Australian Claire Kelly joined her first band as a violinist when she was 16. Now, 16 years later, she has travelled the world as a professional singer and is about to star in her first acting role.
Before... "I started singing for money when I was five years old. One day, my friend and I heard people singing in the church near my home and we went in. They taught us the songs and pretty soon they said they'd pay us two dollars for singing at Sunday services and five dollars for weddings.
"I sang at that church until I was about 11 and then started singing at school. When I was 16, I was asked to play violin in an acid jazz funk band. A year later I was singing in bands, and a year after that I was touring Australia with a band called Cover Girls. Sony approached us and we had two hit singles.
"After a year I started my own band called Vanity - that was a great time, touring around the countryside.
"Everyone had always said that you couldn't make a career out of singing. So, I did a marketing degree and started working at a football club. I loved it and worked hard towards becoming the manager.
It all changed when... "In 2000, when I was 21, I got a call from a friend who was in a band called Roundabout. They were in China and urgently needed a lead singer. I took a month off work to go out and sing with them and ended up falling in love with working as a singer, and that was it. I have been a singer ever since.
As a result... "I toured with Roundabout for a few years. We went everywhere - Korea, Dubai, Shenyang, Mumbai, Shanghai... it was exhilarating.
"In 2005 I formed my own band called Shine. We landed a gig in the Hard Rock Café Dubai and were there for three years. We also performed at Hilton and Hyatt hotels in Asia and the Middle East. That's one of the great sides of being in a band - every night the crowd is different, the energy is different... you meet so many great people who welcome you into their lives.
Since then... "Now I am back in Dubai with Shine version seven. Over the past six years, people have left the band and other people have joined. You live, work and travel together... you become a family. So saying goodbye to people can be hard. But I believe that everything happens for a reason - when someone steps down, someone else steps up, and it makes Shine better.
Moving on... "We're waiting for the new Hard Rock Café to open. We were offered gigs in other countries but Hard Rock has been so good to us, we wanted to return the loyalty. It's exciting - it's going to be huge!
"I'm also trying my hand at acting for the first time. A friend recommended me to Mohammad Rahmo - a director who is making a movie called The Butterfly and The Bee about a new-age musician's lifestyle in the bar environment. When I met him I said, ‘You'd be crazy to take me on - I've never acted.' But when I read the script I cried... I felt such a connection with the character.
"Mohammad has been wonderful and he has done such an amazing thing. The film is really edgy. It's going to be so unexpected as a film coming out of the Middle East. There are rumours it's heading to the Sundance Festival for release, which would be awesome. It's been such an eye-opener and the crew and the cast are amazing.
Life lesson... "Singing for a living can be healthy, or unhealthy. It's an extreme lifestyle... late nights, partying and you put a lot of energy into the gigs. You need to look after yourself properly.
"When I was planning a career in marketing, I would never have guessed how addictive the music industry could be and how it would take over my life in such a positive way. It's something I would do all over again. All of it. Right from the beginning. I think my story shows that if you work hard, and you put your heart and soul into it, you can make anything happen."
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