Casey Donovan (singer)
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| Casey Donovan | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Casey Donovan |
| Born | 13 May 1988 |
| Origin | Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia[1] |
| Genres | Pop, rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Sony BMG (2004–2006) Independent (2006–present) |
| Associated acts | Guy Sebastian, Kate DeAraugo, Damien Leith, Natalie Gauci |
| Website | Official website |
Casey Donovan (born 13 May 1988) is the youngest winner of the Australian Idol series, winning the second season of Australian Idol, at the age of 16.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Casey Donovan came from a family with several of her relatives pursuing musical careers, including her father, a member of indigenous country band The Donovans. After her parents divorced, her mother and siblings moved in with stepfather Norm Axford. Growing up, Casey was always interested in singing and was lucky enough to stay in touch with cousins Shalena and Jaleesa as well as occasional contact with Emma. Contact with the Donovan cousins fostered interest in both singing and playing guitar which led to busking on the streets of Tamworth during the Country Music Festival when she was 10. Casey's musical interest was noticed at Bass Hill Public School and Georges Hall Primary but was not enough to have any public notice. It was not until her life at Condell Park High that her talent became noticed and was supported especially by both her mother and stepfather.
It's really hard. I'm half white, half Aboriginal. I'm proud to be white, and I'm proud to be Aboriginal. It's just there is a juggle there. There's lots of people who are on one side and I'm like what about my mum and her family?[2]
[edit] Australian Idol (2004)
Donovan transferred to the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney's Surry Hills in 2004 and it was in this year that her stepfather encouraged her to audition for the second season of Australian Idol. While Donovan performed well throughout the Australian Idol competition and received countless praise from all three judges for her flawless performances and studio standard vocals, she was not widely considered a favorite to win. During the competition she received some outside success and won the Most Promising New Talent Award at the 2004 The Deadlys, which honours indigenous talent in Australia. Nevertheless, she surprised many by being the first to get through to the 2004 final where she defeated widespread favorite Anthony Callea. Despite critics claiming her record sales were low when compared to other Idol finalists such as Season 1 winner Guy Sebastian, Season 1 Runner-up Shannon Noll and even her own runner-up Anthony Callea, Donovan has achieved 5 Platinum accreditations, making her the sixth highest selling Australian Idol alumni overall.
[edit] Australian Idol performances
| Week | Theme | Song Sung | Artist | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | N/A | "A Millon Tears" | Kasey Chambers | Selected |
| Theatre Round Day 1 |
Solo Performance (a cappella) | unknown | unknown | Advanced |
| Theatre Round Day 2 |
Group Performance | "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" with Emelia Rusciano, Liza Schulberg and Yasmine Dia | Stevie Wonder | Advanced |
| Theatre Round Day 3 |
Solo Performance | "Exodus" | Evanescence | Advanced |
| Top 30 | Semifinal Group #3 | "Here's Where I Stand" (Touchdown) | Tiffany Taylor | Advanced |
| Top 12 | Australian-Made Music | "Symphony of Life" | Tina Arena | Safe |
| Top 11 | Pop Music | "Don't Speak" | No Doubt | Safe |
| Top 10 | Songs of the Sixties | "Somebody to Love" | Jefferson Airplane | Safe |
| Top 9 | Disco Hits | "Shake Your Groove Thing" | Peaches & Herb | Safe |
| Top 8 | Idol's Choice | "Special Ones" (Touchdown) | George | Safe |
| Top 7 | Lennon–McCartney | "Eleanor Rigby" | The Beatles | Safe |
| Top 6 | Songs of the Eighties | "The Flame" | Cheap Trick | Bottom 2 |
| Top 5 | Songs of R&B | "Beautiful" (Touchdown) | India.Arie | Safe |
| Top 4 | Music of Big Band | "Why Don't You Do Right?" "Come Fly with Me" |
Peggy Lee Frank Sinatra |
Bottom 2 |
| Top 3 | Songs of the Seventies | "You're So Vain" "Misty Blue" (Touchdown) |
Carly Simon Dorothy Moore |
Safe |
| Finale | Idol's Choice Idol's Choice Idol Winner's Single |
"Take Me as I Am" "Hello" "Listen with Your Heart" |
Vanessa Amorosi Evanescence (winner's single) |
WON |
[edit] Post-Idol career
Casey Donovan studied music at the Australian Institute of Music before becoming the youngest winner of Australian Idol, winning the second season at the age of 16.
Donovan is a multi-award winner and nominee, including an ARIA No #1 Award for "Listen with Your Heart" and Deadly Awards for Best Album, Best Single and Most Promising New Talent.
