Schools Spectacular rehearsal

So far she’s booked for local events in Qld, NSW and SA. And yep! She’s on television again with a brief but fabulous appearance on Carols in the Domain in Sydney.

Mark it in your calendars to see it live or catch her on the box:

Especially: Channel 7 Carols in The Domain, Sydney – Saturday December 20!

By the way, if you’re interested in getting involved in the Carols event they are calling for volunteer applications at the Carols in the Domain website.   Volunteers

And while we’re on the topic of their website, check out  WHO is the feature artist in the header of their ‘Gallery of Stars’ page!! *smug grin*

Also coming up in November, Paulini will be returning to her roots and once again joining in the fun and thrills of the Schools Spectacular! It’s not known yet if it will be telecast – will keep you informed. [ED: YES IT IS!! On the ABC]

For more on her upcoming gigs please check this thread in the forum – GIGS!

Paulini will be recording a new song tomorrow in the studio and heading to the Gold Coast this weekend for a corporate event gig.

She presented awards in the following categories at the Helpmann Awards last night which was televised on Foxtel.

Best International Contemporary Concert
Björk On The Steps Of The Sydney Opera House  – WINNER
Presented by Sydney Festival

Bon Jovi – The Lost Highway Tour
Dainty Consolidated Entertainment

Justin Timberlake
The Frontier Touring Company

Rufus Wainwright
Chugg Entertainment and Perth International Arts Festival

Best Australian Contemporary Concert

BROAD
Maiden Australia and QPAC

Crowded House
The Frontier Touring Company   - WINNER

Kate Ceberano – Nine Lime Avenue tour
Andrew McManus Presents

The Whitlams with the Sydney Symphony
Sydney Symphony

Best Contemporary Music Festival

19th Annual East Coast Blues and Roots Festival
Chugg Entertainment & Peter Noble Presents

Big Day Out Festival 2008
Vivian Lees & Ken West

St Jeromes Laneway Festival
Chugg Entertainment & Rockin Roll Circus

Womadelaide
Womadelaide Foundation – WINNER

This is Seven Networks press release:

Channel Seven stars GRANT DENYER and KATE RITCHIE will host this year's WOOLWORTHS’ CAROLS IN THE DOMAIN – as the event celebrates its 25th anniversary with the biggest line-up of Australia's top voices.

WOOLWORTHS’ CAROLS IN THE DOMAIN is proudly presented by Telstra and MLC.

http://www.ebroadcast.com.au

Where should I begin? The start would be a good place .

OK so after we had all discussed the best way to get tickets to Dancing With The Stars, I had been unable to contact Paulini, Tom’s busy and the waiting list is over a series long, I decided to ring Channel 7 anyway. I got the usual answering machine message “The waiting list is VERY long and you probably won’t get tickets this season HOWEVER if you would like to be on the standby list leave your name and number.”

So I decided to play on their sympathies. I said “Hi, my name is Hayden, and I’m one of the leaders of the Young Diva fan club. Since the divas are performing, should you need any seats filled I’m sure I can get some people to fill them for you.” I think I also mentioned something about it being Kelly’s birthday.

It worked, because the next day I get a call saying I can be on the standby list .

So skip a few days, it’s now Tuesday and as requested, I rang Sarah again and she told us our chances of getting in were pretty good. So a few hours later I was on the train rearing to go!  I met up with Luke at Flinders Street and we headed to the Transport bar for dinner. We ordered and they gave us these weird things that looked like tasers. We get talking and get the shock of our lives  when they started beeping saying “your orders are ready.”

Kelly showed up and ate her cold wedges . I gave Kelly a Starstruck CD with a classic Paulini track on it for her birthday, and Luke gave her a card. We chatted for a little while and then met up with Mel at Flinders Street. Then we were off…

Kelly drove us to the studio. Everyone who was lined up looked soooooooooooooooo old. We looked so out of place . Anyway, we got in and as standbys, we had to wait til the verrrrrrrrrrrry end, but we got in .

That show is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo boring! But fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally the divas came out. They sounded soooooo good and looked soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo  hot . Shame their songs didn’t go for very long. It stuffed up the standing ovations we were planning… but even though I was sitting they still got a standing ovation from me .

All the audience members received a free copy of David Hobson’s new album, shame it wasn’t the divas . Ah well.

For some reason, Channel 7 got rid of the footbridge which usually hides us while we lie in wait for Paulini/divas . So we had no idea where they were going to get out. So we stationed ourselves one at every entrance, and only a few minutes after we all separated Kelly rings me and says they’ve come out. Luke and I ran and got to them before they even came out .

Emily and Kate were first out and they went kinda nuts when they saw us. Jess was next and was like  but was soooooooo nice. I got a photo with her (it’s coming ), and she says “It’s Hayden right?” and I’m like  “I’m Famous!!!” Tom was happy to see us as well, and was asking me how I was going and what I’d been up to. He looked impressed when I told him I was graduating in a month.

