Anthony Callea Bio - Taken from anthonycallea.com (go back »)

'A New Chapter' marks a whole new beginning in the career of Anthony Callea, one of the most popular young singers in Australia today.

Following on from the chart-topping success of his self-titled, multi-platinum debut album, 'A New Chapter' sees Anthony step forward as a musician in complete control of his art and destiny, co-writing virtually everything on this new album and personally over-seeing every aspect of the recording.

The result is a dynamic collection of 15 songs which explore the full range of Anthony's extraordinary voice, as well as revealing his depth as an artist and performer.

"I didn't want to rush this album at all," says Anthony. "I wanted to make sure it was more about me.

"With everything that has gone on in the last couple of years, I've become more mature, not just in myself, but musically. I've actually had time to take in what has happened and embrace it, and now can move forward."

'A New Chapter' sees Anthony tackle a broader spectrum of musical styles, from powerful emotive ballads [including 'Now You're Gone', 'Heartbeat', 'Here I Go Again' and 'A New Chapter''s first single, 'Live For Love'], through to harder-edged, rock numbers [such as 'Addicted To You', 'Runaway', 'Want You To See', 'If Only' and 'There's Always Time'].

"The album is quite diverse in terms of what is on it," explains Anthony. "From day one, I knew I wanted to keep the ballad side of things - I think that's probably my strength and what comes most naturally to me. But I also want to explore a different side of me.

"I don't want to be so serious all the time, I don't want to get out there and sing ballads all the time. I wanted to have a bit of fun with this record so that when I do take it on the road and tour, I can get out there with a rocking band behind me and sing these tracks that are really guitar-driven and up-tempo and have more of an uplifting vibe about them.

"I didn't want to pigeon-hole myself to doing one genre or style of music, and I didn't want every song to be a lovey-dovey song. I wanted the songs to come across with a real meaning that people can relate to. When you write about something that is real, it comes naturally to you."

And it's his role as a songwriter that, for Anthony, is at the heart of 'A New Chapter'.

"I think having that connection to a song is vital," he says. "I have to be able to believe in something for my audience or my fans to believe it and embrace what I'm doing.

"They are my feelings and my emotions. and I have put them into words. You start putting it into songs and all of a sudden, these thoughts and emotions that you have inside of you start coming to life. It's easier to create something when it's real."

Of course, everyone knows about Anthony's record-breaking success so far: Four hit singles, two No. 1 singles, a No. 1 album. It's now a matter of local pop history that Anthony's debut single, 'The Prayer', released at the end of 2004, is both the highest-selling and fastest-selling Australian single of all time.

It all happened so fast, from Anthony's rise to national prominence via Australian Idol, through to the recording and the enormous success that immediately followed.

So quickly, in fact, that Anthony now confesses he really didn't get the chance to soak it all up and actually enjoy what was happening.

"There were so many releases, a tour, a DVD," Anthony explains. "Towards the end of it, to a certain degree, it felt like I was living in this bubble, this artificial world - so many things happened. I'm proud of the things I achieved in that time, but you do need the space to sit back, to embrace it and be proud if it and accept it, but realise, 'Okay, now it's time to move on.' You don't want to dwell on those things for too long because then you'll never move forward."

Anthony's journey with A New Chapter began at home in Melbourne in the middle of last year and saw him travel and work around Australia and through Europe and Scandinavia, from 40 degree days in his hometown through to sub-zero temperatures in Oslo, Norway.

Anthony got the chance to work with a large support cast of collaborators, featuring some of the world's most celebrated producers and songwriters, including Paul Wilshire [Backstreet Boys, Human Nature], David Eriksen [Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey], Gary Clark [Natalie Imbruglia], and the team of Steve Balsamo and Ben Robbins [who wrote 'Per Sempre' off Anthony's debut album].

Locally, Anthony's colleagues on this record included Vince Pizzinga [Delta Goodrem], Chong Lim [musical director of Dancing With The Stars], Phil Buckle [John Farnham, Southern Sons], Paul Wiltshire, Ross Fraser, as well as Jimmy Christo, one of Anthony's bandmates from his pre-Idol days.

Anthony ended up recording 20 new songs for 'A New Chapter', and then had to go through the painful process of cutting them down to 15 tracks to fit onto one CD.

Now that it's all done and about to be released, Anthony says he couldn't be happier with how 'A New Chapter' has turned out. "I am absolutely pumped for it now," he laughs. "I've had the time to relax and the time to write and record and enjoy the process. Last time it was quite rushed so I didn't really get to enjoy it. This time I was able to stroll into the studio, have a chat and the work on the songs more, with a clearer mind and be more creative with the tracks."

Anthony adds that he won't be too disappointed if 'A New Chapter' doesn't match the freakish record-breaking sales of its predecessor.

"If you achieve a No. 1 or a Top 10 spot, that's great success," he offers. "But just believing in what you're doing and being true to yourself in what you're delivering, that equally classifies as success. Statistical success isn't everything at the end of the day.

"It's about having a competition with yourself rather than with anyone else. You just have to keep bettering yourself. And that doesn't mean chart debuts; it means creating songs that are more meaningful or that you can relate to and that you have a connection with. Hopefully I have done that."

Anthony Callea's brilliant new album, aptly entitled 'A New Chapter', is released November 25.