Her career began at the age of seven when she was selected as a regular performer for the music television program Young Talent Time. As a child Arena attracted attention for the power of her voice, which was considered remarkable for such a young child.
She was born to Italian parents and has a sister, Nancy (born 1961). Often billed as "Tiny Tina Arena", she was seen on weekly television singing and dancing the current pop hits. The show's policy was to promote talented children, and at the age of sixteen team members would leave, ostensibly to follow an adult career. As one of the show's youngest performers, Arena's nine year stint was also one of the show's longest. "Strong As Steel" Like most of the children who left the show, Arena carried with her a stigma that made it difficult to be taken seriously as an adult vocalist, and for a short time she contemplated ending her career, and found employment with an insurance company. She was invited to support Lionel Richie on his Australian tour, but despite this success and the profile it gave her, record companies were unwilling to offer her a recording contract. Arena persevered, playing nightclubs in Melbourne and in several stage musicals, before finally being offered a contract.
Her album Strong as Steel, released in 1990, contained one major hit single, the uptempo dance track, "I Need Your Body", whose accompanying video demonstrated Arena as a sexy and confident adult. The contrast between her adult image and that of the seven year old child she had been when she first became famous attracted considerable publicity in Australia, but some elements of the media insisted that she was little more than a novelty act. Despite the success of the further singles, The Machine's Breaking Down and the Diane Warren title track, the album failed to establish her as a major act, and she relocated to the United States.
After signing a contract with Sony Music, Arena released the album Don't Ask in 1994. It became one of the highest selling albums of the year in Australia and provided her with her first substantial hit single "Chains". The song also reached the Top 10 in the United Kingdom and Top 40 in the United States. Arena's career was said to be a priority of record executive Tommy Mottola who envisioned her achieving the level of success of Céline Dion or Mariah Carey, but the album failed to sell well in the US, and Mottola moved on to other projects. Other hits followed in Australia and Europe, including "Heaven Help My Heart", "Wasn't It Good" and "Sorrento Moon". The album won Arena five ARIA Awards for "Album of the Year", "Song of the Year" ("Chains"), "Pop Release of the Year" ("Chains") and "Best Female Vocalist", as well as a special award for "Highest Selling Female Artist in Australian History".
After more than twenty years she was finally accepted as a credible performer by both the record buying public and the Australian music industry.
Her next album In Deep (1997), produced by Foreigner's Mick Jones contained a cover version of their hit "I Want To Know What Love Is" (with backing vocals by the song's original vocalist Lou Gramm) and another major hit single "Burn". In Deep was the highest selling Australian album of the year. During this time she recorded the theme song for the film The Mask of Zorro, a duet with Marc Anthony titled "I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You". This song was highly successful in Europe, and Arena embraced European culture, recording several songs in French and relocating temporarily to France. During this period her greatest successes were these French recordings and they were major hits in France. A repackaged version of the In Deep album including the new French versions, and a cover version of the Edith Piaf song "Les Trois Cloches" was a major hit throughout Europe and reached number 3 in France.
Her 2001 album Just Me was a moderate success and included such hit singles as "Soul Mate #9", "Dare You To Be Happy" and "Symphony of Life". In 1998, Arena was invited to perform the role of Esmerelda in the West End production of Notre Dame de Paris in London. In 2000, she performed to the largest audience of her career at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Later that year she received an outstanding achievement ARIA Award for her career achievement, with the award also specifically recognising her success in France.
In 2003 she was recruited by Dance DJ Ray Roc to sing on his single "Never (Past Tense)". The song was one of the year's longest running hits on the Hot Dance Club Songs charet where it reached number one.
Arena completed her contract with Sony Music in the Fall of 2004, releasing a Greatest Hits album and a Greatest Hits DVD marking the end of her association with them. She was also released her Greatest Hits Live which features 90 minutes of LIVE concert footage recorded during her 2004 Greatest Hits tour in Australia.