Then, the highlight of the night, Paulini comes out. There were a few people in front of us, so when she comes out she’s like  . Then she sees us and is all

“HAYDEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Then runs over and gives me a gigantic hug and a kiss.  The only bad part was I wasn’t expecting it. If I had I might have done something with my lips… She gives Mel, Kelly and Luke a hug each and says to Luke “I’ve met you before, haven’t I?” And he’s like “Yeah I’m Luke” and I chime in “He’s the one who almost fainted the first time he met you.” When she finishes laughing, Paulini says to me “Where’s the rest of you? How did you get so gorgeous? To which I just laughed. When I finished laughing, she’s like “No, seriously, what have you been doing?” So I told her and she’s like “Maybe I should go on that…” and Kelly, Luke, Mel and I all say “Why?” Then Kate yells “Does that actually work?” so I make a few model poses and Paulini’s like “Most of him is missing! Of course it works!”

Then I asked for Paulini’s new number and she’s like “Sure! Sorry I keep changing it…” then gets her phone and says “I have to look it up, I don’t know it myself…” so I suggest giving her my number and having her prank me, which she does while laughing. It is soooooo lucky she pranked me because later on I tried to delete the old number, but deleted the new one as well . Thank GOD I had the number in my received calls hahaha.

Anyway, by this stage, Emily’s gotten into the car after acting like a total spaz  so I say “Emily, before you go, can you please do me a favour?” and she’s like “Sure,”…

“Could you please go back to your blonde hair? I love it!”

And then she just cracks up  and says “I keep changing my hair, so maybe I will  .” By now the girls want to leave so they all hop in, but not before we all sing Happy Birthday to Kelly. I get one more hug and kiss from Paulini  and then they head off. I make them laugh one more time by suggesting out loud that we follow the van, and then that was the end of our latest diva adventure.

THANKS GIRLS FOR MAKING THE NIGHT SO MUCH FUN AND WE’LL SEE YOU AT CAROLS IF NOT SOONER!

Paulini will be appearing on the Burt Bacharach special, hosted by John Foreman and with a special guest appearance by the Bach himself.

We got a glimpse of her solo performance on Monday nights Idol Elimination (OH NO! Ben's out!) and she's looking extra spesh.

 I caught one review of the show by someone who was in the live audience. He wasn't particularly flaterring or impressed by the performers, mainly because he seems to have missed the last 10 or 20 years of pop culture, so it's all the more charming that he singled out Paulini from the rest of the "Idols" to say this of her performance:

The young idol Paulini’s rendering of ‘Say a Little Prayer for You’ was the complete trick. 

The entire show will air on Friday October 19 (THIS FRIDAY) on Channel 10 at 9.30 (right after you've been watching Paulini with the Young Divas on Doing It For The Kids!!).

You can read more of that review (by a gentleman called Henry Thornton) at his site if you're interested. 

NB If you are in a regional area your local network may not be showing this special. Check your local guides. 

However, the judge’s – who seemed all too keen to be nice guys to almost everyone else – were (to my mind) unduly harsh on poor old Lochie who really had improved on last week’s performance.

Regardless of Lochie’s improved singing, the judge’s gave him even lower marks and comments than they did the first week and the viewer votes – based on his first performance – were not enough to carry him through.

So sadly we all have to say goodbye to seeing Paulini on our screens again.

Hayden and Mel made it to the show but Kelly was unable to join them. Kel did manage to prepare a banner and met them outside after the show. Mel, Hayden and Kel’s banner all made a special appearance on the broadcast (see below).

You can read about our gang’s brief ITT adventures for 2007 in the forum where you will also find screen caps and links to videos of Paulini and Lochie provided by the ever-industrious Vindiezel. I also heard a rumour that our roving reporter Hayden may also be preparing an article for the site telling us all about their meeting with Paulini on the opening night of the ITT show. Looking forward to that!!!

Here’s vindiezel’s capture of our Hayden and Mel’s moment on national tv! Yay! We know famous people – and famous banners

I particularly like the woman’s expression to in the left side of the picture. She thinks you two are lovely

Oh and thanks for the plug for this site Kel. You can’t see it in this pic but I did notice you put our url at the bottom of the poster.

(All screen caps courtesy of Vindiezel and probably copyright of Channel 7)

In case you haven’t heard, It Takes Two will be back on our TV screens next month, with a whole new bunch of celebrities taking on the singing challenge.

The best news is, our very own Paulini is returning for the second series as well as many of the other professionals from last season. This means we get to see her on our screens every Sunday night again!

