Natalie Bassingthwaighte (born 1 September1975) is a Gold Logie-nominated Australianactress, singer, and television personality. She is the former lead vocalist of electro-pop band Rogue Traders, author of an inspirational book for teenage girls and host of So You Think You Can Dance Australia. She is perhaps best known for the role of Izzy Hoyland on the soap operaNeighbours from 2003 to 2007, of which gained her nominations for the TV WeekGold Logie.
Before being cast in Neighbours, Bassingthwaighte had starred in a few television roles, including All Saints, Home and Away, Heartbreak High and The Lost World . Bassingthwaighte's character, Izzy Hoyland on Neighbours had an evil streak and often caused trouble, including having an affair with a married man. She left the show in late-2006 to focus on her singing career and joined the Rogue Traders, and returned briefly in March 2007 for a two-week guest stint that was filmed in London where Rogue Traders were touring at the time.
In 2006, Bassingthwaighte was nominated for a Gold Logie for the first time since joining Neighbours. The Gold Logie is the biggest award at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards, which is presented to the "Most Popular Personality on Television." She was also nominated for a Silver Logie for "Best Actress," but failed to win either award. Bassingthwaighte was nominated for a Silver Logie for "Most Popular Actress" at the 2007 Logies, but lost to Home and Away's Kate Ritchie.
In 2007, Bassingthwaighte filmed a role in the low-budget Australian horror film, Prey, directed by George T. Miller. Set in the Outback of Western Australia, Prey follows a group of six young people lured into the desert by a local character, whose master needs fresh victims to consume. In 2004, Bassingthwaighte filmed a role in the low-budget Australian movie, When Darkness Falls, directed by Rohan Spong. She played the character of Jinx de Luxe and sang the Marilyn Monroe song, "Every Baby Needs a Da Da Daddy," onscreen. Bassingthwaighte has performed in many musicals, mostly with a rock flavour including RENT, Footloose she has several times over the past 5 years toured as Sandy in Grease, against Craig McLachlan and Miguel Ayesa, who was her castmate in RENT. Most Grease productions were 'Arena Spectaculars' with many big names presented, instead of focusing on the lead actors. Before joining Rogue Traders, Bassingthwaighte had recorded her own demos that were to be sent out to record labels. Bassingthwaighte described the style of the music as acoustic rock.
From late 2004 to mid 2008 she was the lead singer of Australian pop group Rogue Traders, a band which had some limited success in the years before she joined. Bassingthwaighte auditioned along with several other musicians and succeeded in getting the part fairly quickly. At first the band seemed keen to keep Bassingthwaighte's involvement in the Rogue Traders under wraps, and it wasn't until the band's first single release with Bassingthwaighte on board that fans became aware of her position. The Rogue Traders achieved great success with their album Here Come The Drums, led by the hit single "Voodoo Child". The Rogue Traders third album, titled Better in the Dark, was released on the 13 October2007 in Australia, later in Europe and America.
Home: Songs Of Hope & Journey, a compilation that was released on November 25, 2006, features a duet with Bassingthwaighte and Shannon Noll, which is a cover of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's "Don't Give Up". The song was released as a single on December 9, 2006, debuting on the ARIA Charts at number seven, before peaking at number 2 the following week.
Bassingthwaighte also recorded a version of "O Holy Night" for The Spirit of Christmas 2006, a Christmas compilation album in which all proceeds go to The Salvation Army in Australia. Bassingthwaighte sang the Australian national anthem Advance Australia Fair at the 2007 AFL Grand Final. Bassingthwaighte and Shannon Noll joined forces again in 2007 to record a duet of 'Please Come Home For Christmas' which appeared on the 2007 Myer Spirit of Christmas compilation album.
On June 24, 2008, Rogue Traders frontman James Ash posted a message to fans on their official forum announcing Bassingthwaighte was leaving the band to pursue her own solo career.
In October 2008 Natalie performed Mariah Carey's "Hero" at the Rugby League World Cup opening ceremony.
In 2006, Natalie signed a record deal with Sony BMG to record a solo album. She began work on the album, but not until mid-2008 did any major progress begin. She travelled to London, Norway and the US to write and record the album. She worked with some of the biggest names in pop, including Paul Barry (Cher, Tina Turner), Steve Anderson (Kylie Minogue), Jimmy Harry (Pink, Britney Spears) and rising Norwegian star Ina Wroldsen.
Natalie's debut solo single and first single from the album, "Alive" was set to be released to radio in Australia on October 10th 2008, but made its debut on the morning of October 13th 2008 due to a clash in release schedules with Beyonce's new single "If I Were A Boy". It is an up-tempo, electro-pop song. Natalie co-wrote the song with Andy Frampton and Arnthor Birgisson. The single was released in stores on November 8th 2008. It has peaked at #11 on the ARIA Singles Chart and #10 on iTunes. The single includes a B-Side entitled, "Remember Me," and an "Electrodex Remix" of Alive.
On November 2, 2008, it was reported in the Herald Sun that Natalie Bassingthwaighte's new album would be titled 1000 Stars.
Natalie lists the tracks "1000 Stars" and "In His Eyes", which is about her grandad, as her favourite tracks she's written for the album in an interview with GQ Magazine. She also wrote a song that appears on the album with partner Cameron McGlinchey, called "Feel the Flow".
Natalie performed "Alive" and another album track "Catch Me If You Can" at the All Stars Twenty 20 Cricket Match.
It has been announced that the second single off her album will be called "Someday Soon," and was released to radio on December 15.
At present, confirmed tracks from "1000 Stars" include, "Alive," "Someday Soon," "Catch Me If You Can," "In His Eyes," "1000 Stars," "Gone," and "Feel the Flow."
Bassingthwaighte and her younger sister Nicky Moore have written a book for eight to fourteen-year-old girls with the title of Sistahood: The Journal of Self-Discovery. The book is aimed at encouraging girls to follow their dreams and be all they can be, the book was released in April 2008.
Bassingthwaighte has hosted the Australian series of So You Think You Can Dance. She has confirmed that she will be back hosting the shows second season in 2009. She has also been named the host of the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2008 alongside WWE superstar John Cena. Bassingthwaighte is currently dating former Rogue Traders drummer Cameron McGlinchey. She has also previously been linked to assistant Neighbours director Ryan Eckersley, and in the December 2006 issue of Men's Style magazine, she mentioned that she was married for a short time when she was 23.
