Orianthi Penny Panagaris (born 22 January 1985), known mononymously as Orianthi, is an Australian guitarist, singer and songwriter who rehearsed in 2009 with

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

in preparation for his '' This Is It'' concert series, and performed with

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

's touring band. Her 2009 debut single " According to You" peaked at No. 3 in Japan, No. 8 in Australia and No. 17 in the US; her second album, ''

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

'', received a worldwide release in late 2009. The same year, she was named one of the "12 Greatest Female Electric Guitarists" by '' Elle'' magazine. She also won the "2010 Breakthrough Guitarist of the Year" award hosted by ''Guitar International'' magazine.

Life and career

Early life

Orianthi Penny Panagaris was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia to Greek parents. She began playing piano at the age of three, and at the encouragement of her father, moved to acoustic guitar at the age of six. When she was eleven, she took up electric guitar and left her school, Mercedes College, enrolling at

Cabra Dominican College Cabra Dominican College is a private, independent Catholic high school located at Cumberland Park, an inner-southern suburb in Adelaide, South Australia. It was established by an order of Dominican sisters from Cabra, Dublin in February 1886 w ...

. She also attended St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School for a short period. At the age of 15, she turned her focus to writing songs and so began her professional career.The Age
Article: "Lady plays the blues: Santana among fans" Patrick Donovan 7 July 2007" She has been playing in bands since the age of 14 and performed in her first stage show for Steve Vai at the age of 15. Orianthi met and jammed with

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

when she was 18. He invited Orianthi to get up and jam with him at

soundcheck A sound check is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small port ...

then later asked if she would join him on stage that night to jam at his Adelaide concert, Memorial Drive on 30 March 2003. Orianthi independently released her debut studio album, '' Violet Journey'' in 2005, composing all the material, contributing guitar, vocals, and drums on most cuts. She produced and mixed the final product at her home studio. Carlos Santana brought Orianthi to Paul Reed Smith's attention which led to her endorsement. Orianthi relocated to Los Angeles, signed with Geffen Records in late 2006 and struck a management deal with

19 Entertainment 19 Entertainment is a producer of entertainment properties for television with a focus on music. Founded by Simon Fuller in London in 1985, the company co-produced ''Pop Idol'' in the United Kingdom with Thames Television in 2001. The ''Idol serie ...

. Orianthi has made a commercial for Panasonic, featured in the song "Now or Never" for '' Bratz: The Movie'', played at the

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Crossroads Guitar Festival, appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' business section promoting eco-friendly acoustic guitars, and opened for Steve Vai in the US.

Breakthrough

Orianthi appeared at the

51st annual Grammy Awards The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the b ...

in February 2009 as

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

's lead guitarist,
with Underwood inviting Orianthi to become a member of her band. Following that performance (in addition to recommendations from industry professionals),

's management reached out to Orianthi for an audition for This Is It concerts. Orianthi was hence Michael Jackson's lead guitarist and was present at all rehearsals for his This Is It concerts before his death. In regard to being handpicked by Jackson, she stated: She played and sang at Jackson's memorial, globally televised live on 7 July 2009. She appears in the film ''

Michael Jackson's This Is It ''Michael Jackson's This Is It'' is a 2009 American documentary–concert film about Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for This Is It (concert residency), the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, at ...

'', which chronicles the rehearsals for the tour and shows her and Jackson on stage. She presented an award at the 2009 American Music Awards, which Jackson won

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

. Orianthi also appears on "

We Are the World 25 for Haiti "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" is a charity single recorded by the supergroup Artists for Haiti in 2010. It is a remake of the song " We Are the World", which was written by American musicians Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and was recor ...

" – with the original co-written and partly performed by Jackson. She plays guitar on the song "

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

" by Michael Jackson featuring

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

which was released on ''

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

'' on 14 December 2010.

