Tina Arena: 'I hated the fact I hit 40 and radio wouldn’t play me'

Having been in the spotlight since she was nine years old, her decades-long career is a bellwether for how Australia treats its female artists

Show me the girl at nine and I'll show you the woman at 51.

Tina Arena first appeared on Australian television screens in the children's talent show Young Talent Time in 1974. Known as Pina at home, the little girl with a big voice was so popular with viewers that the station was inundated with requests to give her a regular spot.