Casey Donovan (singer)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2008) |
Casey Donovan |
|---|
Casey Donovan (born 13 May 1988) was the youngest winner of the Australian Idol series, winning the second season of Australian Idol, at the age of 16.
Biography
Early life
Casey Donovan came from a family of musicians, with several of her relatives pursuing musical careers, including her father, a member of indigenous country band The Donovans. After her parents split, her mother and siblings moved in with stepfather Norm Axford. Growing up, Casey was always interested in singing and was lucky enough to be able to stay in touch with cousins Shalena and Jaleesa as well as occasional contact with Emma. This contact with the Donovan cousins fostered interest in both singing and playing guitar, which led to busking on the streets of Tamworth during the Country Music Festival when she was 10. Casey's musical interest was noticed at Bass Hill Public School and Georges Hall Primary, but was not enough to have any public notice. It was not until her life at Condell Park High that her talent became noticed, and was supported especially by both her mother and stepfather.
Australian Idol 2004
Donovan moved to the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney's Surry Hills in 2004, and it was in this year that her stepfather encouraged him into auditioning for the second season of Australian Idol. While Donovan performed well throughout the Australian Idol competition, receiving countless praise from all three judges of her flawless performances and studio standard vocals, she was not widely considered a favorite 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 being the first making it to the 2004 final, and then defeating widespread favorite Anthony Callea in the grand final. To this date,she is still the youngest Idol winner in the world, having won the competition whilst still only 16
Australian Idol Performances
| Week | Theme | Song Sung | Artist | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | N/A | "A Millon Tears" | Kasey Chambers | Selected |
| Theatre Round Day 2 |
Group Performance | "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" with Emelia Rusciano, Liza Schulberg & Yasmine Abeydeera | Stevie Wonder | Advanced |
| Theatre Round Day 3 |
Solo Performance | "Exodus" | Evanescence | Advanced |
| Top 30 | Semifinal Group #3 | "Here's Where I Stand" | Tiffany Taylor | Advanced |
| Top 12 | Australian-Made Music | "Symphony of Life" | Tina Arena | Safe |
| Top 11 | Pop Music | "Don't Speak" | No Doubt | Safe |
| Top 10 | Songs of the Sixties | "Somebody to Love" | Jefferson Airplane | Safe |
| Top 9 | Disco Hits | "Shake Your Groove Thing" | Peaches & Herb | Bottom 3 |
| Top 8 | Idol's Choice | "Special Ones" | George | Safe |
| Top 7 | Lennon/McCartney | "Eleanor Rigby" | The Beatles | Safe |
| Top 6 | Songs of the Eighties | "The Flame" | Cheap Trick | Bottom 2 |
| Top 5 | Songs of R&B | "Beautiful" | India.Arie | Safe |
| Top 4 | Music of Big Band | "Why Don't You Do Right? Come Fly With Me |
Peggy Lee Frank Sinatra |
Bottom 2 |
| Top 3 | Songs of the Seventies | "You're So Vain" "Misty Blue" |
Carly Simon Dorothy Moore |
Safe |
| Finale | Idol's Choice Idol's Choice Idol's Winner Single |
"Take Me as I Am" "Hello" "Listen with Your Heart" |
Vanessa Amorosi Evanescence Casey Donovan & CeCe Winans |
WON |
2004-2006: "For You"
Donovan's post-Idol debut single, Listen With Your Heart was released digitally on 21 November 2004 and officially in stores on 29 November 2004 and it debuted at #1 on the ARIAnet singles chart. She then released her debut album For You on 13 December, which debuted at #2 on the album charts. Her second single "What's Going On?"* peaked at number 18 in February 2005, and her third single "Flow" was released on 24 July 2005 but only managed to reach number 51.
In 2005 Casey was nominated for three Deadly awards, winning two for Best Album and Best Single. Previously Casey had won a Deadly for Most Promising New Talent in 2004. Also in 2005 she received two ARIA nominations for Highest Selling Album and Highest Selling Single and was awarded an ARIA NO.1 award for "Listen With Your Heart".
