Chart positions for Anthony and Casey
| BACK | 22 December 2004
Australian Idol runner-up Anthony Callea has debuted this
week in the national Aria charts singles charts at number
one with his version of "The Prayer". The popular
track sold close to 30,000 on its first weekend of release.
As the CD was not embargoed, stores were able to sell
the single before its official release date on Sunday
19 December. The release beat tracks by Gwen Stefani,
Destiny's Child, Idol contestants Joel Turner & The
Modern Day Poets and Idol winner Casey Donovan to the
top spot and has shipped platinum status. Record executives
are also predicting an exceptional response to Anthony
Callea's debut album which he is currently recording in
Sydney which will be release in February.
Meanwhile, Casey Donovan's album "For You" debuted
at number two on the official Aria album charts in it
first week of release. With strong competition from Robbie
Williams, Pearl Jam, Delta Goodrem, U2 and Eminem, sales
figures for the Idol winner was below expectation with
less than 35,000 copies sold, even though the album has
been certified three times platinum for units shipped
to retail stores.
Guy Sebastian's debut album 'Just As I Am' sold more than
160,000 units in its first week, while Shannon Noll's
'That's What I'm Talking About' sold over 131,000 in its
first week.
Rival Anthony Callea has knocked Australian Idol winner
Casey Donovan from the top of the singles charts, while
her debut album has failed to reach number one.
After two weeks with the highest selling single in the
country, Donovan's Listen With Your Heart has been outsold
by Idol runner-up Callea's cover of The Prayer.
At the same time, first week sales of Donovan's album,
For You, puts it at number two on the Australian albums
chart, failing to displace Robbie Williams at number one.
She's fallen short of the success shared by series one
winner Guy Sebastian and contestants Shannon Noll and
Paulini, whose debut albums all entered the chart at number
one.
In other chart news, Numb/Encore by Linkin Park and Jay-Z
has debuted on the Australian singles chart at number
eight, one place ahead of the other new entrant, Boulevard
of Broken Dreams by Green Day.
On the albums chart, Pearl Jam's Rearviewmirror moves
up from five to three, while Mistaken Identity by Delta
Goodrem drops from number two to four.
Australian singles chart
1(-) The Prayer - Anthony Callea (SBME)
2(1) Listen With Your Heart - Casey Donovan (SBME)
3(2) What You Waiting For? - Gwen Stefani (INR/UMA)
4(3) These Kids - Joel Turner & The Modern Day Poets
(DD/MGM)
5(4) Lose My Breath - Destiny's Child (COL/SBME)
6(5) Just Lose It - Eminem (INR/UMA)
7(6) Tilt Ya Head Back - Nelly Feat. Christina Aguilera
(UMA)
8(-) Numb / Encore - Linkin Park (WARNER)
9(-) Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day (WARNER)
10(7) Welcome To My Life - Simple Plan (EW/WAR)
Australian albums chart
1(1) Greatest Hits - Robbie Williams (CAP/EMI)
2(-) For You - Casey Donovan (SBME)
3(5) Rearviewmirror - Pearl Jam (EPI/SBME)
4(2) Mistaken Identity - Delta Goodrem (EPI/SBME)
5(3) How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb U2 (isl/uma)
6(4) Encore - Eminem (INR/UMA)
7(6) Songs About Jane - Maroon 5 (RCA/SBME)
8(9) The Sound Of White - Missy Higgins (ELEV/EMI)
9(8) Get Born - Jet (CAP/EMI)
10(10) American Idiot - Green Day (WARNER)
Casey won't diet for anyone
| BACK | 22 December 2004
Casey won't diet for anyone
By Paul Stewart
December 19, 2004
AUSTRALIAN Idol winner Casey Donovan has rejected advice
that she should diet and give up her packet-a-day smoking
habit.
Donovan, 16, said she would be sticking to her vegetable-free
eating vice and cigarettes because she has been stressed
since winning the talent quest.
"It is a bad habit and I would like to stop, but
at the moment I smoke a lot due to all the stress,"
she said.
The singer, who once admitted eating Cherry Ripes for
breakfast, said she was happy with her shape and image.
