94 Facts About Paulini

Paulini rose to fame in 2003 as a contestant on the first season of Australian Idol and placed fourth in the competition.

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.

That same year, Paulini achieved commercial success again as a member of the Australian girl group Young Divas.

Paulini wrote songs for several recording artists in Europe, South Africa and the Philippines.

Paulini was 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.

Paulini Curuenavuli was born in Suva, Fiji on 15 October 1982 to parents Isireli, a former choir conductor, and Miliana, a nurse.

Paulini is the youngest of six siblings; she has three brothers and two sisters.

Paulini 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.

At the age of 10, Paulini's father encouraged her to showcase her singing abilities at a church talent quest.

In February 2003, Paulini became a member of the Fijian band Mixx.

Paulini 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.

Paulini recorded the anthem "Many Rhythms, One Love" for the South Pacific Games' official album, The Pacific at Its Best.

Paulini 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.

Paulini appeared in the episode to see what Dicko had made and she accepted his apology.

Paulini won two ARIA No 1 Chart Awards for both the album and single.

In July and August 2004, Paulini was the supporting act for Human Nature's seven-date tour on the East Coast.

Paulini's first extended play, Amazing Grace: Songs for Christmas, was released on 26 November 2004, featuring covers of popular Christmas tunes.

That same month, Paulini served as a supporting act for Tina Arena's Greatest Hits Tour.

Paulini was the supporting act for Guy Sebastian's Beautiful Life Tour from March to June 2005.

Sony BMG announced in April 2005 that Paulini had finished recording her then-upcoming second studio album.

However, Sony BMG decided to wait nearly 18 months before releasing the album, which sparked rumours that Paulini was being dropped from the label.

In December 2007, Paulini was one of the lead vocalists in the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's gospel-style production of Handel's oratorio Messiah, alongside Trace Canini and Doug Parkinson, at the Adelaide Festival Theatre.

In July 2008, Paulini collaborated with Guy Sebastian on the single "Receive the Power", which was chosen as the official anthem for the Roman Catholic Church's 2008 World Youth Day held in Sydney.

Paulini just wants to continue on with her solo career.

Paulini attended songwriting camps in Europe, New York City and Los Angeles, and collaborated with many songwriters such as Allan Eshuijs.

Paulini co-wrote songs for South African recording artist Sasha-Lee Davids, German girl group Monrose, Spanish recording artist Edurne, and The Voice France winner Yoann Freget, among others.

In November 2009, Paulini released the single "Scarless" to help raise awareness and support for White Ribbon Day, an international day to prevent violence against women.

The song is based on an abusive relationship Paulini was in and was written to help other victims of domestic violence.

Paulini was featured on Irish recording artist Ronan Keating's 2010 single "Believe Again", which peaked at number 73 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was included on Keating's album Duet.

In October 2011, Paulini reunited with Anu and Knight for more shows of their Ladies of Jazz Tour.

Paulini wanted to write "a cheeky song" that celebrates the work firemen do.

Paulini embarked on a club tour in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane throughout February and March 2012 to promote "Fireman".

Paulini performed "Fireman" in New York at the 2012 Gay Pride event, Shark.

An accompanying music video for the single was released and features scenes of Paulini playing table tennis with a love interest.

Paulini was invited to perform "Ping Pong with My Heart" at actress Susan Sarandon's New York table tennis club SPiN in June 2012.

In 2014, Paulini signed a joint record deal with Ambition Records and Decca Records Australia.

Paulini became the first artist signed to the reactivated Decca Records label in Australia.

Paulini released "Air It All Out" as the lead single from her third studio album Come Alive on 17 October 2014.

Paulini worked on the album for five years in Berlin, London, Los Angeles, New York City and Paris with several writers and producers, including Chris Rosa, Erik "Blue2th" Griggs and Philippe-Marc Anquetil.

Paulini stated that she wanted to take her time with the album to concentrate on improving her songwriting, having co-written all but two tracks on Come Alive.

Paulini stated that the release was her "way of saying 'thank you'" to the fans for allowing her to perform and share the spirit of Christmas at "communities all around Australia" every year.

Paulini promoted the album with an eight-date tour at various Christmas carols events on the East Coast.

Paulini was eventually dropped from Decca Records because both Come Alive and Merry Christmas were not commercially successful, revealing she had lost her life savings on the failed album deals.

Paulini collaborated with the Wiggles on the song "Do the Pretzel" for their 2017 album Duets, and appeared in the music video included on the DVD of the same name.

Paulini took acting lessons and increased her fitness to prepare for the role, which included singing and running on the treadmill at the same time.

Paulini had lost work throughout 2018 after news broke of her fake driver's licence scandal from the previous year, stating that all of her gigs after her stint in The Bodyguard musical were cancelled.

Paulini returned to the spotlight in 2019 when she was cast as one of the four star vocalists for the Australian production of the Saturday Night Fever musical, based on the 1977 film of the same name.

Paulini performed songs by the Bee Gees from the film's soundtrack for the musical at Sydney's Lyric Theatre from March to June 2019.

That same year, Paulini was cast in the Australian production of the 1960s rock musical Hair, playing the role of Dionne.