On 26 March 2006, she performed at the Closing Ceremony for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. In June 2006, SonyBMG dropped Casey from their record lineup, stating that she did not fit the image they want to promote, due to her weight and personal lifestyle. Casey spent the remainder of the year, re-evaluating her career, re-establishing herself as a Solo Independent Artist, and performing at small intimate gigs.
2007: New Goals/Career Changes & Eye2Eye EP
After Donovan faded from the limelight following her release from Sony BMG, she spent two years writing her own songs with her band. As well as this, she has performed at numerous 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 his singing career. In an interview on 29 August 2007 on Channel 7's "The Morning Show", Casey said that she had lost 15 kg, and more than 30cm off her waistline, and hopes to reduce this further in the coming months to her own set goal.
Her contract with Karma management ended on 22 November 2007, with no plans to resign another contract. As such, Norm Axford, Casey's stepfather assigned himself as her manager. Shortly following this, Casey released an independent EP, Eye 2 Eye, which she aims to use as a stepping stone to recording a second album, with plans to release it toward the end of 2009.
2009
Second Album
Casey announced to her Facebook fans in April 2009 that she was working on her Second Album and had been writing awesome songs. On April 29, Casey wrote on her Twitter that she was in the process of designing the album cover artwork, a clear indication that production was underway. It is expected Casey will again "Independently" produce the album as she did with "Eye 2 Eye." No release date has been announced, although it is expected to be towards the end of 2009, with the possibility of a tour to follow soon after.
Earlier in 2009, Casey Donovan was featured in a cover version of the (Estelle, Kayne West) Hit "American Boy" with Aussie Hip Hop Singer Kid Mac. The cover version titled "Australian Boy" will be featured on Kid Mac's upcoming album. In May 2009, Casey was invited to join a new cover band "Women of Soul" with former Series 6 Australian Idol Finalists (Roshani Priddis, Madam Parker) Together they would pay homage to the soul/motown era and embracing music from the 60’s to present. In a show not to be missed, the singers will tour and perform at live venues across the nation. Shows have been booked for June/July 2009 with more dates expected to follow. As she did in 2008, Casey will again be apart of the Vibe Alive tour in 2009. Vibe Alive is a festival for young Australians of all backgrounds who like to dance, sing, paint and play sport. As part of a team, students get the chance to compete in a variety of challenges. They’ll also find out about awesome career choices, meet some celebrities and learn a few important things about their health. Vibe Alive is about celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and being a proud Aussie. It’s also the perfect chance to meet some new mates - The tour will run from June-September 2009. In October 2009, Casey will take part in a theatre production. The show will run from October 1-3. Casey will also continue selling her music and artwork at various markets around NSW and has a number of gigs booked at live venues throughout the remainder of 2009.
Discography
| Casey Donovan discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 1 |
| Singles | 3 |
| Music videos | 3 |
| B-sides | 3 |
| EPs | 1 |
| Tours | 1 |
The following is a complete discography of every album and single released by Australian pop music artist Casey Donovan.
Albums
| Year | Information | Australia | Sales and Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | For You | Australian sales: 210,000 |
EPs
| Year | Information | Track Listing |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Eye 2 Eye
|
|
Singles
| Year | Song | Australia[3] | Certification | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Listen With Your Heart" | 1 | 2xPlatinum (ARIA) | For You |
| 2005 | "What's Going On?" | 18 | — | |
| "Flow" | 51 | — |
Awards and recognition
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Deadlys | Best New Artist | Winner |
| 2005 | ARIA Award | Highest Selling Single (Listen With Your Heart) | Nominated |
| 2005 | ARIA Award | Highest Selling Album (For You) | Nominated |
| 2005 | Deadlys | Best Single (Listen With Your Heart) | Winner |
| 2005 | Deadlys | Best Album (For You) | Winner |
Controversies
- In June 2006, SonyBMG dropped Casey from their record lineup, stating that she did not fit the image they want to promote. (gargantuan boombah)
- 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.