Dogged by drama

From: Courier Mail

June 27, 2006

COSIMA De Vito is two hours late for our interview. According to reports, this is right on time for the notoriously late Perth singer.

Her management assures me she has been delayed by a flat tyre, not a diva temperament.
De Vito, who turns 30 this year, has spent more than half her life pursuing her childhood dream of becoming a singer. She is known as the powerhouse diva from Perth and surprisingly achieved her breakthrough on season one of Channel 10's Australian Idol.

Season one's Idol is still arguably the most successful season of them all, producing the likes of Shannon Noll, Guy Sebastian and Paulini.

"I've gotten that response from a lot of people," De Vito says.

"I think that's funny because we didn't know what to expect. We were all winging it. I think that's what was exciting about it."

But with excitement comes drama.

Few can forget De Vito's dramatic exit from the competition during the penultimate episode due to diagnosed throat nodules.

The timing of her announcement was tense and resulted in much media and public speculation as to De Vito's motives.

She says the timing of the announcement was purely the producer's decision.

"I pretty much got blamed for that," she says.

"All they said to me was 'we'll tell you when to speak'."

While rumours circulated in the media about an American record deal on offer, the reality was bleaker. De Vito gave up a potentially lucrative recording contract with Sony-BMG Records by pulling out of the grand finale.

At first, her career seemed set to go after her recovery from nodules.

Her close-knit family raised a staggering $1 million to finance her own independent record label, but the venture was short-lived.

De Vito has found that the road to establishing a career in the music industry is a tough one While she has been described by international industry heavyweights as one of the premier vocalists of her generation, this has not translated into multi-platinum album sales where her material is released in Australia.

Her list of fans extend from top female hit-writer, Diane Warren (I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, Aerosmith, Because You Loved Me, Celine Dion), to American Idol judge and Mariah Carey producer Randy Jackson.

Indeed, Warren has gone on record to say: "Cosima is the younger Celine Dion. She's a little edgier than Celine, more dynamic."

In addition, she has been invited to perform for the likes of Hollywood A-lister Sharon Stone and Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

In 2004 she was signed to the powerful William Morris Agency in the US, which represents Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Alicia Keys.

With a debut album written exclusively by Warren and rumours of one of her songs being featured in an international movie, things seemed ready for De Vito to hit the big time.

However, in late 2004 her career ground to a halt with a dramatic management split.

De Vito's ex-manager, Constantine Nellis, had guided her career for a little under a year - a very short term in the ever-changing music industry.

De Vito cites a general clash of personalities as the reason.

She admits that her relationship with Nellis was rocky and hints that he wanted her to stick with safe middle-of-the-road diva ballads.

"For me it was a big learning curve,"' she says.

"I've learnt to trust what's within me instead of asking other people what they think. I've grown a great deal in the last two years as an artist and a person."

De Vito is of the belief everything happens for a reason.

As a result, she feels she can turn the page, expressing herself for the first time by writing the songs on her anticipated album.

"I've been writing for years, but I never had the courage to actually let other people hear it. It's me, it's who I am so it's really made me grow into a better person," she says.

For the past year, while her Idol peers have reigned on the charts, De Vito has been lying low in preparation for a major comeback.

New manager Dorry Kordahi secured De Vito the opportunity to perform as special guest for multi-platinum Greek singer Demis Roussos on his upcoming tour of Australia and Singapore. "I love his mind," she says of Kordahi.

"We work through a lot of things together.

"I like the fact that he is so raw and he sees things from a marketing perspective."

De Vito and Roussos will tour all major Australian capital cities including such prestigious venues as the Sydney Opera House.

With a new album due for an early 2007 release, De Vito hints it will be in a completely different vein compared with her debut.

"There's a difference between when you sing someone else's songs and when you're singing words that have come from your own experiences," she says.

"I write about things that have happened in my life and people that I've known.

"The emotion behind it is real."

De Vito says she is in stage one at the moment: writing and developing ideas for the album.

The album is rumoured to shift De Vito to an R&B and soul direction, but she says she may decide against it.

"On this album, I'm going to make sure I do songs that represent me, where I am at this particular point in my life.

"They're going to be songs that are suited to my voice and will accentuate what I do best," she says.

"I love powerful ballads, but I want to do a lot of tracks that are more uplifting. The first album was pretty much slow, so this album won't be done that exact way."