Solo career

Orianthi started working on her major label debut ''

'' in 2007, which was released in October 2009. The album produced the worldwide hit "According to You", which was the Single of the Week on iTunes on 27 October 2009, reached number 2 on US radio airplay and charted to number eight in Australia, three in Japan, and achieved platinum status in the US and Australia. The charismatic rock instrumental "Highly Strung" featuring Steve Vai became a popular YouTube video with millions of views and climbing, and her song "Suffocated" was featured on '' Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock'' as a playable song. Orianthi appeared on several late night shows; most notably, she appeared on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' results show, which aired on 26 March 2010. In 2010, she toured extensively, with headlining shows in the US, Japan, Australia, and Malaysia. She also opened for other artists including: John Mayer,

Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footbal ...

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...

, Daughtry and over 30 dates for

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

’s Glam Nation Tour with former ''Idol'' contestant Allison Iraheta. Orianthi performed at various music festivals and charity functions most notably at the Stand Up to Cancer telethon. On 12 October 2011, the 5 track EP ''Fire'', produced by Dave Stewart was released as an iTunes download. Five songs from the EP appeared on Orianthi's third studio album, ''

Heaven in This Hell ''Heaven in This Hell'' is the third studio album by Australian singer and guitarist Orianthi. Produced by David A. Stewart, the album was released on Robo Records on 12 March 2013. Orianthi cited modern country and blues as the main inspiratio ...

''. The album was released on 12 March 2013. In 2020 Orianthi signed an exclusive record deal with rock label

Frontiers Records Frontiers Music – formerly Frontiers Records – is an Italian record label, predominantly producing hard rock. It was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples. History In 1996, Serafino Perugino started working in the m ...

. "The album ''O'' was released on 6 November 2020, making it her first studio album in seven years. Marti Frederiksen produced the album and was preceded by the single "Sinners Hymn". Two other songs from the album, "Impulsive" and "Sorry", were released as singles and had music videos. In January 2022 Orianthi announced that a live DVD and album would be released later in the year through

. In March she shared the title for her fifth album, '' Rock Candy''. On 15 July 2022, '' Live from Hollywood'' was released on CD/DVD and Blu-ray. The performance was captured on 8 January 2022 at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood. ''Rock Candy'' was then released on 14 October.

Collaborations

Orianthi has been very prolific in collaborating and being featured by many artists. She is featured on Iraheta's third single "

Don't Waste the Pretty "Don't Waste the Pretty" is the third single by Allison Iraheta of her debut album '' Just Like You''. It was written by Michael Dennis Smith, Stefanie Ridel, Miriam Nervo and Olivia Nervo and was produced by Howard Benson. The single version of t ...

" and on Fefe Dobson's song "Can't Breathe" which appears on Fefe Dobson's album '' Joy'' released in November 2010. She has stated that the people she has collaborated with (i.e. Allison Iraheta and

Lacey Mosley Lacey Nicole Sturm (née Mosley, previously Carder; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter born in Homestead, Florida, but raised in Arlington, Texas. She is a co-founder and lead vocalist of the hard rock band Flyleaf. In ...

) are some of her best friends. She recorded for the song "

Sadda Haq "Sadda Haq" is a song composed by A. R. Rahman for the 2011 Indian musical film ''Rockstar''. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri in leading roles and is directed by Imtiaz Ali. The song features vocals by Mohit Chauhan and addition ...

" composed by Academy award-winning composer

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

for a

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

2011 film

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

Rockstar Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to: Films * ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg * ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali * ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...

''. The song became very popular and garnered substantial media coverage in India for Orianthi, being cited for her time as Michael Jackson's lead guitarist. Orianthi joined

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Hollywood Vampires on the track "

Whole Lotta Love "Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, ''Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was r ...

" from the band's 2015 self-titled debut album. In October 2016, Orianthi featured in The 2016 NRL Grand Final pre-game entertainment alongside

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...

. Their performance was met with mixed reviews, and Sambora defended their performance the following day on Twitter. On 29 September 2017, Orianthi and

released a five-song EP called ''

Rise Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a video ...

