By Helen Musa

One of the deadliest First Nations acts of all is heading to the Canberra Southern Cross Club in Woden.

Casey Donovan, probably best known to readers as the youngest winner of Australian Idol, taking out the second season in 2004 at just 16, will be on tour with her latest show, This Is Me.

A household name known for her powerful vocals and riveting stage presence, it is probably less well known that, as a Gumbaynggirr and Dunghutti First Nations artist, she is also a strong advocate for literacy and music. She serves as an ambassador for the Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation, Support Act, R U OK?, Camp Quality and AusMusic T-Shirt Day.

After spending the past six years involved mainly in musical theatre, Donovan has pulled together what she calls “a culmination of music, theatre and performances from the past 21 years.”

Audiences can expect to hear Australian Idol classics, showstoppers from musicals such as The Sapphires and Chicago, favourites from her ABC TV New Year’s Eve and Australia Day performances, and some new original songs.

Her theatre credits also include As You Like It, The Flowerchildren, Opera Yarrabah, Rent, We Will Rock You, 9 to 5 The Musical, & Juliet and Sister Act The Musical, where she played the on-the-run parolee Aunt Debra.

Apart from winning two major reality shows, Australian Idol and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Donovan can also claim an ARIA No. 1 single and multiple platinum certifications.

On screen, she’s been seen in Streetsmart (SBS), How To Stay Married (Network 10), What Does Australia Really Think? (SBS), and as a host of the NAIDOC Awards (ABC TV).

She was the runner-up behind Montaigne in the 2020 edition of Eurovision – Australia Decides, performing her original track Proud, and her mindfulness podcast The Space has achieved more than three million downloads on Nova Entertainment.

Casey Donovan, Canberra Southern Cross Club, Woden, July 24.

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