Christine Anu
Encyclopedia
Early life
Anu was born in Cairns, QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
to a Torres Strait Islander mother from Saibai and Mabuiag Island
Mabuiag Island
Mabuiag is an island in the Bellevue Islands, 100 km north of Thursday Island Queensland, Australia in the Napoleon Passage and Arnolds Passage of Torres Strait...
s.
Career
Anu began performing as a dancer and later went on to sing back-up vocals for The Rainmakers, which included Neil MurrayNeil Murray (Australian musician)
Neil Murray is an Australian musician and writer. He was a founding member of the Warumpi Band that formed in the early 1980s, the first major Aboriginal rock group and influential Aboriginal rock band.-Biography:...
of the Warumpi Band
Warumpi Band
The Warumpi Band is an Australian band from the bush, coming from Papunya, Northern Territory, Australia.The band was formed in 1980 by Neil Murray, a Victorian "whitefella" working in the region as a schoolteacher and labourer, George Burarrwanga, from Elcho Island, and local boys Gordon and...
. Her first recording was in 1993 with "Last Train", dance remake of a Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
song. The follow-up, "Monkey and the Turtle", was based on a traditional story. After "My Island Home
My Island Home
"My Island Home" is popularly believed to be a song about Australia. However, it was written by Neil Murray and originally performed by his Warumpi Band in reference to their lead singer's home up at Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory as said by...
", she released her first album, Stylin' Up which went platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
, and also gained her a position as a spokeswoman for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.
In 1995, Neil Murray won an Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
songwriting award for writing "My Island Home". Christine Anu won an ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
Award for best female recording artist as well as a Deadly Sounds National Aboriginal & Islander Music Awards
The Deadlys
The Deadlys are an annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. Vibe Australia hosts the awards, which for have been held at the Sydney Opera House since 2001. The first Deadly awards were held in 1995...
Award in 1996 for best female artist.
Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
asked her to sing on the song "Now Until The Break Of Day" on his Something for Everybody
Something for Everybody (Baz Luhrmann album)
Something for Everybody, is an album released by Baz Luhrmann in 1998. It contains new ambient versions of music from his films and plays....
album. It was released as a single and the video then won another ARIA award and led to her being cast in Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
.
It took five years for a follow-up to Stylin' Up to be released; 2000's Come My Way made her a mainstream star. The single "Sunshine On A Rainy Day
Sunshine on a Rainy Day
"Sunshine on a Rainy Day" is a 1990 single released by British female pop singer and songwriter Zoë.The song was originally released at the end of 1990, when it only managed to reach #53 on the UK Singles Chart. It was not until the remix by Youth in August 1991, that it hit #4 on the same chart...
" was a Top 40 hit for 13 weeks in Australia. Come My Way went gold. In 2000 she sang the song "My Island Home" at the Sydney 2000 Olympics Closing Ceremony.
Anu has been nominated for 16 ARIA Awards.
On 26 September 2010, she released a new digital only single, "Come Home". This is her first solo single since 2003.
Acting and TV career
Anu has also had a notable acting and TV career. She appeared in Dating the EnemyDating the Enemy
Dating The Enemy is an Australian comedy about a boyfriend and girlfriend who swap bodies and have to live as each other.-Plot:One Valentine's evening a group of single, dateless friends get together to play Trivial Pursuit. Brett , a friend of the host from Melbourne, has just landed a job as...
, a 1996 Australian film starring Guy Pearce
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...
and Claudia Karvan
Claudia Karvan
Claudia Karvan is an Australian actress popular for her roles in the television series The Secret Life of Us and Love My Way. She is also a producer and writer on Love My Way. She currently stars in the drama series Spirited...
. She then appeared in an Australian stage version of The Little Shop Of Horrors in the same year.
Anu's stage career developed with a starring role in Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
in 1998 and 1999. Anu was offered a role in a Broadway production of this musical but had to decline due to commitments in recording her second album. Her links with Baz Luhrmann led to him offering her a part in Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
. In 2003, she appeared as Kali in The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
and played the character on the video game Enter The Matrix
Enter the Matrix
Enter the Matrix is the first video game based on The Matrix series of films. It was developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Atari and WB Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube game systems, and for the PC. It was published in Japan by Bandai...
.
In 2004, she became a judge on Popstars Live
Popstars Live
Popstars Live was an Australian talent quest television program similar to Australian Idol that aired on the Seven Network in early 2004. It also spawned a spin-off single and album that made the ARIA charts in April that year...
, a television quest broadcast on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
at 6.30pm on Sunday night in Australia along the lines of Australian Idol
Australian Idol
Australian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...
. The program failed to achieve a similar level of success, leading network executives to pressure the judges to offer harsher criticism of the contestants. Christine Anu refused to offer harsher criticism, leading to her resignation as a judge in April 2004. In a statement issued on her departure, she said: "I chose to play a positive role model and wanted to encourage these young people in their endeavours, rather than criticise them. Although leaving Popstars Live was a difficult decision for me to make, I do feel somewhat relieved that I can now focus on my music."
Anu is mother of two children - Kuiam (born 1996) and Zipporah Mary (born 2002).
