthemic breakthrough hit ‘Absolutely Everybody’, a Top 10 smash which stayed in the charts for six months, certified double platinum in Australia and charted through Europe.

Her first album Power (2000) notched up six nominations at the ARIA awards and saw her sing “Heroes Live Forever” at the opening of the 2000 Sydney Olympics to great acclaim before a global TV viewing audience of billions. Singles such as “Shine”, “Perfect” and “This Is Who I Am” continued her hold on the charts, while the albums “Somewhere In The Real World” (2008) and “Hazardous” (2009) expanded her reputation as a singer who constantly delivered.

Vanessa used her position to become involved in a number of community causes and charities, including Kids Help Line, The Variety Club and animal welfare. As a result she was nominated in 2003 for Australian of the Year. She went on to sell two million records. 2019 heralds Amorosi’s return to live performances and a renewed focus on music with more to come.

Now, a decade since she disappeared from the public eye Vanessa is back with her new single ‘Heavy Lies The Head’ and a tour aptly dubbed the ‘Heavy Lies The Head Tour’.

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Hi Vanessa, how are you?
I’m good how are you?

Good Thankyou. Well congratulations on your new song ‘Heavy lies the head’
Thankyou, it’s been an awesome awesome couple of months.

So what’s it like being back in Australia and touring and playing music again?
It’s been incredible, I mean I’ve been back and forth over the last 10 years I just don’t announce anything publicly. But it’s been incredible to be back and actually releasing a new stage of music for me. Being back on the stage that was like, the Red Hot Summer tour has been just mind blowing for that.

That’s amazing. So can you tell me what inspired you to create ‘Heavy lies the head’ and what made you decide to come back out in the public eye?
Well around 2011, after I’d finished touring, I went to start writing a record and I just wasn’t inspired I just kinda had nothing to write about. I ended up landing an opportunity to go to the States and work on different types of music over there so I took that. It just took me a long time for the fire to be re-lit and to live a little. So, just recently the last say two years I started writing pop-rock music that I was really excited about and I thought that was the next stage of my career and it was time to go home.

Wow, it’s pretty powerful isn’t it!
It’s crazy how you can’t, you can’t make art a business if that makes sense. like because it’s so unpredictable. Sometimes, you know, you’ll be writing incredible music for two to three years then you have a year where you’re just not writing anything that’s sparking any interest for awhile. I think it does take time to, step out of your comfort zone and go and experience music in different ways, and learn how to crawl to walk again, before that magic is back. That’s what I found with myself.

Yeah, I totally understand. I’m a creative myself, a photographer, and I’ve noticed a lot of creatives at the moment are really struggling with being uninspired. Like you said you can’t force being inspired and you can’t make creating art a business.
Yeah it’s a bizarre thing. Everyone is like why can’t you just turn out new songs, and, unless you want the exact same song over and over and over again, which is something I don’t want to do. Yeah, it’s just worth taking the time out and experiencing life again, and having something to talk about as a songwriter.

So with that do you channel like personal experiences with your husband, and congratulations on becoming a mother too!
Thankyou, definitely. I think when you start having normality in your life and routine, because I think that’s really what my husband and my kid have given me they’ve given me reality and what life is really about. It definitely brings, the rest of my stories upfront, it makes me think shit, that was really dysfunctional, some of the stuff that was going on in my life wasn’t correct, wasn’t the way things are. Then your focus changes, so it does make you write different types of songs because now you see life in a different way.

Yeah wow, that’s really beautiful. I think you know every time you experience something, it changes you as a person, and that can either be for better or for worse.  I’m sure your family agrees that they’re very lucky to have you and you to have them. I fondly remember your song the ‘simple things’ and your lyrics ‘I long someday to have children of my own’ and now you do.
Yeah, nothing can prepare you for motherhood. I really thought ‘oh this is gonna be easy’. I’ve seen so many women do it, juggling work and having a family ah you know this looks like chaos, but exciting chaos. Now having him it’s like way harder than I thought. So I’m glad I held off.

