Interview: Tina Arena

Tina Arena became an internationally celebrated artist when her 1994 single Chains, from her third studio album Don't Ask, flew up the charts around the world. Since then she has balanced a career as a recording artist with family life. As she prepared to release her eleventh studio album, Eleven, we caught up with her for a little insight to her journey this far...


Eleven is a very personal record. How did you arrive at the release?

I released a record two years ago called Reset. It had been 12 years before that release of original material. I had done a couple of French records and a couple of covers records called Songs of Love and Loss, which made quite a bit of noise. Before then I didn't really feel like I had anything poignant to say. I needed to live. I know that as a songwriter that unless I live, I have nothing to reference.

Was it just a case of needing space and time to breathe and just be?

I think it's really important. You have a lifetime to come up with your first record. It may be perfect, it may not be so perfect. But if that record is revered, that machine kicks in so fast and jumps to fifth gear. You have five seconds to come up with a great second record, which is really the period where you should be judged - for want of a better term. That's not an easy thing. You are on the road, you are away from your family and you are destabilized, you are meeting new people everyday and it is very interesting and exciting. But it is also very fatiguing. That is where people can either stand up and hold your head tall, or it is where you can take a nasty fall. For me, I had lived quite a number of years doing that and I just said I needed to stop. I needed to live before I could head back into the studio to write. That's what I took the time to do. I wanted to grow up and have time for myself and my family. I wanted to understand myself as a woman before I could write the other chapters.

Did the time for yourself allow you to relieve the pressure?

Absolutely. That played a big role in it. I remembered when I was dropped by my record company in 2002, I remember trying to understand. I had lost my job and I went in to this dark world where I tried to understand how I could lose my job, when I had technically made my record companies an exorbitant amount of money for a musical market that doesn't really mean anything on a global basis.

How does that happen? When you do well for your company and they tell you to get lost.

Spiritually I was kind of perplexed by that as it was something I didn't understand. Really it was a blessing, as it was the universe saying I needed to learn to stand on my own two feet. It was the start of a very long journey, but by the end of it I would be able to stand, smile and hold my head up high and totally transparent. It is worth it.

Would you say your ambitions are very different now to those you had as a child on Young Talent Time?

They are definitely a way away from where I started. I had big dreams and there were lots of things I wanted. I wanted to win a Grammy and a British Music Award. I was definitely nominated for a British Music Award, who for me is no small feat. I never won a Grammy, but that doesn't matter. I have made enough noise with people. When they heard my music it was distinctive. My ambitions may have changed, but the world has too. That is the beauty of getting older and having all those experiences. The thing that is ultimately apparent to me is that at nearly 40 years in, I am still doing music that people are curious about.

Would you say that you lean towards the creation of music? Or do you prefer being on the road and performing?

I love the creation, it is a big part of who I am. My live work is something I have focused on these last 6 years. I have travelled with symphonic orchestras, with The Songs of Love and Loss, which was critically acclaimed as record, through to doing my own pop shows. I get my greatest kick out of my live work. I also travelled France, very intensely, for three years between 2010 and 2013. I did three years of touring in the middle of nowhere and I learnt so much during that time, I really felt I grew up in that time.

You have had a phenomenal amount of success in France, with several French albums under your belt and numerous awards. Was that something you had anticipated?

I think the thing that is really interesting about my journey is that it has been organic. I never went into the French market expecting to have the same success as I had with my English language recordings. It doesn't matter whether people think they are good or not. It's not the point. A connection was made and I did get a lot of pleasure. I learnt a lot from being out of my safety zone. I grew a lot.

It has added a lot of depth to what it is that I do. I have been really really lucky and learnt a lot. I took control a lot. It allowed me to learn who I am and what I mean to people. It isn't just about taking the cash and running, which is what a lot of people do in this industry. I said a lot of nos to a lot of things just so that I didn't lose my creative freedom. I am not motivated by a pay cheque.

With such a loyal fanbase, do you keep in mind their wants when you write and record a new album?

Obviously what an audience thinks is important, a part of you needs to take that on board. At the end of the day art is subjective, everyone has an opinion. You need to not lose sight of who you are what makes you feel good. If you feel good about something, your public will feel good about it. I have been a singer/songwriter for over 25 years now, so I have learnt to trust my instinct. If it doesn't move me, then I stay away. My job is about the emotion, whatever that emotion might be.

Do you have anyone that you lean on for direct feedback?

Of course I do. I have a really small team around me, and it is really familial and transparent. It is really important to me. I may not agree with it all the time, or I may not have noticed something they have pointed out. It is key to be open.

Lastly, as someone who got their launch on a TV talent show, how do you feel about the promise of overnight success on the current crop of talent shows?

I don't believe in that. I think it is the wrong message to send out. Young Talent Time was a completely different time, it was the 1970s. There was no social media, no internet, no cable - the week was worked out with what TV programmes you would watch. There was a great sense of familiarity and routine. It doesn't exist anymore. It is a completely different game. They didn't make a lot of money, but it cost a lot of money to make them. The producers wanted to make enough money for the programme to continue, but none of us expected to come out as millionaires. That is a big mistake that this generation make, they honestly think they are going to be wealthy - wrong! You will make more money on the dole! I encourage work, that's what I encourage. I do not encourage an easy way or a facilitation. People can't do anything without effort. I don't care how brilliant someone is. But you can't blame them for thinking that way, as that is what they have been taught.

Who do you think is to blame for that?

There is nothing easy. You have to be invested. You have to be dedicated. You have to keep your eyes open. You have to inform yourself.



Eleven is out now.