After resigning a record deal with Columbia France, Arena recorded a new entirely French album, called Un Autre Univers (Another Universe). The album was co-written by Arena and an assortment of French and English writers and producers. The first single "Aimer jusqu'a l'impossible" (Love Till The Impossible) received airplay across French radio and debuted on the French national charts at #3. On November 17th 2005, Arena and partner Vincent Mancini became parents, with the birth of a son, Gabriel Joseph, in Paris.Arena's sixth studio album titled Songs of Love & Loss was recorded independently and self-financed as she no longer had a recording contract in Australia. The album was eventually released on 1 December 2007 after a new deal was struck with EMI Australia. The record was primarily made up of torch songs originally recorded by women in the 1960s and 70s such as Dusty Springfield and Diana Ross and the arrangements featured a full string orchestra conducted by Simon Hale. A promotional tour of Australia in early November included appearances on Dancing with the Stars and Sunrise. Five concert dates backed by a 35 piece orchestra were held in December–January: three at the Sydney Opera House and two at Melbourne's Hamer Hall. The album peaked at #3 on the ARIA Top Albums chart and was nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Selling Album.
While Arena was still promoting Songs of Love & Loss in Australia, her first French single in two years, "Entends-tu le monde?", was made available to French radio. The video was shot in and around Sydney during the promotional tour of her home country and went on heavy rotation on French music television channels upon its release. The song was the first single from her sophomore French album 7 vies which was released on 28 January 2008 and debuted at #12 on the official French charts, her highest debut ever in the country. The single "Entends-tu le monde?" was physically released on 11 February 2008 and debuted at #10 on the French charts, becoming her sixth top ten single there.
August 2008 saw Arena performing with Andrea Bocelli during his Australian tour. The two performed well received duets of "The Prayer", "Canto della Terra" and a cover of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love". Prior to the tour she had been in the UK recording her eighth studio album Songs of Love & Loss 2, which was released on 15 November 2008.[4] For this album, her vocals were recorded live with the London Studio Orchestra, again conducted by Hale.[5]
Arena & Alison Jiear at Sydney Mardi Gras 2009.Alongside fellow Australian singer and songwriter Darren Hayes, Arena appeared as a guest judge during the London auditions of Australian Idol's sixth season. The episode featuring Arena and Hayes aired on 27 August 2008. She again appeared as a guest judge on 16 November while she was in Australia to promote Songs of Love & Loss 2.
Arena has been awarded a Knighthood of the Order of National Merit, the second highest civil honour in France, by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in February 2009 for her contributions to French culture.
In March 2009, Arena toured Australia in support of her album Songs of Love & Loss 2 and also appeared as a surprise guest performer at the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras party singing a medley of "Aimer jusqu'à l'impossible" and "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" at 3 am accompanied by Alison Jiear on the latter.
2009 also saw the release of Arena's first French greatest hits album, The Best & le meilleur, and The Peel Me Sessions, an album of original material recorded in 2003 but rejected by her label at the time Sony.
A live CD and DVD was released in Australia in January 2010, The Onstage Collection, where the album peaked at #22 on the ARIA Charts.
Arena announced that she will release her seventh English studio album in 2011.