The song was written by Paulini and produced by Andro Martinez, whom she previously worked with at age 16.

In 2021, Paulini starred in the Australian production of the Chess musical, playing the role of Russian character Svetlana Sergievskaya.

When Paulini was sent "We Are One" for the competition, she tweaked some of the lyrics and reworked the track to make it sound "as current, as pop, as Eurovision and as camp as it could be".

Paulini ended up finishing in sixth place out of the eleven entries with 52 votes, and Sheldon Riley was voted to represent Australia at Eurovision.

Paulini collaborated with Australian singer-songwriter Bradley McCaw on the country-rock duet "Someone Like You", released as a single on 18 March 2022.

Paulini recorded a cover version of the duet "I Know Him So Well" from the Chess musical with Australian soprano singer Mirusia Louwerse for Louwerse's album Songbird.

That same month, Paulini was cast as one of the Divas in the Gold Coast production of the Priscilla, Queen of the Desert musical, which played shows at The Star from 16 July until 7 August 2022.

Paulini later starred in the Australian production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as the Narrator, whose role is to narrate the musical's entire story through song.

Paulini had additional side roles as Joseph's father Jacob, Potiphar's wife, and a Jailer.

Paulini stated that the dance releases was her trying to discover her sound and she was inspired to pursue the genre during a trip to Germany, where dance music is popular.

Paulini described Come Alive as her most personal album, as its lyrical content are based on the personal life experiences of her and her friends.

Paulini uses life experiences her and her friends and family have gone through as inspiration for writing songs, and tries to keep the lyrics as honest as possible.

Paulini began writing songs before entering Australian Idol, but stated that she had "stopped and just did the projects I was told to do," referring to her first two albums released through Sony BMG.

Paulini had no songwriting credits on her debut album One Determined Heart, and co-wrote only two tracks on her second album Superwoman.

Paulini co-wrote "Definition of a Woman" for both South African recording artist Sasha-Lee Davids and German girl group Monrose.

On 26 November 2004, Paulini made a guest appearance in the Australian soap opera Home and Away as herself.

Paulini appeared as a contestant in the first season of the Australian lifestyle reality series Celebrity Overhaul in February 2005, alongside six other celebrities.

In May 2006, Paulini joined the first season of the celebrity singing show It Takes Two, where 10 non-singing celebrities are paired up with 10 professional singers to compete in a duet-singing showdown in order to impress a panel of judges and the viewing public to survive potential elimination.

Paulini was paired up with television presenter Simon Reeve, and they placed sixth in the competition.

Paulini made her acting debut in the television film Sisters of War, which premiered on ABC1 on 14 November 2010.

Paulini played the supporting role of islander nun Sister Marie, who she described as caring and strong.

In preparing for the role, Paulini spoke with nuns who had been through World War II experiences and read books on one of the film's other characters, Sister Berenice Twohill.

In 2019, Paulini appeared as the Spider contestant on the first season of The Masked Singer Australia, being eliminated in finals week.

In 2023, Paulini was announced as one of the celebrity contestants set to compete in the twentieth series of Dancing with the Stars Australia.

Paulini has performed at many fundraising events over the years, including the annual Channel Seven Perth Telethon, as well as annual Christmas carols events such as Carols in the Domain, Carols by Candlelight and Carols in the City.

Paulini performed at the Olivia Newton-John and Friends Charity Gala Concert, held in September 2008 at Sydney's State Theatre to raise funds for Newton-John's Cancer and Wellness Centre.

On 30 November 2014, Paulini headlined an annual charity event for World AIDS Day at the Brisbane gay nightclub Fluffy; all door profits from the event went to a local charity supporting local people with aids.

In 2015, Paulini became an ambassador for Running Heroes, an online community for runners to help them achieve their goals.

Paulini performed at the first Barnardos Beach Bolt held at Coogee Beach on 14 June 2015, and all proceeds from the racing event went to Barnardos Australia, a child protection charity helping to stop child abuse.

Paulini officially became an Australian citizen on 21 March 2013 at a special ceremony in Canberra that coincided with Harmony Day.

Paulini had been living with her sister Litia in a shared apartment in Matraville, New South Wales in 2014.

Paulini is a supporter of the LGBTI community and has a gay following in Australia.

Paulini then spoke with an employee at a Mount Druitt RMS office in July 2016, who added an American driver licence number to Paulini's records and issued an open NSW licence for her.

Paulini pleaded guilty to the offence on 4 September 2017.

Paulini already had 11 driving offences, despite having only held a learner licence since 2002.

On 15 December 2017, Paulini avoided jail time and was instead given a six-month suspended sentence.

Paulini was placed on a good behaviour bond until 14 June 2018.

Paulini began dating Fijian-Australian professional rugby league player Wes Naiqama in 2006.

Paulini told The Daily Telegraph that despite their split, they managed to maintain a friendship, and that she vowed to keep her personal relationships in the future "very, very low key" out of the spotlight.

Between 2016 and 2017, Paulini was in a relationship with a man named Brock Hunter, whom she met at a health and fitness boot camp in Thailand.

Hunter had lived on the Gold Coast, and Paulini would visit him on her days off from work.

Paulini told the Gold Coast Bulletin that Hunter was not in the sports or entertainment industry.