Albums
| Year | Album details | Chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
|||
| 1995 | Stylin Up
|
21 |
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... certification: Platinum. |
| 2000 | Come My Way Come My Way (Christine Anu album) Come My Way is the second studio album by Torres Strait Islander singer Christine Anu. It was her first studio album in five years, after releasing her debut album Stylin Up in 1995- Track listing :... |
18 |
|
| 2003 | 45 Degrees
|
— | |
| 2005 | Acoustically
|
— | |
| 2007 | Chrissy's Island Family
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— | |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
|||
| 1993 | "Last Train" (with Paul Kelly Paul Kelly (musician) Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor... ) |
93 | Single-only |
| 1995 | "Monkey & the Turtle" | — | Stylin Up |
| "Island Home My Island Home "My Island Home" is popularly believed to be a song about Australia. However, it was written by Neil Murray and originally performed by his Warumpi Band in reference to their lead singer's home up at Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory as said by... " |
67 | ||
| "Party" | 20 | ||
| "Come On" | 95 | ||
| 1997 | "Now Until the Break of Day" (with David Hobson and Royce Doherty) |
50 | Something for Everybody |
| 2000 | "Sunshine on a Rainy Day Sunshine on a Rainy Day "Sunshine on a Rainy Day" is a 1990 single released by British female pop singer and songwriter Zoë.The song was originally released at the end of 1990, when it only managed to reach #53 on the UK Singles Chart. It was not until the remix by Youth in August 1991, that it hit #4 on the same chart... " |
26 | Come My Way |
| "Jump to Love"/"Island Home" | 58 | ||
| 2001 | "'Coz I'm Free" | 86 | |
| 2003 | "Talk About Love" | 85 | 45 Degrees |
| 2008 | "Takin' It to the Streets" (with Deni Hines Deni Hines Dohnyale "Deni" Sharon Hines is a solo R&B artist who had chart success in the 1990s in Australia and New Zealand. She is the daughter of Marcia Hines.... ) |
— | Single-only |
| 2010 | "Come Home" | — | |
Acting/TV Career
- Dating the enemyDating the EnemyDating The Enemy is an Australian comedy about a boyfriend and girlfriend who swap bodies and have to live as each other.-Plot:One Valentine's evening a group of single, dateless friends get together to play Trivial Pursuit. Brett , a friend of the host from Melbourne, has just landed a job as...
(1996) - Little Shop of HorrorsLittle Shop of Horrors (musical)Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
(1997) - RentRent (musical)Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
(1998–99) - Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
(2001) - The Matrix ReloadedThe Matrix ReloadedThe Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
(2003) - It's a Wiggly Wiggly WorldIt's a Wiggly Wiggly WorldIt's a Wiggly Wiggly World is the eleventh Wiggles album released in 2000. This album was nominated for an ARIA for Best Children's Album in 2000 but lost to Hi-5's album Jump and Jive with Hi-5.-Tracklist:# In The Wiggles' World# Here Comes The Wiggles...
- Children's DVD by the WigglesThe WigglesThe Wiggles are a children's group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1991. Their original members were Anthony Field, Phillip Wilcher, Murray Cook, Greg Page, and Jeff Fatt. Wilcher left the group after their first album... - Enter The MatrixEnter the MatrixEnter the Matrix is the first video game based on The Matrix series of films. It was developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Atari and WB Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube game systems, and for the PC. It was published in Japan by Bandai...
(2003) - Popstars LivePopstars LivePopstars Live was an Australian talent quest television program similar to Australian Idol that aired on the Seven Network in early 2004. It also spawned a spin-off single and album that made the ARIA charts in April that year...
(2004) - Play SchoolPlay School (Australia)Play School is an Australian educational television show for children produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is the longest-running children's show in Australia, and the second longest running childrens show in the world. An estimated 80% of pre-school children under six watch the...
(2004) - Toasted TVToasted TVToasted TV is the successor to the children's television program Cheez TV, and airs Monday to Saturday on Australia's Network Ten. The show is hosted by Kellyn Morris and Seamus Evans...
(2007)
ARIA Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 ARIA Music Awards of 1994 The Eighth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 30 March 1994 at the State Theatre in Sydney... |
Best Video | "Last Train" | Nominated |
| Breakthrough Artist - Single | Nominated | ||
| 1995 ARIA Music Awards of 1995 The Ninth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 20 October 1995 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. There had been a 19-month gap since the previous award ceremony which was moved to be "closer to the business end of the music industry's year"... |
Best Indigenous Release | Stylin' Up | Won |
| Breakthrough Artist - Album | Nominated | ||
| Best Female Artist | Nominated | ||
| Album of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Song of the Year | "Island Home My Island Home "My Island Home" is popularly believed to be a song about Australia. However, it was written by Neil Murray and originally performed by his Warumpi Band in reference to their lead singer's home up at Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory as said by... " |
Nominated | |
| 1996 | Best Indigenous Release | "Come On" | Won |
| Best Pop Release | Nominated | ||
| Best Female Artist | Won | ||
| 1998 | Best Video | "Now Until the Break of Day" | Won |
| 2000 | Engineer of the Year | "Sunshine on a Rainy Day Sunshine on a Rainy Day "Sunshine on a Rainy Day" is a 1990 single released by British female pop singer and songwriter Zoë.The song was originally released at the end of 1990, when it only managed to reach #53 on the UK Singles Chart. It was not until the remix by Youth in August 1991, that it hit #4 on the same chart... " |
Won |
| Best Female Artist | Nominated | ||
| 2001 ARIA Music Awards of 2001 The 15th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 30 October 2001 at the Capitol Theatre.-Awards:... |
Best Pop Release | Come My Way | Nominated |
| Best Female Artist | Nominated | ||
| 2007 ARIA Music Awards of 2007 The 21st Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 28 October 2007 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. Rove McManus was the host of the event... |
Best Children's Album | Chrissy's Island Family | Nominated |