"I would not respond at all if someone asked me to
change my diet to suit my new pop star role. People voted
for me for who I am, so I do not see why I should change,"
she said.
"People saw me when they voted for me. They knew
what they were getting."
Casey, who was in Melbourne to promote her debut album,
For You, said: "I do not like vegetables that much,
so I do not eat a lot of them.
"I like to eat a lot of fish and things like prawns,
calamari and crayfish.
"I also enjoy eating meat, and no, I am not a vegetarian.
Far from it.
"Being so busy at the moment, I also make an effort
to drink lots of water."
Donovan said she had an hour's break every evening because
of the constant demands placed on her.
After a few days off over Christmas, she will be back
to work promoting her album.
Early next year, she will join other Idol finalists for
a national tour.
"I am looking forward to seeing everyone again because
we vibe each other up," she said. "We really
got along well, despite people thinking it's different
once cameras are off."
Casey Donovan, For You
By Bernard Zuel
December 18, 2004
CASEY DONOVAN, For You (Sony BMG)
Approaching this album is a case of don't worry about
the quality, feel the width. What could possibly stop
this album entering the chart at No. 1 on Monday?
In what universe would one of the highest-rating shows
of the year not produce substantial sales for the first
album by the winner of that golden karaoke competition?
The Australian Idol winner with the "troubled upbringing",
the "tortured soul" who is "showing that
anyone can make it".
Sure, she may not sell as many copies in her first week,
or even first year, as Guy Sebastian did last year but
Casey Donovan's album has been walking out the doors of
stores all week, bought by people who have absolutely
no idea what kind of music is in it (they've heard one
song), and frankly don't care. They're buying it for her,
for its connection with the show and for her connection
to them built up over the show's run.
The bland songs are a mix of Tina Arena and Evanescence
- either mawkish but "inspiring" ballads or
slow-verse/booming-chorus rock songs. They're sung competently
but give you no sense of who this singer is (not surprisingly
as the songs were there for whoever won).
In truth, the album's title says it all: her turn may
come if a second album happens. But for the moment, this
is for you, not for her.
Shy Casey left behind
From The Eye
December 15, 2004
BEFORE Australian Idol, Casey Donovan used to walk around
her school with her head down, with no confidence.
It's been nearly a month since the 16-year-old won Idol
and the old Casey is nowhere to been seen.
Talking to The Eye yesterday, Donovan was much more engaging,
willing to open up a little and show her personality,
which she did so well on stage during Idol.
"Before Idol, everybody knew I was 16, because I
was so immature, but now I've matured very fast,"
she said.
"I used to sit in the back of the room and not saying
anything. Now I have to walk around and introduce myself.
I'm pretty shy, but when I'm around people I know I'm
not very shy."
Donovan has just released her first album, For You, which
she made in six days.
She recorded two tracks a day, but was happy with the
result.
"I'm extremely happy with it. Listening to it, I
think it came up pretty well," Donovan said.
She co-wrote one song - the title track, For You - which
will guarantee Donovan some of the millions that her album
will make.
Donovan is touring the country doing in-store promotions
and is constantly complimented by girls who say she has
inspired them, because she's not your typical Britney
Spears-type pop star.
"There are a lot of people who are commenting, saying,
'Don't change, you're beautiful the way you are',"
Donovan said.
Donovan has had hardly any time to catch up with her fellow
Idols - just before the interview, Marty Worrall rang
to say how much he loved the CD.
She looks back positively at her time with the finalists
in the house.
"I loved it," Donovan said.
"It's amazing how close you get in that short amount
of time."
FAME for Casey Donovan means she can no longer sit at
the back of a cinema and make fart noises.
Nor can she chew her ice loudly or throw popcorn.
"I went to the movies a couple of nights ago and
I thought, 'oh what the hell, I'll just do it for old
times sake', and I'm sitting there making fart noises
and chewing on my ice really loudly," Donovan said.
"And then I realise I kinda can't do this anymore.
"That was when it hit me that I have got to get out
of that teenage stage and mature."
It has been less than three weeks since Donovan won Australian
Idol, securing a recording contract with Sony BMG.
