Tina Arena : biography
She returned to Los Angeles in 1996 and 1997 to record her third album, In Deep. She wrote four of the songs on the album. Contributions on the other seven songs came from Mick Jones, David Tyson, Christopher Ward, Dean McTaggart, Pam Reswick, and Steve Werfel.musicianguide.com. Retrieved on 14 June 2013.
1997–2000: In Deep and Notre Dame de Paris
The follow-up album, In Deep, produced by Foreigner’s Mick Jones, was also a multi-platinum success. The singles "I Want to Know What Love Is" and "Burn" even had minor success in some U.S. airplay charts and Arena’s songwriting abilities were particularly well noted in Nashville where a number of pedigreed country music artists have since covered her songs, including Wynonna Judd ("Heaven Help My Heart", "Love’s Funny That Way"), Jo Dee Messina ("Burn"), Pam Tillis ("If I Didn’t Love You"), Terri Clark ("Unsung Hero"), Kellie Coffey, Kathie Baillie ("Love’s Funny That Way") and LeAnn Rimes ("You Made Me Find Myself").MTV Tina Arena Bio. . Retrieved on 26 November 2012.Lyrics Freak . Retrieved on 10 June 2013.Entertainment Africa . Retrieved on 10 June 2013. Younger artists have covered Tina’s songs in singing competitions as well, such as the winner of the second season of Australian Idol, Casey Donovan who recorded Arena’s "Symphony of Life" for her album For You and both Filipino artist Sarah Geronimo and Australian Anthony Callea who admits to be a fan of Arena’s, recorded "I Want to Know What Love Is" including the bridge that was written specifically for Arena’s version. Sarah De Bono who came in at fourth place when she joined The Voice (Australia) also recorded Arena’s ("If I Didn’t Love You"). Filipino artists Nina and Christian Bautista recorded a duet version of "Burn" that appeared on Nina’s album Nina Live! while Regine Velasquez did a live performance on Philippine television. Erik Santos and Sheryn Regis also recorded their version of Arena and Marc Anthony’s duet, "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You".Inside Australian Idol. . Retrieved on 10 June 2013.Songbird Source. . Retrieved on 10 June 2013.Videokeman. . Retrieved on 10 June 2013.
Arena’s collaboration with Marc Anthony, "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You", from The Mask of Zorro soundtrack, gave her a new kind of European success, tipping the scales of her success in France where both the song and the album became Top 3, which the album peaked at #3 and was certified 3× Platinum in France. Her first French single, "Aller plus haut" has sold 1 million copies in France and peaked at #2 on the French singles chart, her second French single, "Les trois cloches" was released in 2000, which peaked at #4.
An attempt by Sony to "break" Arena into the American market prompted the release of "If I Was a River", penned by Diane Warren, prior to In Deep’s release there. The single was not particularly successful despite numerous promotional appearances on television shows such as Donny & Marie, but in 1999 she met label-mate Donna Summer who asked her to join her in concert to sing "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)". The duet was well received and subsequently released on Summer’s live album Live & More Encore.
Regardless of her recording achievements, musical theatre has always remained more than just a sideline for Arena. Her performance in the Australian production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, while still in her teens, was applauded by the show’s producer, Andrew Lloyd Webber. She has since made acclaimed appearances in the UK production of Notre Dame de Paris, as Esmeralda, and as Sally Bowles in the Sam Mendes-directed Cabaret in 2002.Webb, Carolyn (11 July 2002). The Age. Retrieved on 3 January 2009. Arena returned to the London stage in April 2007, starring as Roxie Hart in the hit West End production of Chicago.M&C. . Retrieved on 3 December 2012.
