Anthony Cosmo Callea (born 13 December 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter 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 "The Prayer" 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 "Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh", 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 "Oh Oh Oh Oh", and an EP titled Last to Go released in February 2012. However, "Oh Oh Oh Oh" 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.


Anthony Callea is an Australian singer-songwriter who rose to prominence after being the runner-up in 2004 Australian Idol. In 2007, after speculation and tabloid rumours dating back to his Idol appearances, Callea publicly acknowledged that he is gay "Yes, I am gay," Callea said. "I have no issue with my sexuality now, but it's taken time to become confident with who I am and happy with who I am." Hee and actor/singer Tim Campbell were married in New Zealand on November 17, 2014.

Callea has been involved with many charities. He was part of the Tsunami Relief Telethon and was invited to perform at the Red Cross Ball in the presence of Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark. Callea has worked with The Starlight Foundation, the Royal Melbourne Children's Hospital, The Mirabel Foundation and The Salvation Army. More recently, Callea was the ambassador for the 2007 Perth Telethon for the Royal Children's Hospital and in November 2007 was appointed the official ambassador for Vision Australia. For the second year Anthony has been appointed the official ambassador for 2009's Vision Australia's Carols By Candlelight. 2011 marks the eighth year in a row Callea has performed at this event and cites this as one of the highlights of the year.

On 27 March 2007, after speculation and tabloid rumours dating back to his Idol appearances, Callea publicly acknowledged that he is gay by issuing a statement confirming his sexuality and thanking his fans and his then-partner, Paul.

"Yes, I am gay," Callea said. "I have no issue with my sexuality now, but it's taken time to become confident with who I am and happy with who I am. I'm comfortable enough to come clean now. It's a weight off my shoulders".

On 30 March 2007, Michael Kirby, then a judge of the High Court of Australia, described Callea as an "admirable Australian" for coming out. Justice Kirby added, "In terms of influencing popular culture and understanding of the reality of human sexual diversity, I would trade ten judges for one popular singer."

Callea has also admitted to suffering from depression in his teenage years, saying, "I went through major depression. I hated myself. I had to see a psychologist. I wasn't talking to anybody. My parents didn't know what was wrong with me." Callea has since supported beyondblue, an Australian initiative against depression, by contributing his version of a Brian McKnight song, "Home", to a compilation album, Home: Songs of Hope & Journey by various Australian artists to raise funds and bring attention to the organisation and its cause.

In February 2008 he and actor/singer Tim Campbell confirmed that they were in a relationship. (A large amateur production of musical Rent, in Perth, Western Australia, was mounted in 2007 and featured Anthony Callea as Mark and Tim Campbell as Roger.) On 18 August 2014 Campbell and Callea announced their engagement. They were married in New Zealand on November 17, 2014 “It’s extra special today as Tim Campbell and I get to share the news we are married!”. Callea released a 2013 Christmas album, This Is Christmas with duets with the National Boys Choir and actor and partner Tim Campbell.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Callea

Tim Campbell (born 27 September 1975 in Sydney) is an Australian television and stage actor, best known for playing the character of Dan Baker in the soap opera Home and Away. In late 2007, rumours of Campbell dating singer Anthony Callea surfaced in the media. During an interview, Campbell confirmed that he is gay, but denied romantic involvement with Callea. However, on 11 February 2008, during an appearance on Vega 91.5fm's breakfast program, Campbell acknowledged that he and Callea had now progressed to being "an item" stating that they were 'very happy' together. The couple later thanked their fans for the support they were shown after their relationship was made public.

Campbell formerly starred in the children's television show Snobs with Indiana Evans. He also appeared briefly in Water Rats as a police officer. Campbell is also the only Home and Away actor to make an appearance on the show's first podcast, Baycast. He performed "Soul Kind of Feeling", a cover version of the 1984 Dynamic Hepnotics single, in an episode of Home and Away as the character, Dan Baker, at the reception of his wedding to Leah Patterson.

Campbell was a contestant in series six of Dancing with the Stars, which premiered on 20 February 2007. He made it to the semi-final on 24 April, maintaining impressive scores throughout the series. He left Home and Away on 5 October 2007 after filming his final scenes.

He also hosted the Seven Network's National Bingo Night with former Girlband member Renee Bargh, as well as the first season of travel series Discover Tasmania.

In 2008, he cut ties with the Seven Network and transferred to the Nine Network to host a revived version of Wheel of Fortune titled Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune which premiered on 26 May. However on 27 June it was announced that the show was to be cancelled. He took over Joey Fatone's hosting duties for the second season of The Singing Bee. Now based in Melbourne, he performed at Carols by Candlelight on 24 December 2008 and he works for a variety of charities both as host and performer.

On 11 September 2010 Campbell returned to his former role as a segment presenter on Sydney Weekender on Channel Seven.

September 2012 saw Campbell in the role of Tom in the Nine Network show House Husbands. Tom, with partner Kane (Gyton Grantley), are raising a child together, the first gay male couple with a child on an Australian prime time drama.

In November 2007 he played Roger in the musical Rent and followed this with the lead role of Johnny O'Keefe in Shout, first in Melbourne and then in Sydney.

In mid 2009, he played Bobby in the Production Company's run of The Boy Friend at the State Theatre Melbourne

He recently finished a three month stint in the role of Fiyero in the Sydney production of Wicked. He began performances on 10 June 2010, replacing Rob Mills, with his final performance taking place on 26 September 2010.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Campbell_(actor)

Further Readings:

Pop Idols and Pirates (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series) by Charles Fairchild
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Ashgate (July 21, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0754663833
ISBN-13: 978-0754663836
Amazon: Pop Idols and Pirates

The music industry has been waging some very significant battles in recent years, reacting to numerous inter-related crises provoked by globalization, digitalization and the ever more extensive commercialization of public culture. These struggles are viewed by many as central to the survival of the central mediators in the consumption of popular music. These battles are not just against piracy and the sharing of digital song files on the internet. The music industry is also struggling to find ways to compete or integrate with many other forms of entertainment, including films, television programmes, mobile phones, DVDs and video games in an extremely crowded communications environment. The battles currently being fought by the music industry are about nothing less than its continued ability to create and maintain specific kinds of profitable relationships with consumers.This book presents two inter-related cases of crisis and opportunity: the music industry's epic struggle over piracy and the 'Idol' phenomenon. Both are explicit attempts to control and justify the particular ways in which the music industry makes money from popular music through specific kinds of relationships with consumers. The battles over piracy have been fought with a remarkable collection of campaigns consisting of advice, coercion and argument about what is or is not the best way to consume music. From these complicated and often contradictory campaigns we form an unusually clear picture of what many within the music industry imagine their industry to be. In a complementary way, 'Idol' works to demonstrate the joy and pleasure of consuming popular music the 'right' way.By creating a series of intertwined relationships with consumers around multiple sites of consumption, incorporating television, radio, live performance, traditional print media campaigns, text messaging and all manner of internet-based systems of communication and 'fan management,' the producers of 'Idol' present an ideal relationship between musicians and audiences. Instead of focusing on selling CDs, the music industry's digital Achilles' heel, 'Idol' has given the music industry an integrated platform for displaying its expanded palette of products and venues for consumption. When understood in specific relation to the battle against piracy, Fairchild's analysis of 'Idol' and the emerging promotional cultures of the music industry it exhibits shows how multiple sites of consumption, and attempts to mediate and control the circulation of popular music, are being used to combat the foundational challenges facing the music industry.

More LGBT Couples at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Real Life Romance


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