While riding the Australian Idol wave, Donovan was one of Australia's most in demand entertainers, with regular appearances on television, radio and seen in print media across Australia. Donovan was also a star performer for many major events, including – Commonwealth Games, Woodfood Dreaming Festival and Foxtel's 10th Birthday.
After the hype of Australian Idol died down, Donovan spent time re-evaluating her career and re-establishing herself as a solo Independent artist, with the release of an independent EP Eye 2 Eye. Donovan also re-established herself as one of Australia's most promising Indigenous entertainers, with regular appearances on Vibe Alive Tours and a regular segment on Deadly Sounds with Rhoda Roberts.
While starring in the successful concept show Women of Soul, Donovan was approached by Rhoda Roberts for the theatrical production of Miracle in Brisbane for the Brisbane Festival in October 2009.[3]
In 2010, Donovan was cast in the role of Cynthia in a musical stage production of The Sapphires which saw the show tour Australia throughout the first half of 2010. Donovan won praise from the critics for her role in the production, which was presented by Company B Belvoir and Black Swan State Theatre Company. Donovan went on to take home the Best Supporting Actress award at the 4th Daegu International Music Festival Awards while on tour with the production in South Korea in July 2010.
Donovan returned to music with the release of her single "Big, Beautiful & Sexy" written with songwriter Beau Golden, in August 2010, which went on to reach #9 in the AIR Charts. "Big, Beautiful and Sexy" has also become an anthem for larger women. The song also seen Donovan's online Facebook support group Big, Beautiful & Sexy (which attracted nearly 2000 fans in its first weeks) grow to over 8000 fans. Donovan herself has lost over 20 kg and continued her support of larger men and women as they achieve their life goals. Donovan went on to release another single in November 2010 titled "Last Regret" which saw the continuation of support from fans and media, and also gained some commercial airplay.[4]
In December 2010, Donovan was nominated for two awards in the 2010 Sydney Theatre Awards for "Newcomer" and "Supporting Actress", continuing to receive praise and recognition from the industry for her work in The Sapphires.[5] Although she auditioned for a role in the 2011 movie version, Donovan was ultimately not cast.[6]
2011 saw Donovan reprise her role of Cynthia Macrae in another tour of the hit show The Sapphires. The tour ran during February in ACT and NSW, and was followed by two weeks in the UK in March. Casey has expressed interest in acting and with the praise she has received throughout 2010 for her role in The Sapphires it is likely Donovan may look into pursuing this further. It is also expected that Donovan will get around to finishing and releasing her long awaited second album in 2011.[7]
In August/September 2011, Donovan will create the role of Mama Cass in the world premiere of new musical "flowerchildren - the The Mamas & the Papas story" written by Peter Fitzpatrick. Produced by pioneering Australian company Magnormos, Casey will be joined by Matt Hetherington as John Phillips, Laura Fitzpatrick as Michelle Phillips, and Dan Humphris as Denny Doherty.[8]
Donovan also lends her name and support to a number of charitable and non-profit organisations. Donovan is an Ambassador for APRA/AMCOS and an Advocate for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart position AUS [9] |
Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| For You |
|
2 |
[edit] Extended Plays
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Eye 2 Eye |
|
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions |
Certifications | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [11] |
|||||
| 2004 | "Listen with Your Heart" | 1 |
|
For You | |
| 2005 | "What's Going On?" | 18 | |||
| "Flow" | 51 | ||||
| 2010 | "Big, Beautiful & Sexy" | — | TBA | ||
| "Last Regret" | — | ||||
| — denotes releases that failed to chart. | |||||
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/messageclub/duknow/stories/s1182892.htm
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/dynasties/txt/s1504401.htm
- ^ http://caseydonovan.com/biography/
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://caseydonovan.com/2010/12/16/casey-donovan-nominated-for-two-2010-sydney-theatre-awards/
- ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/casey-donovans-omission-from-a-film-version-of-show-the-sapphires/story-e6frewz0-1226104545003
- ^ http://www.jspac.com.au/dev2010/qtheatre/the-sapphires.php
- ^ "flowerchildren". magnormos.com. 2011. http://www.magnormos.com/flowerchildren.htm. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ Casey Donovan "Discography Casey Donovan". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Casey+Donovan Casey Donovan. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2004"
- ^ australian-charts.com - Casey Donovan - For You
- ^ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2004"
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Guy Sebastian |
Australian Idol Winner Season 2 (2004) |
Succeeded by Kate DeAraugo |
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