The 16-year-old has since been locked in the recording
studio, and her debut single, Listen With Your Heart,
has topped the Australian ARIA charts.
The success of Listen With Your Heart is just another
milestone in what has been a whirlwind few weeks for the
Sydneysider.
Since beating Melbournian Anthony Callea to be crowned
Australian Idol, Donovan has done countless media interviews,
photo shoots and appearances.
Her debut album, For You, will hit stores on Sunday after
being recorded in just six days.
"I have kind of just sung about other people and
put myself in their shoes and how they're feeling at the
moment," Donovan said.
The album features a mix of pop songs and love ballads
- which may seem a bit of a diversion for someone who
entered the Idol competition listing late Nirvana frontman
Kurt Cobain as her musical idol.
"I am a very alternative listener," Donovan
said.
"I listen to some heavy stuff, some sad stuff and
I listen to a bit of country here and there.
"My dad's side of the family was very country and
one of the songs on there sounds a bit country with the
acoustic guitar – Better To Love."
Since winning Idol, Donovan has barely spent any time
with her family and schoolmates.
Her first few weeks out of the Idol group house was spent
in an inner-city Sydney apartment close to a recording
studio.
And this week she returned home to live with her mother
and stepfather in suburban Bankstown.
Donovan's personal life has been splashed about in virtually
every teen and celebrity magazine in the country.
Some magazines focused on her relationship, or lack thereof,
with her estranged father while others talked about her
smoking habits and rumoured relationship with beatbox
singer Joel Turner.
Donovan, who smokes up to two packets of cigarettes a
day, said she was trying to quit the habit.
"I was smoking before I went into Idol," she
said.
"No one really cared then but I guess now that I
am a role model to the younger generation and stuff like
that I try not to do it in public."
Donovan began her Idol journey wearing baggy skater clothes
with her head bowed.
However, she finished on a high note experimenting with
fashion and obviously finding more self-confidence.
And she managed to maintain her trademark black dreadlocked
hair and grunge style, which has won her a legion of fans.
"You never see any size 16 to 24 people in magazines
unless you go and buy a separate magazine that is just
about that," Donovan said.
"Most bigger girls are extremely pretty. Eventually
I will lose weight.
"I have tried so many times but it just doesn't work."
Prior to auditioning for Idol, Donovan studied at the
Australian Institute of Music in Sydney.
And although her current schedule won't allow it, she
plans on completing Year 12.
"Eventually I will go back to school, even if I have
to go to TAFE.
"Because I just want that piece of paper that says
Casey Donovan finished her HSC."
Despite her youth, Donovan appears to be coping admirably
with the fame thrust upon her as Australia's latest singing
sensation.
"There's a lot of pressure built up but I guess I
just take every day as it comes," she said.
"I'm just being myself so I can't really change much
of that."
Casey debuts at Number One, Album Details
| BACK | 6 December 2004
Australian Idol Casey Donovan's first single 'Listen to
Your Heat' has debuted on the official national Aria Charts
at Number One on the singles charts. The ballad beat Gwen
Stefani, Joel Turner, Destiny's Child and Kylie Minogue
to the top spot and has achieved double platinum status.
The single sold close to 140,000 copies during its first
week of release.
Record executives are also predicting an exceptional response
to Casey Donovan's debut album. The Australian Idol's
debut album is titled "For You" after a self-penned
track and is also set to debut on the album charts at
number one with over 200,000 copies bombarding stores
nationally from next Monday. The 11 track CD, including
one track written by Donovan, was recorded in six days.
With an estimated audience of over 3.6 million viewers
for the Australian Idol grand finale, there's no doubt
that this is the biggest release of the year, just in
time for the busy Christmas period.
The track listing for the album is as follows:
01. LISTEN WITH YOUR HEART
02. WHAT'S GOING ON
03. FLOW
04. HOW COULD I FALL (FOR THAT)
05. SHINE
06. BETTER TO LOVE
07. SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
08. YOU BELIEVED
09. TILL I FOUND YOU
10. FOR YOU
11. SYMPHONY OF LIFE (PERFORMED LIVE ON IDOL'S FINALE)
Anthony's Prayers answered
| BACK | 6 December 2004
Australian Idol runner-up Anthony Callea returned to Sydney
last week to record and shoot the film clip for his first
single, The Prayer. After coming close to becoming the
Australian Idol, Anthony was also signed to SonyBMG with
his debut album due for release in February.
