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Paulini
Pauline Curuenavuli (born 15 October 1982), known professionally as Paulini, is a Fijian-Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. Born in Suva, Paulini moved to Sydney with her family at the age of four. She rose to fame in 2003 as a contestant on the first season of Australian Idol and placed fourth in the competition. After Idol, Paulini signed a recording contract with Sony BMG Australia and released her debut studio album One Determined Heart (2004), which debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum. The album included the platinum single "Angel Eyes", which spent three consecutive weeks at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart. Paulini received two ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards for both the album and single.
In 2006, Paulini released her second studio album Superwoman, which failed to match the commercial success of her debut album. Despite this, the album included the top-thirty single "Rough Day" and earned Paulini two nominations at the Australia/New Zealand Urban Music Awards. That same year, Paulini achieved commercial success again as a member of the Australian girl group Young Divas. The group released two top-ten albums, Young Divas (2006) and New Attitude (2007), and achieved three top-fifteen singles, including the hugely successful "This Time I Know It's for Real". After Paulini parted ways with the Young Divas and ended her contract with Sony BMG in 2008, she focused more on songwriting. Through a publishing deal with independent label Albert Music, Paulini was able to travel and write songs in Europe, New York and Los Angeles. She wrote songs for several recording artists in Europe, South Africa and the Philippines.
Aside from her songwriting work, Paulini continued to release singles independently between 2009 and 2013. She was also featured on the 2010 single "Believe Again" by Irish recording artist Ronan Keating. Paulini released her third and fourth studio albums, Come Alive and Merry Christmas, both in 2015 through a joint record deal with Ambition and Decca Records Australia. Come Alive was a moderate success, debuting at number 25 on the ARIA Albums Chart. In 2017, Paulini made her musical theatre debut in the Australian production of The Bodyguard, playing the lead role of Rachel Marron—originally portrayed by Whitney Houston in the 1992 film of the same name.
Paulini Curuenavuli was born in Suva, Fiji on 15 October 1982 to parents Isireli, a former choir conductor, and Miliana, a nurse. Her mother Miliana lived and worked alone in Sydney, Australia for two years. Paulini, her five siblings and their father Isireli moved from Fiji to Sydney in 1986, when she was four years old, to join Miliana. Their first home in Australia was a two-bedroom apartment in Randwick, New South Wales, where Paulini attended Coogee Public School. The family later moved to a south-western Sydney suburb, close to the Fijian church they regularly attended. Paulini is the youngest of six siblings; she has three brothers and two sisters. Paulini's eldest brother was shot and killed during a robbery incident in 1990. She recorded a cover of Luba's "Every Time I See Your Picture I Cry", in her brother's memory, for her third album Come Alive (2015). Paulini and her family began singing and playing instruments from a young age, despite not being classically trained in music. Their father taught Paulini and her siblings how to harmonise. At the age of 10, Paulini's father encouraged her to showcase her singing abilities at a church talent quest. It was during this moment Paulini realised that singing is "what I wanted to do with my life." Aside from singing, Paulini also had a passion for playing netball.
As a teenager, Paulini attended Bankstown Girls High School, where she was selected to perform at the Bankstown Millennium Buzz spectacular, held in 2000 to celebrate the Sydney Olympics. As a result of her performance, she was chosen to be a member of the first Bankstown Talent Advance Program (TAP), which enables students to gain confidence and learn important skills in the performing arts from an expert team. Being part of the program helped Paulini to build up her confidence because she was a shy teenager, and it eventually led to her winning the TV talent show StarStruck in 2001. Following her win, Paulini recorded a cover version of the Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey duet "When You Believe" for the show's soundtrack album. With the involvement of her high school music department, Paulini was also a participant in Sydney's annual Schools Spectacular variety show. After leaving high school, Paulini worked in a retail clothing store and became a full-time musician. In February 2003, Paulini became a member of the Fijian band Mixx. She was one of the vocalists for the band alongside her sisters Litia and Sereima, as well as other vocalists Mansus Knight, Aporosa Vakanawa and Biannca Kotobalavu. Other members of Mixx included Ben Kotobalavu on drums, his brother Rowland on bass, Jona Uluinaceva and Henry Foon on keyboards, Apakuki Nayacakalou as the guitarist, and Rupeni Davui on percussion. The band played gigs around Sydney and were even invited to perform at the opening of the 2003 South Pacific Games in Fiji. Paulini recorded the anthem "Many Rhythms, One Love" for the South Pacific Games' official album, The Pacific at Its Best. She eventually left Mixx later that year to audition for the first season of Australian Idol.
In 2003, Paulini successfully auditioned for the first season of Australian Idol, and progressed through to the theatre rounds. Following the theatre round process, Paulini had advanced through to the semi-finals and eventually made it into the top twelve. Throughout the season, Paulini continued to impress the judges and viewers with her performances of songs by Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Thelma Houston, Toni Braxton and Etta James. In the final five-week, following her rendition of Destiny's Child's "Survivor", male judges Mark Holden and Ian Dickson were not impressed with the tight-fitted gold dress Paulini wore for the performance. Dicko commented on the dress, saying "You should choose more appropriate clothes or shed some pounds", which resulted in a great deal of debate and controversy in the media relating to self-esteem and body image of teenage girls. After hearing Dicko's comments, Paulini went backstage and cried. In an interview with Woman's Day magazine, 11 years after the comment was made, Paulini stated "It affected me a lot and it really hurt my confidence." In the final four-week, Paulini was eliminated from the competition. According to a poll taken on Australian Idol, Paulini's elimination was the second most surprising elimination in the show's history.