Both Sides Now
Tina Arena Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of angel hair
And ice cream
Castles in the air
And feather canyons
Everywhere
I've looked
At clouds that way
They only
Block the sun
They rain and snow
On everyone
So many things
I would have done
But clouds
Got in my way
I've looked
At clouds
From both sides now
From up and down
And still somehow
It's cloud illusions
I recall
I really don't know
Clouds at all
Moons and Junes
And ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way
You feel
As every fairy tale
Comes real
I've looked
At love that way
But now
It's just
Another show
You leave 'em
Laughing when you go
And if you care
Don't let them know
Don't give
Yourself away
I've looked at love
From both sides now
From give and take
And still somehow
It's love's illusions
I recall
I really don't know
Love at all
Tears and fears
And feeling proud
To say "I love you"
Right out loud
Dreams and schemes
And circus crowds
I've looked
At life that way
But now old friends
Are acting strange
They shake their heads
They say
I've changed
Something's lost
But something's gained
In living every day
I've looked at life
From both sides now
From win and lose
And still somehow
It's life's illusions
I recall
I really don't know
Life at all
The song "Both Sides Now" by Tina Arena is a poignant reflection on the various illusions that we face in life. The lyrics describe different aspects of life that were once familiar and comforting to the singer, but now they seem fleeting and illusory. The opening lines use vivid and dreamlike imagery to suggest a world of possibility and wonder: "Bows and flows / Of angel hair / And ice cream / Castles in the air / And feather canyons / Everywhere." However, as the song progresses, the imagery becomes more bleak and despairing, with the clouds blocking the sun and rain and snow falling on everyone.
The chorus of the song speaks to the singer's sense of disillusionment and confusion: "I've looked at clouds from both sides now / From up and down and still somehow / It's cloud illusions I recall / I really don't know clouds at all." This sense of not knowing what to believe or trust is repeated in the second and third verses, which describe the illusions of love and life respectively. Ultimately, the song suggests that while life may be full of illusions, both good and bad, it is still worth living fully and experiencing everything that comes our way.
Line by Line Meaning
Bows and flows
There is an image of harmonious movement, of something flowing elegantly
Of angel hair
An image of beauty and purity
And ice cream
An image of childhood memories and carefree happiness
Castles in the air
An image of unrealistic dreams and impractical plans
And feather canyons
An image of lightness and expansiveness
Everywhere
The presence of these images is not limited to one place or time
I've looked
In the past, I have experienced
At clouds that way
Looking at clouds with a certain perspective
But now
Currently
They only
The clouds have become limited to
Block the sun
Obstructing the light and warmth that was once there
They rain and snow
Creating difficult conditions for everyone
On everyone
No one is spared from the negative effects of the clouds
So many things
There were a lot of opportunities or goals
I would have done
That could have been accomplished
But clouds
The clouds
Got in my way
Prevented me from achieving them
From up and down
Viewed from different angles or perspectives
It's cloud illusions
The clouds are just an illusion
I recall
I remember
I really don't know
I don't fully understand or comprehend
Clouds at all
The true nature of clouds
Moons and Junes
A poetic way to refer to the passage of time
And ferris wheels
An image of highs and lows, of ups and downs
The dizzy dancing way
The feeling of being swept away by something
You feel
That you experience
As every fairy tale
Like a storybook ending
Comes real
Becomes a reality
It's just
Now, it's merely
Another show
A performance
You leave 'em
When you depart
Laughing when you go
People are amused by your behavior
And if you care
If you are invested in the relationship
Don't let them know
Hide your true feelings
Don't give
Do not reveal
Yourself away
Your true self or emotions
From give and take
Interactions between two people, where each gives and receives something
It's love's illusions
Love is not a concrete thing, but rather an ideal or concept
I really don't know
I don't fully understand or comprehend
Love at all
The true nature of love
Tears and fears
A reference to hardship, anxiety, and pain
And feeling proud
Experiencing happiness and confidence
To say "I love you"
Expressing genuine affection
Right out loud
Publicly and unabashedly
Dreams and schemes
Plans and aspirations
And circus crowds
A reference to the chaos and busyness of life
But now old friends
People who were once close and familiar
Are acting strange
Their behavior is unexpected or unfamiliar
They shake their heads
They disapprove or disagree with something
They say
They express
I've changed
My actions or personality have transformed
Something's lost
Something important is gone
But something's gained
But something else of value has been acquired
In living every day
In the daily experience of life
From win and lose
From experiences of success and failure
It's life's illusions
Life presents itself in ways that are not entirely genuine or real
I recall
I remember
I really don't know
I don't fully understand or comprehend
Life at all
The true nature of life
Lyrics © Crazy Crow Music / Siquomb Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind