Young Divas - Turn Them Loose

Feature, By Nathan Heron, 14th November, 2007

Last year saw the release of Young Divas’ self-titled debut album successfully spawning hits such as the pop history-making single, This Time I Know It’s For Real, which spent over seven months in the ARIA Top 100 charts, including 14 weeks in the Top 10. As a solid team, these powerhouses now return with New Attitude, a release that celebrates a new-found momentum.

The Young Divas are Paulini Curuenavuli, Kate DeAraugo, Emily Williams and replacing Ricki-Lee Coulter who left the group earlier this year to focus on her solo career, the vibrant Jessica Mauboy. All girls are ex- Australian Idol contestants, and all had a strong following during their respective stints on the high-rating singing contest.

With the help of Idol they all found fame, but Young Divas has been the vehicle that’s kept them riding the rollercoaster of success – it’s this shared history that gives them their unity. As the release date of their sophomore album inches closer, the aim is to calm the dancing butterflies.

“In the build up to releases of anything, you know, you put all your hard work and time into it and you hope that everybody else appreciates the time and effort,” Kate says, channeling Kath and Kim in her response. “You sort of get over the nerves, you’re proud of what you’ve done and you’re happy you’ve achieved it.”

Pre-performance jitters, however, may pose an ongoing challenge. While their quiet group prayers to soothe the nerves may help to some extent, Jessica allows a somewhat unexpected, yet understandable biological insight.

“I always feel like I need to go to the toilet,” she admits, stirring laughter from the others.

While the Idol experience may seem a distant memory for some – the group affectionately label Paulini ‘O.G.’, as in ‘Original Gangster’, Jessica only competed last year, finishing runner-up to Damien Leith. Now ready to take on the world with her impressive set of pipes, the 18-year old is thrilled to be a Young Diva and is utilising the opportunity to strengthen her career prospects.

“It’s been awesome… these guys are vocally-wise, amazing, and to be in the studio with them, just jamming and getting the experience has just been really good – a stepping stone for me,” she says gratefully.

Paulini, Kate and Emily have embraced Jessica as one of their own and it becomes quickly apparent that her contagious smile and warm demeanour helps break the tension of their busy schedule.

“Jess has come in and it’s just like she’s been here the whole time. She’s like the chuckling-giggle machine. She keeps us happy,” Kate says.

Amid random giggles and casual chitchat, however, the reality of show business sets in.

“It does get stressful… it’s very stressful and I’m stressing out right now,” Paulini chimes in as she multitasks, preparing herself for another event. “But we love it and we like being busy,” she adds.

But their hard work and commitment pays off. In order to produce an album that Kate considers to be “better, stronger, bigger, faster,” they enlisted the help of Vanetta Fields, a well-respected industry veteran with enough prowess to command respect from the best of them.

“As a backing vocalist and as a teacher she came in and worked us hard,” Kate recalls. Even Kate, who considers Fields as family, agrees with the rest of the group – Fields is a force to be reckoned with. “She’s more like my mum – I can’t really call her a vocal coach. I have a black momma and a white momma… I’ve known her for six or seven years and I still get scared!” she says.

Although an intimidating and daunting experience at times, the girls appear to reflect on their recording sessions fondly, as an influx of weird and wonderful impersonations of Fields come alive.

It would seem that a little intimidation and a lot of hard work goes a long way; over two weeks of recording New Attitude, Young Divas agreed they were pushed to their full potential, adding their own flavour to some pop classics such as I’m So Excited (originally recorded by The Pointer Sisters), Chain Reaction (Diana Ross) and the title track, New Attitude (Patti LaBelle).

“Through the whole album, we were smack bang there all the time and really focused on getting it done,” Jessica says.

Although radiating a revamped energy, it was their first single, Turn Me Loose, which saw Young Divas recently return to a place of familiarity – the Australian Idol stage. Exuding confidence, disco flair and donning a sultry new look, the girls showcased their live rendition, joined by New Zealander rapper, Savage, who Emily has, incidentally, known since school.

“It felt like I was back home,” Emily jokes when reflecting on performing with Savage. “To have him featuring on that song was a privilege for us, ‘cos we listened to all these other rappers but none of them fit the freaking song!”

Paulini, Kate, Emily and Jessica may be divas when one considers their vocal power and serious career commitment, but they’re also very ‘real’.

Their casual interaction is a testament to their friendship. When likened to “a bunch of giggling school girls” there wasn’t a diva tantrum in sight – just a collective laugh of agreement. When it comes to the nitty-gritty, there’s an underlying cheeky group mentality that’s surprisingly refreshing.

“We are just ourselves in everything we do. When we’re together its like we’re hanging out. It just so happens that we’re doing our work at the same time,” Kate asserts.

With their latest collection of disco pop tracks, Young Divas are sure to get dance floors filled and parties started, just in time for summer.

Young Divas’ new single Turn Me Loose is out Nov 17, their album New Attitude hits stores November 24.

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