Nick Bond of News.com.au described Dicko's criticism of Paulini's gold dress as "one of the most controversial moments in Australian Idol history," while Andrew Bucklow from the same publication labelled it one of the show's "most infamous moments" ever. During Dicko's appearance on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia in 2012, he revealed that "people were virtually spitting on me" after that Australian Idol episode had aired, calling it a defining moment for him because he "became a national pariah" overnight. In an episode of The Celebrity Apprentice and in reference to the gold dress controversy, Dicko made a statue of someone wearing a gold dress with the word "sorry" printed on it. Paulini appeared in the episode to see what Dicko had made and she accepted his apology. In 2014, Dicko told Woman's Day that he does not regret what he said to Paulini, saying "It's part of who I am and who Paulini is and it binds us together." In July 2017, Dicko apologised again in a pre-recorded message he left for Paulini during her radio interview on Hot 91.1 FM's breakfast show, Dave, Sam & Ash. In the message, Dicko said "I was trying to be nice at the time, can you believe, but I'm glad that you've gone on to do such great things." After joking that his "cruel little words" turned them "into Australian reality TV's power couple", he ended his message by telling Paulini, "what I want to say is, I'm so proud of you girl, you go get'em."
Following her departure on Australian Idol, Paulini signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia, which later merged with the show's sponsor BMG Records. Her debut studio album One Determined Heart was released on 23 July 2004; it debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, where it remained for two consecutive weeks, and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 70,000 units. The album was produced by Audius Mtawarira, and was mainly a collection of covers, featuring only two original tracks. A cover of The Jeff Healey Band's 1989 hit "Angel Eyes" was released as the first single from One Determined Heart. It peaked at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart, where it remained for three consecutive weeks, and was certified platinum. "Angel Eyes" remained in the top ten for two months, and became the fourth-highest-selling Australian single of 2004. Paulini won two ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards for both the album and single. "Angel Eyes" was also nominated for Highest Selling Single at the 2004 ARIA Music Awards. Original track "We Can Try" was released as the album's second single, and peaked at number 30. The song had better success on the ARIA Urban Singles Chart, where it reached number nine.
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Paulini
Pauline Curuenavuli (born 15 October 1982), known professionally as Paulini, is a Fijian-Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. Born in Suva, Paulini moved to Sydney with her family at the age of four. She rose to fame in 2003 as a contestant on the first season of Australian Idol and placed fourth in the competition. After Idol, Paulini signed a recording contract with Sony BMG Australia and released her debut studio album One Determined Heart (2004), which debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum. The album included the platinum single "Angel Eyes", which spent three consecutive weeks at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart. Paulini received two ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards for both the album and single.
In 2006, Paulini released her second studio album Superwoman, which failed to match the commercial success of her debut album. Despite this, the album included the top-thirty single "Rough Day" and earned Paulini two nominations at the Australia/New Zealand Urban Music Awards. That same year, Paulini achieved commercial success again as a member of the Australian girl group Young Divas. The group released two top-ten albums, Young Divas (2006) and New Attitude (2007), and achieved three top-fifteen singles, including the hugely successful "This Time I Know It's for Real". After Paulini parted ways with the Young Divas and ended her contract with Sony BMG in 2008, she focused more on songwriting. Through a publishing deal with independent label Albert Music, Paulini was able to travel and write songs in Europe, New York and Los Angeles. She wrote songs for several recording artists in Europe, South Africa and the Philippines.
Aside from her songwriting work, Paulini continued to release singles independently between 2009 and 2013. She was also featured on the 2010 single "Believe Again" by Irish recording artist Ronan Keating. Paulini released her third and fourth studio albums, Come Alive and Merry Christmas, both in 2015 through a joint record deal with Ambition and Decca Records Australia. Come Alive was a moderate success, debuting at number 25 on the ARIA Albums Chart. In 2017, Paulini made her musical theatre debut in the Australian production of The Bodyguard, playing the lead role of Rachel Marron—originally portrayed by Whitney Houston in the 1992 film of the same name.
Paulini Curuenavuli was born in Suva, Fiji on 15 October 1982 to parents Isireli, a former choir conductor, and Miliana, a nurse. Her mother Miliana lived and worked alone in Sydney, Australia for two years. Paulini, her five siblings and their father Isireli moved from Fiji to Sydney in 1986, when she was four years old, to join Miliana. Their first home in Australia was a two-bedroom apartment in Randwick, New South Wales, where Paulini attended Coogee Public School. The family later moved to a south-western Sydney suburb, close to the Fijian church they regularly attended. Paulini is the youngest of six siblings; she has three brothers and two sisters. Paulini's eldest brother was shot and killed during a robbery incident in 1990. She recorded a cover of Luba's "Every Time I See Your Picture I Cry", in her brother's memory, for her third album Come Alive (2015). Paulini and her family began singing and playing instruments from a young age, despite not being classically trained in music. Their father taught Paulini and her siblings how to harmonise. At the age of 10, Paulini's father encouraged her to showcase her singing abilities at a church talent quest. It was during this moment Paulini realised that singing is "what I wanted to do with my life." Aside from singing, Paulini also had a passion for playing netball.
