
When Vanessa Amorosi descended onto the main stage at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games closing ceremony, lowered from the roof of ANZ Stadium in a silver geometric cage, the crowd went wild upon hearing the opening lines of ‘Absolutely Everybody’.
It was the same year iconic runner Cathy Freeman celebrated her history-making 400-metre sprint gold medal draped in an Australian flag, and Aussie music legends like Kylie Minogue, Midnight Oil, Jimmy Barnes and John Paul Young performed some of the biggest songs to come out of our country.
At just 17 years old, the Australian singer-songwriter had made it.
You can watch Vanessa Amorosi’s 2000 Sydney Olympic Games performance below. Post continues after video.
After being discovered at 15 singing in a Russian restaurant in Melbourne, Amorosi’s rise to pop stardom is the kind of story we just don’t hear about anymore.
Long before Instagram and YouTube, the Melbourne teenager was performing at shopping centres before releasing her first album The Power while still in high school. The debut album reached number one on the Australian album charts, earning her six ARIA nominations in 2000.