Demis Roussos featuring Cosima De Vito perform at QPAC in Queensland tomorrow, 8pm. Qtix 136 246

http://entertainment.news.com.au/story/0,1...13-7484,00.html

COSIMA De Vito is two hours late for our interview. According to reports, this is right on time for the notoriously late Perth singer.

Her management assures me she has been delayed by a flat tyre, not a diva temperament.
De Vito, who turns 30 this year, has spent more than half her life pursuing her childhood dream of becoming a singer. She is known as the powerhouse diva from Perth and surprisingly achieved her breakthrough on season one of Channel 10's Australian Idol.

Season one's Idol is still arguably the most successful season of them all, producing the likes of Shannon Noll, Guy Sebastian and Paulini.

"I've gotten that response from a lot of people," De Vito says.

"I think that's funny because we didn't know what to expect. We were all winging it. I think that's what was exciting about it."

But with excitement comes drama.

Few can forget De Vito's dramatic exit from the competition during the penultimate episode due to diagnosed throat nodules.

The timing of her announcement was tense and resulted in much media and public speculation as to De Vito's motives.

She says the timing of the announcement was purely the producer's decision.

"I pretty much got blamed for that," she says.

"All they said to me was 'we'll tell you when to speak'."

While rumours circulated in the media about an American record deal on offer, the reality was bleaker. De Vito gave up a potentially lucrative recording contract with Sony-BMG Records by pulling out of the grand finale.

At first, her career seemed set to go after her recovery from nodules.

Her close-knit family raised a staggering $1 million to finance her own independent record label, but the venture was short-lived.

De Vito has found that the road to establishing a career in the music industry is a tough one While she has been described by international industry heavyweights as one of the premier vocalists of her generation, this has not translated into multi-platinum album sales where her material is released in Australia.

Her list of fans extend from top female hit-writer, Diane Warren (I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, Aerosmith, Because You Loved Me, Celine Dion), to American Idol judge and Mariah Carey producer Randy Jackson.

Indeed, Warren has gone on record to say: "Cosima is the younger Celine Dion. She's a little edgier than Celine, more dynamic."

In addition, she has been invited to perform for the likes of Hollywood A-lister Sharon Stone and Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

In 2004 she was signed to the powerful William Morris Agency in the US, which represents Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Alicia Keys.

With a debut album written exclusively by Warren and rumours of one of her songs being featured in an international movie, things seemed ready for De Vito to hit the big time.

However, in late 2004 her career ground to a halt with a dramatic management split.

De Vito's ex-manager, Constantine Nellis, had guided her career for a little under a year - a very short term in the ever-changing music industry.

De Vito cites a general clash of personalities as the reason.

She admits that her relationship with Nellis was rocky and hints that he wanted her to stick with safe middle-of-the-road diva ballads.

"For me it was a big learning curve,"' she says.

"I've learnt to trust what's within me instead of asking other people what they think. I've grown a great deal in the last two years as an artist and a person."

De Vito is of the belief everything happens for a reason.

As a result, she feels she can turn the page, expressing herself for the first time by writing the songs on her anticipated album.

"I've been writing for years, but I never had the courage to actually let other people hear it. It's me, it's who I am so it's really made me grow into a better person," she says.

For the past year, while her Idol peers have reigned on the charts, De Vito has been lying low in preparation for a major comeback.

New manager Dorry Kordahi secured De Vito the opportunity to perform as special guest for multi-platinum Greek singer Demis Roussos on his upcoming tour of Australia and Singapore. "I love his mind," she says of Kordahi.

"We work through a lot of things together.

"I like the fact that he is so raw and he sees things from a marketing perspective."

De Vito and Roussos will tour all major Australian capital cities including such prestigious venues as the Sydney Opera House.

With a new album due for an early 2007 release, De Vito hints it will be in a completely different vein compared with her debut.

"There's a difference between when you sing someone else's songs and when you're singing words that have come from your own experiences," she says.

"I write about things that have happened in my life and people that I've known.

"The emotion behind it is real."

De Vito says she is in stage one at the moment: writing and developing ideas for the album.

The album is rumoured to shift De Vito to an R&B and soul direction, but she says she may decide against it.

"On this album, I'm going to make sure I do songs that represent me, where I am at this particular point in my life.

"They're going to be songs that are suited to my voice and will accentuate what I do best," she says.

"I love powerful ballads, but I want to do a lot of tracks that are more uplifting. The first album was pretty much slow, so this album won't be done that exact way."