Vanessa Amorosi ‘Why I Had To Go Into Hiding'

The singer talks industry pressures, moving to LA and becoming a mum

- Joshua Joynes

The last time Australian singer-songwriter Vanessa Amorosi was at the top of her game, she was a bright-eyed 17-year-old from Melbourne with a vocal range far beyond her years.

The redhead single-handedly captured the heart of the nation after she descended on ANZ Stadium’s main stage at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where she sang her anthemic hit single Absolutely Everybody – a tune that still rings in every Aussie’s ears.

Eleven ARIA nominations and three albums followed – and then she seemingly disappeared from view. So what exactly has Vanessa, 35, been doing in the 10 years since her last album, Hazardous, was released?

Well, as she makes her comeback in Australia with her new single Heavy Lies The Heart, ultra-private Vanessa talks to Woman’s Day and gives her loyal fans a glimpse into the life she’s built in LA, with her husband Rod Busby and their three-year-old son Killian.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

Vanessa would be the first person to forgive you for thinking she had dropped off the face of the earth, but as she tells Woman’s Day, she had a good reason.

“When you have momentum and success, of course you want to keep that going, but sometimes it’s just not easy to keep that switch on,” the singer says of reaching stardom at such a young age.