The only professionals not returning for another go are Glenn Shorrock, Karen Knowles and Guy Sebastian, who will be replaced by Kate Ceberano, David Campbell and Anthony Callea.

Possible male partners for Paulini include Lochie Daddo, Home and Away’s Bobby Morley, comedian Russel Gilbert and Ernie Dingo, while rumoured female celebrities include Big Brother housemate Krystal Forscutt, Mimi Macpherson, Joelene Anderson from All Saints, Breakfast radio host Jo Stanley and RockWiz host Julia Zemiro.

Rehearsals for the new series have already begun, so keep an eye out for a premiere date. A few of us will hopefully get along to a few episodes as well, so watch out for some goss and information once the series begins.

If you missed it, dont get the show or would like to relive the whole experience it’s already posted on YouTube (thanks Tish)!

Here’s our gorgeous Paulini and friends performing Happening All Over Again with a sax solo by Adrian Cunningham of John Foreman’s band. I SO prefer them with a band rather than a stupid backing track.

They also performed a couple of songs, one of them accapella!

This week you can catch Paulini and the Divas on Australian Idol at the Opera House. Apparently  they're singing the track Right About Now from their album (and used in the promotion leading up to this year's Idol series) but who cares WHAT they're singing? Paulini will be on our screens again! Life is GOOD.

Meanwhile you can get yourself a Paulini fix  by checking out this fantastic video of Paulini and the Divas  performing Woman In Love live in Queensland for the morning Sunrise show at this link HERE ! [UPDATE: 11 March 07 - This video has fallen victim to the curse of copyright-gone-mad/censorship and has been removed from youtube. Another great international promotion opportunity for Paulini bites the dust. The least they could do is post the video on the Sunrise site instead rather than remove it from the public entirely.]

The performance is brilliant – and just happens to have a lot of Paulini singing and some awesome vocal soaring from our Divine Miss P.  Brilliant stuff from Paulini – and all the girls! I don't think people realise how difficult and rare it is for ANY artist to be able to perform so brilliantly live to air like that. The girls can really sing up a storm! Paulini in particular is flawless and shows yet another aspect to her vocal range and style. And they all look gorgeous – of course. Listen out for that FANTASTIC chorus bit with just Emily and Paulini together! It rocks!

Also – watch out for Paulini performing at various Carols around the nation over the next few weeks. There are rumours running wild about Christmas Carol gigs, including a couple in Queensland and one in Sydney (this is Paulini solo – not the events she's attending as part of the Young Divas). As yet there is no confirmation of the various Christmas Carol events – except the Townsville one – so check with your local council.  We'll try to let you know of any definite ones in time for you to get organised – so keep an eye on the gig guide!! (in the column to the right of this page, for those who havent noticed it yet!!).

In case you weren't watching, last Thursday Paulini and the Young Divas performed, for the first time,  in front of a WORLDWIDE audience. And not just any world-wide audience (oh no no no) but an estimated SIXTY MILLION OF THEM. Yes that's right! Count 'em – SIXTY MILLION!!!

The girls sang the national anthem at the opening of the much-anticipated Aussie venture to reclaim the Ashes (after those Pommy B***rds stole them from us last year et etc blah blah). You would have been hard-pressed to notice them though as the camera pretty much focussed entirely on the Aussie cricket team and the band and crowd drowned out their voices. Strange how they showed the chick who sang the British anthem for most of her performance but all we got of our girls was one quick shot of them at the start and then they sort of disappeared in a sea of national pride. Oh well. I'm sure they were great anyway.

Paulini – Superwoman

They say singers are born, not made. And that’s true… if you think singing is about hitting a note and staying in tune. But that’s just the mechanics: great singing, soul singing, is about instinct, feel and emotional truths. Ultimately, though, it’s about connections – between a voice, a song and a listener. And that’s what makes SUPERWOMAN, Paulini’s long awaited follow up to 2004’s Platinum selling, ARIA No. 1 album, One Determined Heart, so astonishing. Paulini doesn’t so much sing the album’s 12 songs as connect with them completely, drenching them in soul and draping them in multi-textured, honey-soaked tones. For the listener it’s an aural indulgence, a sensory head-trip that recalls the sweet release and cathartic joy of the legendary soul queens. Yet where One Determined Heart was a collection of well chosen covers that paid homage to the artists who inspired her, SUPERWOMAN is a collection of truly international, original, R&B, pop-soul songs indelibly stamped with the voice and presence of a singer poised to become Australia’s own First Lady of Soul and R&B.

Paulini’s instinctive ability to explore the natural range of a song can be traced to her early years living with her family in Fiji. Born into a large, Christian family of six, Paulini was raised in an environment where singing seemed like the most natural thing in the world. “Everyone sat around and sang”, recalls Paulini. “And any chance I had to sing, I was there. I think that’s where I got my confidence as a singer”. But the influence doesn’t end there. SUPERWOMAN’s lush, multi-layered harmonies are all sung and arranged by Paulini – yet Paulini has never been formally taught how to sing harmonies, let alone attend a vocal lesson. “That’s cause there’s a style of singing in my dad’s village called Polutu”, says Paulini, “where you can take any harmony anywhere… even an octave higher. There’s every kind of harmony! So I just learnt how to harmonise in my head”.

Like many teenagers growing up in the 90s, Paulini was a huge fan of pop divas like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, and their influence still informs her vocals. “When I was 12, 13, I absolutely loved them – and I still do… even if that duet was a bit over the top!” But it is Aretha Franklin and Beyonce Knowles who have had the greatest impact on Paulini’s vocal approach to SUPERWOMAN. “I just love the way they’re on the edge and they’re not safe with the way they sing their songs. You know, whatever comes out, comes out. It doesn’t necessarily make sense with the music, but it works. They nail everything with feel”.

Paulini’s faith adds another dimension to SUPERWOMAN, infusing the songs with a raw, gospel-tinged edge that bolsters the album’s emotional integrity. “These are not Christian songs”, says Paulini. “But when you’re in church you sing with everything you have from the depth of your experience. And that’s what I wanted to bring to this album… singing from the heart. Soul singing.”

SUPERWOMAN is a deliberate, creative leap of faith for Paulini. It transforms her from a singer best known for singing covers – albeit her own interpretations thereof – to an artist bringing her own vocal style to original songs she either chose or co-wrote. “I’m sure people thought that I could only sing safe kind of songs. But I wanted to make a record that showed different sides of me. A lot of people have this image of me as very… kind of simple, I guess… a girl next door. But this album is not about a girl. It’s about (as the title track so perfectly demonstrates) a woman who’s just trying to do the best she can”.

SUPERWOMAN explores a world of relationships and everyday life experiences from the female perspective. And though its ultimately optimistic and resilient in tone, there’s a melancholy that’s pervasive: “Life’s about the simple things” but “the world ain’t what it seems to be” (“I Believe”); “I’ve had a real rough day / Wanna get away / Run a million miles / From reality” (“Rough Day”); “I’m not your superwoman” (“Superwoman”); “Who will I run to / … Now you’re not here in my life” (“Who Will I Run To?”); “Just leave me alone” (“Married Man”).

“The great thing about singing and music”, says Paulini, “is that you express what you’re feeling from inside and maybe that’s why some of the songs or my vocals seem a bit dark”.

Recorded in Los Angeles, Spain, London and Australia, SUPERWOMAN is an album with a truly international feel, due in large part to an incredible vocal performance that positions Paulini right alongside the artists she cites as her inspiration. Running the old skool / nu-skool R&B, pop-soul spectrum, with flashes of disco and a handful of soulful power ballads, SUPERWOMAN is brimming with melodies and bursting with potential radio singles: any one of “Rough Day”, “Married Man”, “I Believe”, “The Poet”, “So Over You”, “Superwoman” and “Call Me” could be radio staples over the next 12 months.

For Paulini, SUPERWOMAN is an album which has seen her rise and meet her expectations. “I absolutely treasure this album”, she says. “I’ve had more control, some of my own songs are on it, and I’ve sung it exactly the way I wanted to sing it. I hope that people will be happy with it. I’ve tried my best. But for me, the most important thing is that people know that I can sing and I’m not faking everything. It’s real and it’s genuine”.

Written, produced and recorded in Los Angeles with sold gold hitmaker Matthew Gerard (Kelly Clarkson, Delta Goodrem, Jesse McCartney, Shannon Noll), 'Rough Day' is a carefree and contagious party starter, a soulful slice of escapist, R&B tinged pop that's guaranteed to keep the blues at bay and the party at play.

"I've had a real rough day/Wanna get away Gone have some fun/Are you feelin' me?"

Yeah we're feeling you alright!

What is truly extraordinary – and we really mean extraordinary – about 'Rough Day' is the sheer class of Paulini's vocal performance. Her multi-textured, honeyed tones effortlessly caress the lyrics, transporting the listener "a million miles from reality."

Paulini makes it all sound so easy, but the reality is she's in rarefied territory here. There's nothing forced, there's no sleight of hand. There's just the natural flow of a singer in supreme command of her voice and her song. And for Paulini, that's all that matters.

"For me, the most important thing is that people know that I can sing and I'm not faking anything," says Paulini. "It's real and it's genuine."

Yeah, We're feeling you.

'Rough Day' features an absolutely stellar and very groovy retro styled video, directed by twin directors Jonathan and Josh Baker (Guy Sebastian's 'Oh Oh', Koolism's 'Adrenalin'), that ups the party factor of the song another level.

JBHifi  {moscomment}