As a teenager, Paulini attended Bankstown Girls High School, where she was selected to perform at the Bankstown Millennium Buzz spectacular, held in 2000 to celebrate the Sydney Olympics. As a result of her performance, she was chosen to be a member of the first Bankstown Talent Advance Program (TAP), which enables students to gain confidence and learn important skills in the performing arts from an expert team. Being part of the program helped Paulini to build up her confidence because she was a shy teenager, and it eventually led to her winning the TV talent show StarStruck in 2001. Following her win, Paulini recorded a cover version of the Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey duet "When You Believe" for the show's soundtrack album. With the involvement of her high school music department, Paulini was also a participant in Sydney's annual Schools Spectacular variety show. After leaving high school, Paulini worked in a retail clothing store and became a full-time musician. In February 2003, Paulini became a member of the Fijian band Mixx. She was one of the vocalists for the band alongside her sisters Litia and Sereima, as well as other vocalists Mansus Knight, Aporosa Vakanawa and Biannca Kotobalavu. Other members of Mixx included Ben Kotobalavu on drums, his brother Rowland on bass, Jona Uluinaceva and Henry Foon on keyboards, Apakuki Nayacakalou as the guitarist, and Rupeni Davui on percussion. The band played gigs around Sydney and were even invited to perform at the opening of the 2003 South Pacific Games in Fiji. Paulini recorded the anthem "Many Rhythms, One Love" for the South Pacific Games' official album, The Pacific at Its Best. She eventually left Mixx later that year to audition for the first season of Australian Idol.
In 2003, Paulini successfully auditioned for the first season of Australian Idol, and progressed through to the theatre rounds. Following the theatre round process, Paulini had advanced through to the semi-finals and eventually made it into the top twelve. Throughout the season, Paulini continued to impress the judges and viewers with her performances of songs by Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Thelma Houston, Toni Braxton and Etta James. In the final five-week, following her rendition of Destiny's Child's "Survivor", male judges Mark Holden and Ian Dickson were not impressed with the tight-fitted gold dress Paulini wore for the performance. Dicko commented on the dress, saying "You should choose more appropriate clothes or shed some pounds", which resulted in a great deal of debate and controversy in the media relating to self-esteem and body image of teenage girls. After hearing Dicko's comments, Paulini went backstage and cried. In an interview with Woman's Day magazine, 11 years after the comment was made, Paulini stated "It affected me a lot and it really hurt my confidence." In the final four-week, Paulini was eliminated from the competition. According to a poll taken on Australian Idol, Paulini's elimination was the second most surprising elimination in the show's history.
Nick Bond of News.com.au described Dicko's criticism of Paulini's gold dress as "one of the most controversial moments in Australian Idol history," while Andrew Bucklow from the same publication labelled it one of the show's "most infamous moments" ever. During Dicko's appearance on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia in 2012, he revealed that "people were virtually spitting on me" after that Australian Idol episode had aired, calling it a defining moment for him because he "became a national pariah" overnight. In an episode of The Celebrity Apprentice and in reference to the gold dress controversy, Dicko made a statue of someone wearing a gold dress with the word "sorry" printed on it. Paulini appeared in the episode to see what Dicko had made and she accepted his apology. In 2014, Dicko told Woman's Day that he does not regret what he said to Paulini, saying "It's part of who I am and who Paulini is and it binds us together." In July 2017, Dicko apologised again in a pre-recorded message he left for Paulini during her radio interview on Hot 91.1 FM's breakfast show, Dave, Sam & Ash. In the message, Dicko said "I was trying to be nice at the time, can you believe, but I'm glad that you've gone on to do such great things." After joking that his "cruel little words" turned them "into Australian reality TV's power couple", he ended his message by telling Paulini, "what I want to say is, I'm so proud of you girl, you go get'em."
Following her departure on Australian Idol, Paulini signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia, which later merged with the show's sponsor BMG Records. Her debut studio album One Determined Heart was released on 23 July 2004; it debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, where it remained for two consecutive weeks, and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 70,000 units. The album was produced by Audius Mtawarira, and was mainly a collection of covers, featuring only two original tracks. A cover of The Jeff Healey Band's 1989 hit "Angel Eyes" was released as the first single from One Determined Heart. It peaked at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart, where it remained for three consecutive weeks, and was certified platinum. "Angel Eyes" remained in the top ten for two months, and became the fourth-highest-selling Australian single of 2004. Paulini won two ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards for both the album and single. "Angel Eyes" was also nominated for Highest Selling Single at the 2004 ARIA Music Awards. Original track "We Can Try" was released as the album's second single, and peaked at number 30. The song had better success on the ARIA Urban Singles Chart, where it reached number nine.
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