Deni Hines is without doubt considered one of Australia\u2019s foremost entertainers. From hit singles and albums, to lead roles in musicals & television, Deni has grown up in front of audiences from an enthusiastic young performer to a mature, sophisticated all round entertainer.<\/p>\n
Deni\u2019s career began when she was 15. Many performers have quirky or interesting stories of how they were discovered. Deni\u2019s story is simple \u2013 she was \u201cdiscovered\u201d singing to the radio in a friend\u2019s kitchen. Encouraged to pursue singing as a career, she began touring as a backing vocalist for the who\u2019s who of the Australian industry, including the likes of INXS & Kylie Minogue.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until Deni began working with The Rockmelons that her true potential began to emerge. As lead vocalist on a string of hit singles, Deni was touted as \u201cthe next big thing\u201d. The hits \u2013 \u201cThat Word (L.O.V.E), \u201cIt\u2019s Not Over\u201d and the hugely successful \u2013 \u201cAint No Sunshine\u201d all became Top 10 smashes, with Deni becoming one of the most well known faces, and voices, in Australia.<\/p>\n
Fast forward a few years later and Deni released her debut album \u201cImagination\u201d. Signed to Mushroom Records, Deni spent 9 months recording for her debut release in the UK with writer\/producer Ian Green. The first single from the album, \u201cIts Alright\u201d smashed into the charts at #4, ensuring her first solo hit with a platinum award. Further hit singles including \u201cI Like the Way\u201d& \u201cJoy\u201d solidified Deni as a solo star in her own right, and Deni deservedly received an ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Award for Best Australian Debut Performance. The album went on to sell over 300,000 in Japan alone, while the UK release (re-titled to \u201cPay Attention\u201d) result in yet more hit singles and saw her tour with Earth Wind & Fire, Chaka Khan and the Lighthouse Family. In France, \u201cIts Alright\u201d topped the charts for 7 weeks, making Deni a massive star and sought after collaborator. All told, Deni\u2019s has clocked in sales over 1.3 million copies worldwide. Not a bad start.<\/p>\n
Not content with just singing, Deni also appeared as Mary Magdalene in the hit musical \u201cJesus Christ Superstar\u201d \u2013 making her the second only black woman in history to perform the role. Displaying her versatility and desire to explore live musical theatre further, Deni also appeared in \u201cBig River\u201d, cementing her credibility on stage.<\/p>\n
Following her success in France, Deni was asked to work on the soundtrack and 2 songs for director Luc Beeson\u2019s film \u201cTaxi\u201d, which achieved Gold Status in its home country. Her music has also appeared in other films including the David Bowie film \u201cEveryone Loves Sunshine\u201d, and \u201cAustralia\u2019s \u201cThe Wog Boy\u201d; for which Deni recorded a cover of the classic Grace Jones track \u201cPull Up To the Bumper\u201d, produced by The Black Eyed Peas.<\/p>\n
Turning her had to television presenting, Deni became the host for Channel V\u2019s urban\/R&B show \u201cSoul Kitchen\u201d. As host for 2 years, Deni showed her quick wit and vivacious personality could excel in any medium, with a balance of both humour and unchallenged knowledge in the urban genres.<\/p>\n
Subsequent singles \u201cSon of a Preacherman\u201d and \u201c5 Days of Rain\u201d from the album Water For Chocolate were released throughout the remainder of 2006 and into 2007 which Deni toured relentlessly and having not formerly been much of a touring artist, relished in the closeness one can get with an audience and the increase in bums on seats each and every show. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than performing to an audience who are interested in you and your music, I find myself wanting to know about them as much as they want to know about me\u201d says Deni. \u201cthe places, the people, the experiences are unforgettable, it\u2019s a big world out there, and who said touring was a task master \u2013 I love it\u201d laughs Deni.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5936,"template":"","entertainer_category":[51,40,55],"class_list":["post-1876","entertainer","type-entertainer","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entertainer_category-celebrities","entertainer_category-feature_acts","entertainer_category-music"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictheatreaustralia.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entertainer\/1876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictheatreaustralia.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entertainer"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictheatreaustralia.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/entertainer"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictheatreaustralia.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictheatreaustralia.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"entertainer_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictheatreaustralia.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entertainer_category?post=1876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}