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.
L'un pour l'autre
Tina Arena Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Serait-ce une question d'alchimie
De température
Est-ce un besoin ou une envie
De vivre à deux
Est-ce dans la nature
Serait-ce la couleur de tes yeux
L'idée si belle de vivre a deux
De faire des enfants
Est-ce parce que c'est la bonne personne
Ou le bon moment
J'écoute les réponses qu'on me donne
Mais qui sait vraiment
Pourquoi est-on fait
L'un pour l'autre
Pourquoi on disparaît
L'un sans l'autre
Pourquoi
C'est toi qu'il me fallait
Pas un autre
Pourquoi
C'est moi qu'il
Te fallait
Pas une autre
Pourquoi
Pourquoi
Est-on fait l'un pour l'autre
Seraient-ce les choses que l'on partage
Qui nous réunissent
Nos signatures
En bas de page
Sans autre artifice
Est-ce au contraire nos différences
De tempérament
Qui donnent à notre amour un sens
Presque à chaque instant
Même si tu as tout pour me plaire
Jusqu'à ton sourire
J'ai beau remplir le
Questionnaire
Je ne saurais dire
Pourquoi est-on fait
L'un pour l'autre
Pourquoi on disparaît
L'un sans l'autre
Pourquoi
C'est toi qu'il me fallait
Pas un autre
C'est moi qu'il te fallait
Pas une autre
Pourquoi
Pourquoi
Est-on fait l'un pour l'autre
Pourquoi on disparaît
L'un sans l'autre
Pourquoi
Et si le pas est fait
L'un vers l'autre
C'est qu'aujourd'hui on sait
Comme tant d'autres
Pourquoi
Est-on fait l'un pour l'autre
The lyrics to Tina Arena's song L'Un Pour L'Autre delve into the question of why certain people are meant to be together, and what factors contribute to the creation of a successful partnership. The song opens with a series of questions - is it a matter of chemistry or temperature? Is it a need or a desire to live as a pair? Is it simply the idea of having children and building a life together? These questions reflect the common uncertainties and mysteries that surround romantic relationships, and the difficulty of understanding why some couples work and others do not.
The lyrics go on to explore some possible answers to these questions. The songwriter wonders if it is shared experiences or complementary differences that bring couples together, and comments that even if they fill out a questionnaire, they still might not truly know why they are meant to be together. Ultimately, the song concludes that if the couple has made the decision to be together, then they must have found the answer to the question of why they are meant to be together. The repeating chorus drives home the central theme - that some people are simply meant to be together, even if we cannot always explain why.
Overall, the lyrics to L'Un Pour L'Autre are a meditation on the mystery and beauty of romantic relationships, and the ways in which they defy easy explanation. Through its thoughtful and poetic language, the song invites listeners to reflect on their own experiences of love and connection, and to appreciate the way that these relationships can highlight the magic and wonder of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Serait-ce une question d'alchimie
Could it be a matter of chemistry?
De température
Of temperature?
Est-ce un besoin ou une envie
Is it a need or a desire
De vivre à deux
To live with another
Est-ce dans la nature
Is it in nature?
Serait-ce la couleur de tes yeux
Could it be the color of your eyes?
Ou tout simplement
Or simply
L'idée si belle de vivre a deux
The beautiful idea of living with someone
De faire des enfants
Of making children
Est-ce parce que c'est la bonne personne
Is it because it's the right person?
Ou le bon moment
Or the right moment?
J'écoute les réponses qu'on me donne
I listen to the answers given to me
Mais qui sait vraiment
But who really knows
Pourquoi est-on fait
Why are we made
L'un pour l'autre
For each other?
Pourquoi on disparaît
Why do we disappear
L'un sans l'autre
Without each other?
C'est toi qu'il me fallait
You were the one I needed
Pas un autre
Not someone else
C'est moi qu'il Te fallait
I was the one you needed
Pas une autre
Not someone else
Seraient-ce les choses que l'on partage
Could it be the things we share
Qui nous réunissent
That bring us together
Nos signatures
Our signatures
En bas de page
At the bottom of the page
Sans autre artifice
Without any other artifice
Est-ce au contraire nos différences
Is it on the contrary our differences
De tempérament
Of temperament?
Qui donnent à notre amour un sens
That give our love a meaning
Presque à chaque instant
Almost every moment
Même si tu as tout pour me plaire
Even if you have everything to please me
Jusqu'à ton sourire
Even your smile
J'ai beau remplir le
Even though I fill in the
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Je ne saurais dire
I wouldn't know how to tell
Pourquoi est-on fait
Why are we made
L'un pour l'autre
For each other?
Pourquoi on disparaît
Why do we disappear
L'un sans l'autre
Without each other?
Et si le pas est fait
And if the step is taken
L'un vers l'autre
Towards each other
C'est qu'aujourd'hui on sait
It's because today we know
Comme tant d'autres
Like so many others
Pourquoi est-on fait
Why are we made
L'un pour l'autre
For each other?
Contributed by Lila B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.