TinaArena.

We’ve known her since she was a little girl on the popular Australian TV show Young Talent Time. But with multi-platinum albums Don’t Ask and In Deep, success in Europe with her French album Un Autre Univers and the West End production of Chicago: The Musical, Tina Arena is now an international star. We caught up with the singer during her Australian tour for the new album Songs of Love & Loss.

How do you feel when returning to tour Australia?
I’m so happy to be back; life in this country is so incredibly comfortable compared to Europe. The weather, the food, the people… it’s just magnificent. I got off the plane at Tullamarine in Melbourne and couldn’t help but smile to myself; it’s still the same after all these years.

How did Songs of Love & Loss come about?
The original idea [to record a compilation of covers by her favourite female singers] came four years ago. Once that idea hatched, the rest just fell into place.

Choosing the songs was like being handed a menu of all your favourite food. I started with a few Dusty Springfield tunes and that led to the Lulu track “To Sir with Love” and eventually Carol King and Kate Bush. These women were inspirational to me and many artists of my generation. I wanted to share that with people and hopefully inspire another generation.

Which song is closest to your heart?
“The Man with the Child in His Eyes” – that Kate Bush wrote the song in her mid-teens shows real genius. My version on this album is lush, driven by a tribal beat and a beautiful string arrangement. It’s like a good dream.

You’ve carved a name for yourself beyond Australia, with French album releases and musical theatre credentials. Ultimately, who is Tina Arena?
That’s a tough question! From a professional perspective, I guess I am all of these things at different times. My childhood career was a great grounding for all of the other skills I have been fortunate enough to develop over the years, especially in musical theatre where discipline is paramount. Primarily, I see myself as a singer/songwriter. The singing part is relatively easy but writing can be a really painful but strangely positive experience. You have to bare your soul for public consumption, and that’s not easy.

While in Europe did you worry about having to build up your name again in Australia?
Career longevity is hard work. You have to keep growing and re-inventing yourself. By no longer being in people’s view, I think you gain their interest. The first thing people ask me nowadays is “So, what have you been up to?” or “Where are you living now, London or Paris?”

So what have you been up to? And… where are you living now, London or Paris?
I’ve lived in different countries, I’ve started a family [she has a two-year-old son with French hubby Vincent Mancini], I’ve recorded in different languages and performed in all sorts of places – Paris, London, Morocco and Beirut! Those experiences make life interesting so the thought of losing profile because of them never really crossed my mind. I live in London, not Paris.

How has your music evolved?
Each album has been a musical snapshot of where I was ‘at’ at the time. Don’t Ask was very seminal for me, and Chains was at the peak of my pop/soul era, then I went into the mellower, Latin-flavoured Sorrento Moon and Burn period. When I moved to LA, I connected with the country scene there. After moving to Europe,things evolved into a mixture of contemporary French pop and of course now, there’s this Love & Loss album of late 60s-/early 70s-influenced, fully orchestrated popular standards.

What new projects do you have coming up?
I’ve just completed a French record, due out in early 2008. It feels like all of 2007 was spent inside a recording studio so I hope to get a break and tour a lot more this year. Singing to a live audience is still my favourite thing to do.