EXCLUSIVE: Pop singer Anastacia has achieved icon status in the music industry thanks to decades of success in the business, her powerful vocals and hits including I’m Outta love and Left Outside Alone.
But the 57-year-old is also known for being a passionate advocate for women’s health after publicly sharing her battle with breast cancer, which she has faced twice, in 2003 and 2013, with the latter resulting in a double mastectomy.
In a chat with Nine.com.au while in Australia, ahead of surprising fans at the Billson’s Bingo Loco event in Sydney on Saturday evening, Anastacia reflected on her incredible career and how important it is for her to use her platform to help others.
Watch the video above.
“It’s been the only way I’ve ever lived,” the breast cancer survivor says.
“My songs; I write about things I’ve experienced.
“So every single song that I sing is about stuff I went through or an experience that I found able to turn into something positive, that I’ve gone through.
“For my health situation, that was a surprise to the doctor when I found out I had cancer, that I immediately wanted to say something about it.
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“And he questioned, like, ‘you sure?’ And I was like, ‘why are you questioning if I’m sure?’ Is there something I don’t know?'”
The Y2K icon said that often, women feel “ashamed” about their diagnosis and that just shouldn’t be the case.
In June 2000, Anastacia released her debut album Not That Kind, which featured the smash hit I’m Outta Love, that became an international success and put her name on the map. Her second album Freak of Nature came out in 2001.
Anastacia’s career was flourishing when she received her first breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 34 in the early 2000s.
“We didn’t choose it,” Anastacia, whose real name is Anastacia Lyn Newkirk, says.
“So I think it was when I was realising a lot of women just felt embarrassed and ashamed. That’s not what I wanted them to feel.
“And when I heard the statistics that it’s not hereditary, in let’s say, 85 per cent of the women and I don’t know if you know that stat, but 85 per cent is not hereditary.
“So, when they asked you, is it in your family? They only care about 15 per cent of the women out there.
“I’m for the 85 per cent… but I can tell you if you go get tested earlier than doctors say, earlier than somebody else says, you are in a better place to know something that you can find.”
Anastacia wants women, no matter what, to keep on top of their health.
“And so it’s like, that is my best thing that I can do is just not to put fear in them, but give them their own control back,” she says.
“Which is not be scared if you’re going to get it. Be aware that you don’t have it and that you’re watching it.”
Reflecting on it being 25 years since her debut album came out, Anastacia says her music is reaching new generations of fans and she’s proud of the success she’s achieved over her decades in the industry.
”I’m super honoured to have those years to say that it’s still happening,” she tells Nine.com.au.
“I’ve never even had a relationship that long, so I’m quite, quite proud of myself for sticking with it.”
“That people still talk about how the music changed their life and how it was monumental and either their mother listened to it… it really is a multigenerational type of life I live now with so many different people liking the music and enjoying it.
“I do feel grateful that I’m in a category I never thought I’d get there, to the point where it’s like, oh, ‘she’s a legend, an icon’. Like, you know, it’s not just a while that I’ve been doing it. You know, it’s been silver. It’s my silver anniversary,” she says with a chuckle.
”And I’ve never even had a relationship that long, so I’m quite, quite proud of myself for sticking with it.”
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Anastacia surprised fans with a performance of I’m Outta Love at Billson’s Bingo Loco event in Sydney on Saturday evening during a fun Y2K-themed karaoke segment.
Ahead of the performance, she told Nine.com.au she was excited to hit the stage following her Australian tour.
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“There’s no expectations. It’s just the fun of surprising them [the fans],” she says.
She adds with a laugh: “My song has been abused many a time in a karaoke song.
“I will say that I hope that people have a good time and maybe everybody sounds great!”
Aussie favourite Billson’s creates premixed vodka drinks with flavours that won’t be quiet.
Remember to drink responsibly.
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