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Haha well I’m 19 so a fair way off motherhood for me.
Oh you’ve got plenty of time, go and enjoy life because when you’ve got a kid then that’s it, it’s all about them and you can’t just take off. Even just walking out the door, you can’t just walk out the door with your bag, like you literally, you’re carrying a house with you. I feel like a I’m a turtle that has a bunch of stuff with me every time I head out the door I have to like pack again. So you’ve got plenty of time for kids.

Has your own mother influenced your relationship and your journey through motherhood?
I think it’s more the case of my upbringing influencing what I do with my kid, and I think that’s a normal thing for any person when they become a parent. They reflect on ‘well when I was kid, we used to do that and we didn’t have that, and we did this way’. I think anybody’s upbringing really does reflect once you start having your own kid, on what you would like to do.

Yeah absolutely. So I know you mentioned that you’ve been part of the Red Hot Summer Tour, what’s that been like?
I have been loving it, it’s been incredible. You know it was a hard decision to make to walk away from the stage because it really is something I enjoy doing, and it is a reward at the end of the day when you do work for the songs you have, that’s when you really get to celebrate them. So, stepping away from the stage was a really tough decision, I mean in saying that I still was performing, I was doing stuff with Dave Stewart and I was out and about, I did some stuff with Orianthi as well. But it’s not the same as doing your own thing, so it’s been incredible, now that I’ve stepped back on that stage it’s like woah, It’s an uncontrollable thirst, you feed it a little bit and then it’s just out of control.

Yeah I 100% understand, I started photographing music in November and I’m just addicted, like I shot four shows last week and I just can’t stop.
Yeah it’s such a great thing. My friend is into photos as well, and she’s the same thing, just gotta run with it.

Yeah absolutely. So, what’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome, obviously coming out into the public eye there would’ve been people that are like ‘oh so you’re still here like what’.
I think that’s a normal reaction when you go for so long, which was never the plan to be gone so long that’s just what the journey took. But it really doesn’t bother me,  I’m happy to just refresh everyone’s memory and sing those songs again and then start my new journey with the newer stuff and just explain like it’s a part of life and everybody goes on with life. So yeah, it has been awhile but it doesn’t scare me coming back and talking about myself.

So what is next for you, I’ve heard that there’s some more songs coming?
Definitely. I’ve got a lot of tracks sitting there at the moment, so you know now it’s a debate on the next run and where we want to step. I have a second record that’s completely different to this record, and I just plan on releasing a lot of music over the next couple of years.

I think your fans will definitely welcome that!
Yeah I’m super excited and of course doing a lot more shows and being out here, and celebrating that journey because that’s the most exciting part of it.

Yeah absolutely. So how do you feel ‘Heavy lies the head’ differs from the typical music that’s being played on the radio nowadays.
I think it’s completely different to what’s going on because it does have that rocky feel and everybody’s kind of ventured away from that. It’s also pretty raw and organic sounding compared to my previous stuff and then compared to also what’s happening on radio. So I think it’s a risky move but for me, there’s just something about that song it’s very empowering for me. I don’t know I feel like that was the right song to come back with.

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Yeah definitely. I’ll admit that I’ve had it on repeat about ten times in the past four days.
Oh awesome!

I’ve been a big fan of yours since ‘Absolutely Everybody’.
That’s so awesome Thankyou.

No problem. So when I got given the chance to interview you I was like ‘hell yes’ like ‘absolutely’. I’ve also applied to shoot your show in May so hopefully I’ll get to do that as well.
I appreciate that Thankyou. That should be awesome.