'' under the name RSO (an acronym of the two members' initials). They released another EP ''Making History'' on 15 December 2017, and their debut album '' Radio Free America'' was released on 11 May 2018. The band performed on the 5th episode of Season 11 of the PBS performance series ''

Soundstage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

,'' which premiered on 3 May 2018. Orianthi appears on the track ''Limelight'' from

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...

's ''American Rock and Roll'' album, released in April 2019.

Touring guitarist

On 29 August 2011, Orianthi was announced as

's new guitarist. She replaced Damon Johnson, who is now a member of Thin Lizzy. She was the first female member of the Alice Cooper band. Orianthi did two world tours with Alice Cooper, but resigned in June 2014, and was replaced by

Nita Strauss Nita Strauss (born December 7, 1986) is an American rock musician. She is currently Demi Lovato's touring guitarist and was a former touring guitarist for Alice Cooper from 2014 to 2022 and has a successful career as a solo artist. Strauss was t ...

. Her departure caused a rift between her and Strauss' respective fanbases, though the guitarists themselves are friends. Orianthi has appeared as a guitarist for other stars including shows with

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

, Dave Stewart and

James Durbin __NOTOC__ James Durbin FBA (30 June 1923 – 23 June 2012) was a British statistician and econometrician, known particularly for his work on time series analysis and serial correlation. Education The son of a greengrocer, Durbin was born in W ...

. She also appeared on the Top 7-week season 12 of

on 3 April 2013 to play guitar for each of the performances. One month later Orianthi performed ''Fine China'' with Chris Brown at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, and on 8 December of that same year she paid tribute to Carlos Santana, performing in the

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...

Gala. She spent most of 2013–2015 touring with Dave Stewart, started BeMyBand, and released a song. In 2014, she joined

for his solo tour in Australia and Europe. In 2016, the two toured under the name RSO in Australia, South America and the UK.

Philanthropy

Orianthi met with Little Kids Rock students at the annual trade show for music merchants (

NAMM The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

) in 2010 after they opened for her. The kids gave her an acoustic guitar they autographed and she joined LKR's Honorary Board.

Discography

Solo career * '' Violet Journey'' (2007) * ''

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2013) * ''O'' (2020) * '' Rock Candy'' (2022) RSO * '' Radio Free America'' (2018)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Equipment

Guitars

* PRS Custom 22 * PRS Custom 24 * PRS SE Custom 24 * PRS SE Singlecut * Jackson KV2& KV5 (discontinued) * Jackson DX10 (Discontinued) *

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...

RG Series (discontinued) *

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...

(early) * Gibson SG (early) *

Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...

Acoustics *

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was an American race car, racing and luxury car, luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is ...

Starplayer TV, gift from Dave Stewart * PRS SE Orianthi (her own signature SE model) She also has a special private stock PRS Custom 24 guitar, nicknamed "MJ", made for the "This Is It" concerts. This one of a kind guitar is decorated with

Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Austria, and has existed as a family-owned business since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal ...

crystals.www.prsguitars.com
Quote: "Orianthi posed for the cover of “Believe” holding a whale blue Custom 24 completely covered in Swarovski crystals. The guitar was custom made for the Michael Jackson tour and was nicknamed “MJ” by Orianthi.

Amplifiers

* Orange Amplification * ENGL ( This Is It) * EVH 5150III * Marshall *

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a s ...

References

External links

* *
Orianthi's page at 19 EntertainmentOrianthi Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2019)
2020 Interview – Australian Rock Show Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orianthi 1985 births Living people Australian people of Greek descent Australian women guitarists Australian rock guitarists Australian rock singers Alice Cooper (band) members Geffen Records artists Musicians from Adelaide 19 Recordings artists Australian heavy metal guitarists Lead guitarists Australian expatriates in the United States Orianthi 21st-century women guitarists Women in metal