Anthony's signature tune The Prayer was released to radio
this week and the single will go on sale on the 19 December
as he and the rest of the Top 10 Idol contestants prepare
to head off on a near sold-out national Australian Idol
tour with John Foreman.
Also released on the 19 December will be last year's runner-up
Shannon Noll's next single- a cover of the Cricket classic
jingle, C'mon Aussie, C'mon. Channel Nine approached Noll
to re-record the World Series Cricket classic and will
release it on December 19 to raise money for the Good
Start Breakfast Club, run by Australian Red Cross. Nine's
cricket executive producer Graeme Koos updated the lyrics
penned by Alan Morris and Allan Johnson.
Donovan appears at first gig
| BACK | 6 December 2004
Donovan appears at first gig
By Christine Sams and Rachel Browne
December 5, 2004
The Sun-Herald
After a gruelling week in the studio making her debut
album, Australian Idol's Casey Donovan yesterday gave
her first public performance since winning the competition.
And she got to the Greater Union cinema at Bondi Junction
with a little help from her friends: second-placed Anthony
Callea and last year's winner and runner-up, Guy Sebastian
and Shannon Noll.
Donovan's single, Listen With Your Heart, was released
last week and is expected to hit the No. 1 spot on the
ARIA charts tomorrow after more than 150,000 copies were
shipped to record stores across Australia.
Her debut album, titled For You, will be released next
Sunday and is expected to go straight to No. 1.
Retailers are waiting to see whether the 16-year-old Sydney
schoolgirl can match the success of Sebastian, whose first
single, Angels Brought Me Here, won an ARIA award for
highest-selling single with more than 200,000 copies sold
and whose debut album, Just As I Am, sold more than half
a million copies in its first month in the charts.
While Donovan admitted she was nervous about performing
at 2Day FM's Kyle And Jackie O Christmas Show, she said
she wasn't too concerned about the sale of her album.
"I don't know what will happen. What if it doesn't
go to No. 1?" she said.
Sebastian was wearing a leg brace: he tore ligaments kicking
a football around with Noll at a charity cricket match
on Friday.
Singapore newspaper, The New Paper, reported last week
that industry sources said World Idol would most likely
be cancelled.
Ms Selena Ho, vice-president of Channel 5's network programming
and promotions, confirmed to The New Paper that World
Idol won't be happening because she hasn't been given
any 'Christmas deadline' by Fremantle Productions Asia,
which partly owns the Idol format.
She said: 'We asked about it, but we received no confirmation
and haven't heard anything since.
'If we do anything, it'll be very different from World
Idol - probably in an Asian arena where it's a showcase
of talent rather than a competition.
'But we have to make sure we have enough Idols in Asia
in the first place.
'We're still in the exploratory stage.
'It's up to Fremantle to decide how to proceed.'
A Fremantle spokesman declined to comment at press time.
Singapore Idol 23-year-old Taufik Batisah was stunned
when told of the news.
'I'm a bit disappointed and upset that I won't be able
to show the world what Singapore talent sounds like, and
that we won't be heard.
'But I'm just happy enough to be the Singapore Idol.'
While Taufik is happy enough to settle for just that,
it will be a pity for his fans.
They will also have to say goodbye to seeing him slug
it out with American Idol Ruben Studdard, Malaysian Idol
Jaclyn Victor, Indonesian Idol Joy Tobing and Australia's
Casey Donovan.
World Idol, which was held in Britain for the first time
last Christmas, saw Idol winners from 11 countries - including
America's Kelly Clarkson, UK's Will Young, Australia's
Guy Sebastian and eventual winner, Norway's Kurt Nilsen
- going throat to throat for bragging rights.
However, critics savaged the show and questioned the whole
point of making 10 losers out of 11 Idols and subjecting
them to a torrent of verbal abuse from an international
panel of judges.
