How music helps Bonnie Anderson get through good and bad times
On the surface, she is a star singer and a glamorous actor but, underneath, Bonnie Anderson insists she is a normal 24-year-old who, despite the fame and fortune, goes through the same cycle of boys, bullying and bad skin as everyone else.
Entertainment
Don't miss out on the headlines from Entertainment. Followed categories will be added to My News.
On the surface, she is a star singer and a glamorous actor but, underneath, Bonnie Anderson insists she is a normal 24-year-old who, despite the fame and fortune, goes through the same cycle of boys, bullying and bad skin as everyone else.
The Neighbours actor is riding high on the success of her new single Sorry, released last month, and says singing about a tough time in her life has been a cathartic experience.
“I was 19 and those are the times you’re really vulnerable and confused and lost,” she tells BW Magazine.
“I remember going to LA and writing this song. I was going through some issues in a relationship and dealing with that and figuring out how I can work through things.”
The track was played on an episode of Neighbours, woven into the storyline of her character Beatrix Nilsson who, like Anderson, is also a songwriter.
“To be honest the way it worked into the Neighbours’ storyline is amazing. My character was a homeless girl and absolutely tortured by a boyfriend,” she says.
“She’s also a songwriter like me. Her new boyfriend inspires her and gives her the courage to share her music with others.
“I’ve really grown as a person. I have learnt so many things from my co-stars. They are really down-to-earth people who feel like family.”
MORE FROM ANGIRA BHARADWAJ:
WHY ERIN MCNAUGHT DECIDED TO MOVE FAMILY BACK TO OZ
NAZEEM HUSSAIN TALKS ABOUT THE ART OF COMEDY
After more than a decade in the spotlight — Anderson rose to fame as a 12-year-old winning the inaugural season of Australia’s Got Talent in 2007 — she is adamant she’s only getting started.
“You can’t sit around and expect things to happen so I want to work for it,” she insists.
Some may find this attitude of pure hard work and resilience to be beyond her years, but she credits the wisdom to her godfather — Aussie boxing legend Lionel Rose, who passed away in 2011.
“Lionel has always been my number one supporter, he’s so special to me. He and my Dad would always say the same thing to me: ‘Keep punching bub’,” she reflects
“Lionel always knew the right words to say to me and he has this amazing aura about him. He told me to keep fighting and never give up.”
It’s a message Anderson wants to share with young girls who might be in the same place as she was in her teens — navigating puberty while trying to look cool.
“I’m a big believer in being kind — kindness cures everything,” she says.
“Social media is such a dark place sometimes with the comments and opinions and when girls and boys puts themselves out there, people say whatever they want.
“You have to remind yourself to just let it go. The tit-for-tat thing doesn’t work. You have to find happiness with you and the people around you.”
The singer followed her Australia’s Got Talent win with debut single Raise The Bar in 2013 and collaborations with Olly Murs, Matt Rad, Chris Lord-Alge and cosmetics giant Maybelline.
She says surrounding yourself with a strong support system is crucial to surviving in the industry and her inner circle includes puppy Delilah, photographs of whom are scattered all over Anderson’s social media.
But her biggest supporter is big sister Amber Wilkinson, who is her manager and also has her own clothing label, Kindness Is Cool, which Anderson often endorses.
Wilkinson’s influence on the singer’s life is evident: she approves her shots, fixes her hair, and tells it like it is when something isn’t working. And the sister bond goes back to the beginning when in 2009, Wilkinson accompanied a then 13-year-old Anderson on her tour with veteran rocker Jimmy Barnes.
“I went for two weeks on tour with my older sister but no Mum,” Anderson says.
“(Barnes) taught me what it’s like to be on the road to be away from family and to treat people respectfully. Even now I can pick up the phone and ask for advice and
he’s just always there.
“I was 13 when I toured with Jimmy. (He) heard me sing and he asked me to come on tour. I didn’t even have a passport at that stage so then I got my passport in 48 hours.”
The Melbourne local describes her teenage years as a mishmash of the ordinary and the extraordinary — stints on stage were followed with part-time jobs at the local bakery.
“After winning the cheque from Australia’s Got Talent I still remember going back to washing dishes at my local bakery for $6 or $7 an hour,” she says with a laugh.
“Winning (Australia’s Got Talent) was a whirlwind but it cemented what I wanted to do.”
While it’s already been 12 years in the entertainment industry for Anderson, she is far from being jaded in between posing for photographs, she isn’t shy of bursting into an impromptu macarena dance or mimicking the birds flying overhead.
“After Australia’s Got Talent, I remember I was still missing one of my teeth,” she says with a laugh.
Following her win, the offers from record labels and management companies started rolling in but the young star turned them down in order to grow up first.
“I thought being my first year of high school, people would be supportive (of my career) but I remember coming back to school and one of the big kids said (to me) ‘Australia’s got no talent’,” she says.
She recalls returning home to her parents wondering why her growing success didn’t sit well with her schoolmates. But Anderson says the reality of being in the limelight from a young age has made her who she is today: strong and independent.
“Some of the feelings I felt and the nerves I felt and the people that were a little harsh at the time teaches you to be who you are,” she says.
“When I was younger I used to care about so many little things — even things like your fake tan rubbing off or a pimple on your cheek, I used to get so embarrassed about these things.”
But Anderson says music has a way of getting her through the good times and bad times.
The actor, who dated X Factor alum Reece Mastin in 2015 and was recently linked with Married At First Sight star Telverne Williams, has used songs to express romance and heartbreak.
It’s this ability of music to liberate that she endorses to everyone she meets by the way of her wrist tattoo which reads: Music heals.
“I got the tattoo when I was 17 and it was my very first one,” she says.
“I didn’t tell my parents until right before I had a performance. I told them and ran up on stage so they wouldn’t get mad.”
Many teenagers would be familiar with these small rebellions and relatability is something the singer seeks today through her music. She hopes to use her songs to normalise the imperfections that are frequently amplified in today’s social media world.
“In life you go through your ups and downs and that makes you who you are. Every day I doubt myself and that’s OK too,” she says.
“You just have to remind yourself that ‘I’m human and I will have ups and downs’ because life is never perfect. Keep pushing through.”
Originally published as How music helps Bonnie Anderson get through good and bad times
Oasis announce Australian shows
The band will headline a stadium show in Melbourne, on October 31, then Sydney on November 7.
Oasis’ Aussie tour dates finally confirmed
The global Oasis ticket frenzy is about to hit our shores, with the hugely popular band confirming details of their Aussie tour leg.