dbo:abstract
| - Anthony Cosmo Callea (born 13 December 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter and stage actor of Italian and Maltese descent who rose to prominence after being the runner-up in the 2004 season of Australian Idol. He was signed to Sony Music Australia until 2009 and is now an independent artist. Callea's debut single %22The Prayer%22 is the fastest-selling single by an Australian artist, held the No.1 spot on the ARIA Singles Chart for five weeks, a record for the debut single of an Australian Idol contestant, and was the second-highest selling Australian single of the last decade.Callea has accumulated a string of awards including an ARIA Music Award, Channel V Artist of the Year, Pop Republic Artist of the Year, MTV Viewers' Choice Award, Variety's Young Entertainer of the Year, MO Award and a Gospel Music Award and is known for his powerful trained voice and his versatility in a range of genres in releases and live performances. All but one of the tracks on his second album A New Chapter were co-written by him. October 2011 saw Callea release his first new music in four years, a single titled %22Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh%22, self-funded, released and distributed as a fully independent venture through his own production company, Vox Enterprises. The dance-pop track was co-written in LA with two-time Grammy-nominated and official DJ for the Black Eyed Peas, Poet Name Life. It signals a departure from the ballads for which he is known and was released in digital format only.His albums, DVD and singles have all debuted in the top 20 of the ARIA Charts with the exception of %22Oh Oh Oh Oh%22, an EP titled Last To Go released in February 2012 and his fourth album released in 2013. However, %22Oh Oh Oh Oh%22 debuted at number 6 on the Official Independent Music Charts AIR Charts, and in its first week, peaked at number 17 on the ARIA Top 20 Australian Artists Singles Chart. Last To Go reached number 7 on the Independent Distribution Singles Chart.In March 2013, it was announced Callea signed a record deal with ABC Music and would release his third studio album on 26 April 2013. The new release, entitled Thirty, was the first of two albums he planned to release this year through ABC Music, and were distributed by Universal Music. The second, released on 8 November 2013 was a Christmas album titled This Is Christmas.
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