So how did you first become involved with music? What was the point where you decided you could make it a career?
I don’t know whether there was a point in my life where it was a decision that was made, because our whole family were all into music, and entertainers so it was like when you’re brought up in that environment you are that environment. So it wasn’t a thought of ‘oh I think I’m going to become a singer’, it was you know ‘could you do anything outside of that circle that would be exciting’. If you were to be a doctor or do something else with your life that’s what would be really exciting to our family, because just another musician is another musician. I started working at a really really young age, I started working in a Russian restaurant when I was a kid. I was also working in a studio and then my reward in that studio was that they would give me ‘downtime’ so I could do my own demo’s. So I was always chipping away at it, and it wasn’t until, as I felt as a kid, many, many years later until I actually ended up having a single out. But a lot of people think it was like a ‘shotgun to stardom’ it was nothing like that, it was a really slow grind and it started from extremely young.

Wow, I think growing up in a family of musicians like you said would’ve had a hand in that too definitely.
Yeah, It was just like you know some people grow up in a religious family and I grew up in a really music religious family.

So what sort of music did you listen to growing up? Has that influenced the music you write nowadays?
Yeah I definitely think so, it definitely shapes you. I’m big into soul-sounding gospelly arrangements. My mum and dad were the Top 40 when I was a kid so I obviously grew up listening to them singing everybody’s songs and they were definitely very soulful singers. I grew up listening to stuff like Black Box, Euphoria, it wasn’t until later on in my life that I discovered Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Hendrix and all the other older artists. But yeah it’s a bizarre thing that I did hear my parents singing top 40 from when I was tiny so everything was kind of soulful.

That’s beautiful so what are your thoughts on women being in the music industry? Do you find they can often be influenced a bit more so to speak?
I think umm, I don’t know, I mean I was always a very headstrong kid and always knew what it was that I was doing and what my boundaries were. I knew that I was never going to be a model, I never wanted to be an actress, I just wanted to write songs and sing them, and that was it. I never wanted to go out of those categories, and it didn’t matter if it meant making or breaking. But I was told ‘listen you’re going to end up being way more successful if you wear this miniskirt, do this little dance routine and mime to this song’ or ‘you’re going to be way more successful if we get you on this show and you do this and you do that’. I was never phased by that, I was like ‘alright I guess I’m not going to be successful then’ because I pretty much do the one thing okay, and apart from that I don’t want to venture into into any other categories that I feel I’m going to let people down on. So I was pretty headstrong like that but I can see how the industry can mislead anybody really, and promise them things that really aren’t things you can promise. It’s very hit and miss and I think you’ve just gotta be slightly crazy, in any type of art field if you’re a painter, if you’re doing photos, if you’re to be writing songs or writing scripts for tv shows. I think you’ve got to slightly have that crazy gene in you because you’re going to hear no, more than you ever hear yes. So you kinda gotta be relentless and have a really clear vision and just keep marching towards that, with as many no’s and doors being slammed in your face as you can possibly imagine.

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Well I guess we’re all a little bit crazy then! I honestly respect that so much and like I agree. I started off as a freelancer and obtained my first press pass literally just by sending an email and refusing to not go for it. Like I just apply for everything, if I want to shoot it then I apply. The way I see it the worst they can say is no, or I never get a response.
Yeah and it’s just being on it, everyday just being on it, just one step closer, one more little step, one screw tighter and you’ve just gotta be really passionate about it. I think it takes someone that’s super passionate about it to not give up.

Yeah I agree. So I’m actually in a wheelchair, I’ve been in a wheelchair for more than two years now from illness. So, as you can imagine a lot of the photopits are very very tiny. So I just simply slide out of the wheelchair and shoot from the platform of the barrier.
Well that’s incredible, that’s really incredible!

Like I refuse to let not being able to walk stop me from doing what I love. If I have to sit on a barrier platform to shoot, then that’s exactly what I plan to do.
That’s incredible! See that’s the story people need to hear. Nothing’s given to you, and then if anything there’s always obstacles. You’ve gotta be crazy passionate about it and it’s gotta make you want to want to wake up in the morning and go for it again.

