Orianthi Is Ready For Her Solo
Life has whisked Orianthi from the living room (where she learned guitar solos by watching VHS tapes of Carlos Santana) to the stage she now shares with her musical idols.
The guitarist (aka Orianthi Panagaris) from Adelaide, Australia, has performed with Steve Vai, Santana, Prince and Carrie Underwood. This week, she'll be seen playing blistering solos for Wanna Be Starting Something and Dirty Diana alongside the King of Pop in the new Michael Jackson documentary.
And Tuesday, she fulfills another dream: the arrival of her debut disc, Believe (on which she sings and plays guitar), after two years of writing and recording. The album's release, postponed from summer while she rehearsed with Jackson, now coincides with the film.
"It's a real guitar-based record," says Orianthi, 24. "There's a guitar solo on every track."
Orianthi rattles off the high points in her career as if she herself can't believe them. She began playing guitar at 6 and cut her first demo when she was 14. At 15, she was opening for Vai.
By the time she was 18, her demo had found its way into the hands of Carlos Santana, who invited her to jam with him at a concert in Australia. Then came a record deal with Geffen Records and a move to L.A.
After her attention-grabbing Grammy performance with Underwood in February, she received a MySpace message from Jackson's musical director, inviting her to audition for the lead guitarist spot on the This Is It concerts.
"I was just blown away," she says. "I didn't think it was for real."
Next thing she knew, she was playing Beat It for Jackson.
"He started walking me up and down the stage," Orianthi says. "And he asked, 'Can you play that solo for me when walking at this pace?' And I said, 'Totally.' It was an amazing moment."
Another "amazing" moment followed during rehearsals, when Jackson gave Orianthi an extra guitar solo during Black or White.
"He said, 'This is your moment to shine. I want you to play your highest note.' And he was singing this really high note, and I was trying to reach it on the guitar," she says.
Yet instead of performing for fans at O2 Arena in London, Orianthi found herself in "shock and disbelief," performing We Are the World at Jackson's memorial at the Staples Center in July.
"All of us in the band were like, 'Are we actually doing this?' " she says. "It was really hard to hold back the tears looking out there and seeing how much love there was in the room."
Although she'll never get to be part of what she says would have been "the biggest show on earth," she's looking forward to her own performances. She'll play her first single, According to You, on Good Morning America Tuesday and continue her radio promo tour through November.
"I just can't wait to get out there and play some shows," she says. "I hope this record will inspire a lot of girls to pick up the electric guitar. That would be awesome."
USA Today / Thanks Joy C!