Anthony Callea on singing, LGBTI acceptance, and his love of Christmas

Anthony Callea on singing, LGBTI acceptance, and his love of Christmas
Image: Anthony Callea

WHEN Christmas comes around you can usually find Australian singer Anthony Callea singing along to the classics as he does his shopping.

“If I could, I would have Christmas for six months of the year, I love it,” he told the Star Observer.

“I just love the feeling it brings to people and how it’s such a celebratory time.”

While Callea has recently set up a base and home in Los Angeles, he’ll be heading to Melbourne in December to perform Christmas standards at The Palms.

The show will feature many of the covers he included in his 2013 album This is Christmas.

He has also recently written his first Christmas song with Australian musician and composer John Foreman.

“It’s called Christmas Day and I wanted to write a song that brings back that feeling of Christmas from when we were children – that innocence, hope, and no judgement way of living,” he said.

An ARIA award-winning singer who was a runner up on the 2004 season of Australian Idol, Callea knew he wanted to pursue singing and performing from a young age.

After watching someone sing on television at the age of five he asked his mother if he could do that as well.

“She sent me to singing lessons and the rest is history,” he said.

“To be honest, apart from drinking espresso martinis and splurging on high tops, I’m not very good at anything else.”

Late last year Callea announced that he and his long time partner Tim Campbell had tied the knot in New Zealand.

The best thing that happened to us this year….. #CampbellCalleaWedding @timcampbelltwit

A video posted by Anthony Callea (@anthonycallea) on

While one of the few openly gay singers in Australia’s music industry, Callea believes we’re in the midst of changing times around the acceptance of LGBTI people.

“Yes, we are moving forward and I believe we are on the right side of history,” he said.

“But acceptance in any form is never going to be 100 per cent… there are some people that still think women should be in the kitchen cooking and cleaning and in recent times, it’s evident that racism is still somewhat strong.”

Callea will be in Melbourne for three weeks over Christmas and said he’ll be cramming in some catch ups with friends and family over the festive season.

He said he couldn’t wait to be back home.

“My number one love is live performance and one of my favourite rooms to play is The Palms at Crown so I can’t wait,” he said.

“Melbourne audiences have always been so good to me and I’m very lucky to be doing what I love and call it a job… it’s pretty cool.”

Callea’s This is Christmas show at the Palms will feature his band along with special guests Rhonda Burchmore and violinist Patrick Roberts.

Ronda Burchmore and
Ronda Burchmore and Patrick Roberts will feature as special guests Anthony Callea’s Christmas shows.

Following his three-night performance in Melbourne and the Christmas break, Callea intends to get straight back into work in 2016.

“I head back to LA in January and start working on new music, something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while now,” he said.

“I’m so looking forward to 2016… bring it on.”

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This is Christmas at The Palms

When: December 10-12
Where: The Palms at Crown, Melbourne
Tickets can be purchased here.

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