Yeah 100%. I’ve been lucky like I’ve had some of the most amazing people, and the most amazing bands that have just like accommodated for me and welcomed me. I’ve built so many relationships with people that I’ve interviewed and that I’ve photographed and each of them has become a part of my story and I like to think that I’ve become a part of theirs.
That’s awesome. That’s really inspiring.

Thankyou. So,what sort of artist do you see yourself as?
A singer-songwriter. Yeah, just a singer-songwriter, I love being onstage, so I think onstage there’s a lot of energy and appreciation, especially from myself, the fact that people are actually showing up to have me sing my own stuff. As I kid I used to sing Top 40, I used to go out there and sing other people’s songs, and I mean that was great. But this is far better than that will ever be, being able to do your own music and people embracing that, and it taking on it’s own journey in other people’s lives. But as far as when I look at myself as an artist I just, I’m just a singer- songwriter.

I love that. If you could play or tour with anyone onstage, dead or alive, who would you choose?
Ooh, I love Prince. I would’ve loved to have been on the road with him.

Amazing! Now tell me something no one knows about you, or shutdown a common misconception people make about you?
Ooh I don’t know. I don’t know. Umm a lot of people think over the last ten years that I live in like a little apartment in the city and I don’t have animals anymore, and that’s totally not true. I still have a massive block, especially in L.A., which is very very unusual. But I have a tonne of rescue dogs, and I have horses, and I have goats. I still live on a farm and still act like I did when I had a farm here. So none of that really changed. I think when you’re in love with animals and they make you feel good, you tend to have them around you wherever you go.

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That’s amazing! That’s so awesome! I can just imagine you in a sea of like dogs, and goats, and horses!
It’s what happens is over there, this is where it all started. I ended up going to a local shelter, because they had like a $10 day, take a dog for $10. I was like ‘what the hell is this, how can you just go and pick up a dog for 10 bucks, what’s going on in that shelter’. When I went down there they had all these pit bulls that were all on the ‘red list’, meaning they were going to be put down the next day. So they were doing this weekend blitz, grab a dog for 10 bucks, take ‘em home because the next day they weren’t going to be there anyway. I ended up going in there and just, oh I was so emotional about it, I ended up adopting way too many dogs and coming home. I also flew my dogs from Australia, so I already had dogs, I had to socialise them altogether. Then I started rehoming them, then I started really looking into what was happening there. I ended up with nine Pitbulls that I hadn’t been able to re-home, and I’m still trying. But yeah, that’s been a thing in the States, it just seems to be there’s a lot of dogs in shelters they can’t seem to re-home, especially Pitbulls. Which I’ve found my experience with Pitbulls has been amazing, I love those dogs.

Wow, God you’re a beautiful person.
Then that’s what happens with the goats as well and it just continues. It becomes a crazy zoo at the house.

Haha, so ahead of your upcoming tour what sort of experience do you want your fans to have?
I just want them to come and party with me, it’s a celebration, it’s a total celebration. I’ve grown up with most of these people and we all have so much in common, and I feel like it’s catching up with old friends. So expect a celebration if you’re coming to the shows, we go there. We do all the older stuff as well as all the new material, and it’s a party, it’s a huge party. I’ve had the same band for many years as well, so I look forward to hanging out and being able to go through all of that older stuff and relive childhood with them.

Amazing! I must admit I’m very very excited to dance and shoot and party with you!
It is a lot of fun, and because the majority of the front people have come to shows before it’s like we all go a little crazy, but it’s awesome! I’ll see you at the gig!

Thankyou so much for chatting with me.
Not a problem, Thankyou. Bye

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VANESSA AMOROSI

HEAVY LIES THE HEAD TOUR 2019

Thursday May 9th  – Evans Theatre at Panthers

Friday May 10th – Melbourne – The Prince

Saturday 30th March – Brisbane – Crow Bar Black

Sunday 31st March – Adelaide – Enigma Bar

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Tickets On sale now from HERE

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Follow VANESSA AMOROSI
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AMNPLIFY – DB