CASEY DONOVAN (SINGER)

'Casey Donovan' (born May 13, 1988) is an Australian singer and the youngest winner of the idol competition anywhere in the world, winning the second season of ''Australian Idol'' at the mere age of 16. On 17 July, 2006, it was announced that Donovan had been dropped by her label Sony BMG because of concerns about her image and poor sales of her albums. [1]

Contents

History

Comeback: New Lifestyle & New Releases

Controversies

Discography

Albums

Singles

Australian Idol performances

References

External links

History

Donovan was the youngest person to win the Australian Idol competition. She won the competition at 16 while still a student at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney, Australia. She comes from a family of musicians, with several of her relatives pursuing musical careers, including her father, a member of indigenous country band The Donovans.

While Donovan performed well throughout the Australian Idol competition, receiving effusive praise from all three judges, she was not widely considered a favourite to win. During the competition, she received some outside success, winning the Most Promising New Talent Award at the 2004 The Deadlys, which honor indigenous talent in Australia. Nevertheless, she surprised many by first making it to the final at the expense of Courtney Murphy, and then defeating widespread favourite Anthony Callea in the final. Her first single, "Listen With Your Heart" was released digitally on November 21, 2004 and officially in stores on November 29, 2004. It debuted at #1 on the ARIAnet singles chart, while her album ''For You'' debuted at #2 on the album charts. Her second single "What's Going On?" debuted in the top 20 in February 2005. Her third single "Flow" was released on July 24 2005 but only managed to reach #51.
In just 12 months and at 17 years of age, Casey had won Australian Idol, three Deadly awards, received two ARIA nominations, had a #1 debut single and a #2 debut album. While Callea has been afforded more support, Casey has been busy building her fan base with small intimate gigs at venues such as The Basement (with Wendy Matthews) and The Vanguard, as well as a residency at the Sandringham Hotel. She was invited to Brisbane to perform at Foxtel's 10th Birthday Party and to Melbourne. Casey had spent much of the time that year writing, as well as collaborating with respected Australian song-writers, new material for her next album. This was originally due to be released in mid-2006, but has still not been completed.
On March 26 2006, she performed at the Closing Ceremony for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Donovan cites her main musical influences as Nirvana, Incubus and Metallica.

Comeback: New Lifestyle & New Releases

After Casey faded from the limelight following her dumping by Sony BMG, she spent about two years writing her own songs with her band. As well as this, she has performed at numerous intimate gigs, mainly in Sydney, but also a show in Melbourne, and appearing twice at the Dreaming Festival on the Sunshine Coast. In April 2007 Donovan teamed up with the former iron man Guy Leech in an effort to shed her excess weight and restore her singing career^[1]. In an interview on the 29th of August 2007 on Channel 7's "The Morning Show", Casey said that she had lost 15kg, and more than 30cm off her waistline, and hopes to reduce this further in the coming months to her own set goal.
As of current, Casey hopes to release an EP by the end of the year, with a full length LP (Album) out early 2008. The only song 'officially' announced to be released as part of the EP is a song entitled "Help Me", a ballad about the passing of a close friend's father. The song was played on her 'official' TV comeback interview on "The Morning Show" on the 29th of August 2007, however it is not expected to be the lead song off the EP. Rumours amongst her dearest fans stress that this song will indeed be one entitled "Shattered", an upbeat pop-rock song. This is yet to be confirmed.

Controversies

★ Sony BMG have dropped her from their record lineup, stating that her family problems do not fit the image they want to promote.

★ In an interview for the Sydney Morning Herald, Casey was quoted as saying that she smoked excessively and ate Snickers bars for breakfast. Her publicist intervened shortly after to state that certain parts of the interview were taken out of context.

★ Some publications and concerned groups also criticised Donovan for her size and heavy smoking, noting that she was a potentially influential public figure and role model.

★ The day after Casey Donovan's victory in the Idol finals, Telstra's website inadvertently linked to http://www.caseydonovan.com/, at the time a gay porn site, rather than http://www.caseydonovan.com.au/. The mistake was repeated in a full page advertisement in The Age the next day.

Discography

Albums

Album	Information
'''For You'''	★ Released: December 13, 2004 (Australia) ★ Chart positions: #2 (Australia)[2] ★ Certification: 3x platinum (ARIA)[3]

Singles

Year	Song	Australia	Certification	Album
2004	"Listen with Your Heart"	1	2x platinum (ARIA)	''For You''
2005	"What's Going On?"	18	—
2005	"Flow"	51	—

Australian Idol performances

During the 2004 ''Australian Idol'' series, Donovan sang:

★ Sydney Auditions: "A Million Tears" by Kasey Chambers

★ Theatre Round (Day Two): "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" by Stevie Wonder (with Emelia Rusciano, Liza Schulberg and Yasmine Abeydeera)

★ Theatre Round (Day Three): "Exodus" by Evanescence

★ Top 30 - Group 3: "Here's Where I Stand" by Tiffany Taylor - 'TOUCHDOWN PERFORMANCE'

★ Top 12 (Australian Made): "Symphony of Life" by Tina Arena

★ Top 11 (Pop): "Don't Speak" by No Doubt

★ Top 10 (The '60's): "Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane

★ Top 9 (Disco): "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches & Herb

★ Top 8 (Idol's Choice): "Special Ones" by George - 'TOUCHDOWN PERFORMANCE'

★ Top 7 (The Beatles): "Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles

★ Top 6 (The '80's): "The Flame" by Cheap Trick

★ Up Close and Personal Show: "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica

★ Top 5 (R&B): "Beautiful" by India.Arie - 'TOUCHDOWN PERFORMANCE'

★ Top 4 (Big Band): "Why Don't You Do Right?" by Peggy Lee

★ Top 4 (Big Band): "Come Fly with Me" by Frank Sinatra

★ Top 3 (The '70's): "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon - 'TOUCHDOWN PERFORMANCE'

★ Top 3 (The '70's): "Misty Blue" by Dorothy Moore

★ Top 2 "Take Me as I Am" by Vanessa Amorosi

★ Top 2 "Hello" by Evanescence

★ Top 2 "Listen with Your Heart" - ''Idol'' winner's single (originally by CeCe Winans)

★ Grandfinal: "Symphony of Life" by Tina Arena

★ Grandfinal: "Listen with Your Heart" by Casey Donovan - 'TOUCHDOWN PERFORMANCE'

References

1. Casey's life-changing challenge Lillian Saleh
2. "Casey Donovan - chart peaks". ''Australian-charts''. Retrieved June 12 2007.
3. "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2004 Albums". ''ARIA''. Retrieved June 12 2007.

External links

★ Official Casey Donovan website

★ Official Casey Donovan Forum

★ Casey Donovan fansite

★ Official Australian Idol 2 website

★ Undercover article on the true sales of 'For You'