By Glen Williams
Pictures: David Hahn
The singer with the big voice is back with a sexy makeover.
Vanessa Amorosi adores the ’70s, and loves dressing up and being the glam rock chick. Riding high in the charts again with her contagious single Perfect, the big-voiced 26-year-old joined Woman’s Day for a high energy rock ‘n’ roll photo shoot. She also talks candidly about the highs and lows of fame, her secret world of rescuing animals and why she makes such a lousy girlfriend.
Have you ever had a broken heart?
Of course. But for me to make relationship work it has to be the first priority. So I think love is going to have to be on the back burner for a long time. I always wanted to be married and have the white picket fence. Most of my girlfriends are married with children. I’d love that ideal relationship, it just hasn’t happened.
Is your primary focus song writing or is it performing?
They’re hand in hand. It’s important for me to have great songs and take my time writing great songs because I’m going to have to perform them for a long time. It’s important to get both right.
You live in the country (rural Victoria). How do you survive in America where you do most of your song writing?
I enjoy it for what it is but I always know I’m coming home. It’s a nice little break to get away from living on the farm to experiencing a crazy lifestyle like Hollywood because it is crazy there.
When was the last time you cried?
Hmm, I’m not much of a crier really. If I do get upset about something I’m more someone to fixate on the positive to get ahead quicker. There have been some moments where I’ll tear up while singing.
Do you have a faith?
I definitely believe in God. I pray. And I’m truly thankful.
Any close calls with your health?
No, but I’ve had some great falls off horses. I’ve been laying there in trenches of mud convinced I’d broken my back and being stepped on by Clydesdales and falling off motor bikes.
You also want to run a farm for disadvantaged children?
It’s something that I definitely will do. But I have to be so hands on with that project, because I know how I want to run it.
You came from a theatre restaurant background. That’s where you cut your performing teeth?
Yes, the whole family are entertainers. I was working in studios from 12, engineering and doing sound production and writing songs. Got my first job singing in a restaurant and sort of went from there. It was just something I did.
What do you want to do?
Hmm. I’d like to do production, but do the shows at the same time. I want to do a hell of a lot more albums in different genres and different styles. I want to write for other people. I love country music, I think it’s really inspiring. I love the stories and the honesty. I love the straight forwardness of soul singers like Etta James. I Just Want To Make Love To You — it doesn’t get more straight forward than that.
There were rumours you left showbiz to become a fencer
Yes (laughs) that was just one of the rumours. My boyfriend at the time was a fencer and somehow I’m supposed to have become one too. I’m also supposed to have been married, had four kids and a couple of divorces. But really I didn’t vanish I was just locked in studios 24 hours a day.
Has anything rocked your confidence during your career?
I was always a very shy person. I think at a young age I had a lot of people pushing and pulling me. I tended to want to satisfy them even thought it was against my instinct or who I was as a person. It took a long time to be able to say this is who I am. I just wanted to make people happy and if that meant making myself unhappy, I’d do it.
Horses became the main concern?
I’ve still got all the animals, but I concentrated on horses affected by drought. The money you would pay for grass is like gold. I ended up taking way too many horses, spent a lot of my money rehabilitating them and had vets 24 hours. They’re my babies. I give a lot of them away to good homes. But I’ve got ten babies that I’ll never part with. There’s about five that can’t be ridden by anyone else but me. They’ve been abused.
You do a lot of volunteer work?
Yes, I do a lot of stuff with kids, disabled programs stuff like that but that’s something I do privately that I just enjoy doing not for status.
You were bullied.
Yes, it was pretty bad. I was working since I was a kid so I was different from the others. It didn’t really bother me though.
But you reacted to your bullying by doing some out-there stuff.
Yes I climbed roofs, stirring the teachers.
And also set fire to things?
Maybe, yes. I had this unbelievable music teacher who saw through my rebelling. She was great. Miss Turner, I still keep in contact with her. She worked with all the troubled kids like me. She had a daughter who was completely deaf and I spent a lot of time with her, teaching her how to sing and talk. Miss Turner was so inspiring. Her name’s Wendy but I still call her Miss Turner.
For more of this interview, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on sale April 28).
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