Artist Profile

Diana Anaid

Diana Anaid did her first solo performance at the age of 7. Since the age of 4 she remembers that all she wanted to be was a singer. Her mom died when she was a baby and she was bounced between foster houses, chidren's homes and charity organisations. Anaid began writing songs when she was 9, yet it wasn't until she was 21 that she caught the attenttion of the nation.

Diana kick-started her career by making her self-financed, self-titled debut album in 1997 and sending a copy to 'Triple J's' Richard Kingsmill. He began playing the CDs first track 'I Go Off' to an immediate listener response. This raw, blistering acoustic guitar and vocal standout became a summer hit and still remains a cult classic to this day. This song also catapulted Diana to her first ARIAs where she was nominated for 2 awards, 'Best Australian Debut Single' and 'Best Australian New Talent'.

Diana's career in the music industry had begun.

She toured Australia extensively and also in '98 was invited to the USA for SXSW and showcases in LA and New York.

Honing her original sound and style and also her band dynamics, Diana delivered a gem with her second CD 'I Don't Think I'm Pregnant', with critics claiming it was "One of the best rock albums of the decade" (Danny Murphy, Revolver mag, Australia).

This CD's first single 'Perfect Family' helped Diana reach an even larger audience with live appearances on 'Hey Hey Its Saturday' and 'Good News Week'. Rolling Stone featured the CD with a four star rating and as CD of the month; it was also Drum Media and Triple J's CD of the Week. 'Perfect Family', like 'I Go Off', also made the prestigious Triple J's hottest 100 list of the year showcasing Diana's ability to write and deliver crafty, intelligent pop songs. Two more singles followed, the celebrated 'Dont Believe In Love' and Diana's ode to her best friend 'Love Song for A Girl'. In the 2000 ARIA'S, 'I Dont Think I'm Pregnant' was nominated for Best Indie Release and Diana was nominated for Best Female Performance.

In 2001, Diana started work on CD #3, demo-ing songs with Australian producer Kal Tonuma (Maviss, Bodyjar) resulting in a 3 song new demo, which made its way to LA and into the hands of producer Paul Palmer (Bush, No Doubt). The songs written by Diana impressed Mr Palmer so much he signed Diana directly to his new label Five Crowns Music and in 2003 flew Diana to LA to record 'Beautiful Obscene'. Diana finished Beautiful Obscene in the legendary Can Am studios- the home of Death Row Records, and had it mixed by the sonic master Neal Avron (Evanescence, Everclear).

Released in 2004 in both the States and in Australia, 'Beautiful Obscene' was "by far her best... the production is superb, the backing instruments finely tuned and Diana's voice catches you off guard every time" (Emily Watson, The Brag, Australia).
"With the new album she is threatening to make it big here and in the US... there are at least 3 bona fide hits on the record and not one filler." (Michael Liddell, Beat Mag, Australia)

The first single from 'Beautiful Obscene', 'Last Thing' placed Diana on the world stage receiving much praise from both fans and critics. This song introduced her to the US market where she toured and promoted this song for over 6 months and traveled across 40 states, performing to over 100 different radio stations...the word was out!

Last Thing reached #28 on the competitive US Hot AC chart alongside established acts such as Alanis and Dido. It stayed in the charts for over 2 months and had an audience of over 40 million listeners! Its appeal was evident when it went on to become I-Tunes most downloaded song to date. With over 125,000 downloads, it rated as the 7th best pop song of the year, next to Maroon 5 and Los Lonely Boys, and 'Beautiful Obscene' became I-Tunes 10th best album of 2004.

'Last Thing' reached #1 on the AOL radio pop charts and #3 on the Hot AC Radio chart and was in the top 5 for many weeks on the US Net Music Countdown. This song also saw Diana win Launch Radios Who's Next competition, with over 40,000 listener votes, and previous winners include My Chemical Romance.

The success of 'Last Thing' saw Diana featured on KTLA ( Los Angeles major morning TV/Breakfast show) as well as perform live on many other TV shows across the US. She was invited to play to over 15000 music fans in North Carolina with Gavin DeGraw, and also shared stages with Five For Fighting, Tears For Fears as well as playing many other successful solo shows in venues such as the House Of Blues and Viper Room.

From Diana's self financed debut in 97 to her first internationally acclaimed CD 'Beautiful Obscene' in 04, Diana has remained an independent artist, winning fans with her songs that cut right to the listeners soul with brave and unsparing views of everyday life. "(hers is a) story of affecting people with pure music rather than media gymnastics" (Michael Molenda, Frets Mag, USA). The strength and progression of remaining independent for each record, Diana's determination, style and songwriting has seen her win fans all over the world.

2007 is poised to be a big year for Diana, now with a highly anticipated live CD to pre-empt her fourth studio album to also be released in 07, marking her 10th year in the industry.

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