This was my introduction to legendary Aussie songstress Tina Arena. And let it be said, she was decidedly more ‘rock chick’ than I had anticipated. Watching Ms Arena grab one of the menthol ciggies she had pilfered from the previous interviewer, rip the filter off, light it expertly, and curl up next to me on a couch in her harbour-view hotel room was surprising to say the least. Her laugh is guttural, husky and abrupt. She has a tiny frame. Her hair is now cut in a loose black pixie style – very French. She is beautiful. She had been doing interviews for almost 12 hours, and had that philosophical, delirious air peculiar to exhaustion. Was this the saccharine-sweet chanteuse behind ‘Sorrento Moon’, ‘Burn’ and ‘Chains’?

Yes, but there is a lot more to Tina Arena. She has just released the imaginatively-titled Songs of Love and Loss 2, a selection of hand-picked tracks she grew up listening to, all anchored by themes of – you guessed it – love and loss. It’s the follow-up to 2007’s Songs of Love and Loss, her first Aussie studio release in six years, which debuted at Number 3 on the ARIA album chart and certified platinum within a week of hitting the shelves.

“It’s about wanting to pay tribute to songs I’d always loved through my childhood,” Arena tells SX. “I also didn’t want to make an original record – I was just over it. Original music was sounding really boring to me.”

Songs of Love and Loss 2 spans many genres – from Blondie’s ‘Call Me’ and LuLu’s ‘Oh Me Oh My’, to Alice Cooper’s ‘Only Women Bleed’ and Split Enz’s ‘I Hope I Never’. “I was always open to input,” Arena says. “I even asked people on my website – but then when I got the ‘we think you should do ‘My Heart Will Go On’ by Celine Dion’, I thought ‘maybe we need to pull that question off’! Thank you for your suggestions... That was so funny. Oh my God! I adore Celine – she really is a sweetheart. But no.”

For an artist of Arena’s pedigree and history, an Alice Cooper cover is an interesting choice. “I love Alice Cooper,” Arena says. “I loved him as a kid – I wasn’t into his image but I thought he had some interesting songs. ‘Only Women Bleed’ in particular always stood out, because I thought it was paradoxical for man who had such a mean image to write so sensitively about women.

“Domestic violence is a big part of our social fibre universally. A lot of people can relate to that song. Women aren’t the only ones that are abused either. My best friend comes from a v abusive gay relationship – he shall remain nameless. When I found what had happened, it tore me apart. It still tears me apart.

“If I ever see his ex-partner, I just want to literally run him over – hard, very hard. When it’s so close to home, it destroys you – and you just don’t think about it, especially in gay relationships.”

Arena and her young family – comprising her seriously spunky partner Vince Mancini and their three-year-old son Gabriel – have been living in Europe and the UK for the best part of the last decade, in which time she has established herself as major artist on the continent, particularly in France.

“The French love their singers,” she muses. “They’re incredibly respectful – and quite old-fashioned about it too. There’s a deep sense of loyalty. They have phenomenal respect for the fact that I immersed myself in their culture and learnt to speak their language. So I’m part of their fabric now, and I love that cultural exchange.”

Arena will tour Australia in March next year, and her Sydney gigs at the State Theatre, where she played Sally Bowles in the Sam Mendes-directed Cabaret in 2002, will be part of the Mardi Gras festival. “It was my idea to integrate with Mardi Gras,” Arena tells. “The gay and lesbian community has always been so incredibly gracious to me and supportive of everything I’ve done – so it’s about payback and saying thanks.”

Indeed Arena performed at the Mardi Gras Party back in 2005. “I remember I had to fight to stay awake until 2am to go on stage,” she laughs. “And I was pregnant at the time and had no idea! I had wondered why I was so fatigued and glowing! I was literally curled up in the corner and said ‘wake me at 1.45’!”

After her Aussie tour wraps, Arena will play Paris, followed by the rest of France. And then it's time for a well-deserved break - and possibly the pitter-patter  of little feet again.

“I want to have another baby so I need to slow down a little bit. Gabriel is gorgeous! And Vince is a beautiful man – a really beautiful man. I am very lucky, but I deserve it!”

Songs of Love and Loss 2 is out now through EMI Music. Tina Arena will play the State Theatre, parts of the Mardi Gras Festival, on March 5-6, 2009. Tickets available now through ticketmaster.com.au
    

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