Editing Tina Arena (section)

=== 1988–1993: Debut solo album – ''Strong as Steel'' ===
During 1988, Arena appeared as a guest on Australian TV shows recalling her tenure on ''Young Talent Time'' and looking for a new record label. In 1990, she had a singing and dancing role in the David Atkins' musical, ''Dynamite'', for a 10-month run.<ref name="McFarlane"/> Also that year she signed with [[EMI]] and reinvented her image as a raunchy [[disco]] diva.<ref name="McFarlane"/> In April she issued a single, "[[I Need Your Body]]",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://i.imgur.com/ves1Krj.png|title=Product Available from: 30/04/90 – Singles (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 16)|website=Imgur.com|access-date=13 May 2016}}</ref> which peaked at No.&nbsp;3 on the [[ARIA Charts|ARIA Singles Chart]].<ref name="AUS Charts">{{cite web | url = http://www.australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Tina+Arena | title = Discography Tina Arena | publisher = Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung) | last = Hung | first = Steffen | access-date = 27 October 2015 }}</ref> McFarlane described it as "uptempo" with the associated music video "projecting a raunchy disco-diva persona&nbsp;... flaunting a pouting rock starlet with bouncing cleavage and attitude to burn."<ref name="McFarlane"/> Australian journalist [[Ed Nimmervoll]] noticed that she used "raunchy videos showing off her cleavage as if to prove she was a woman now."<ref name="Nimmervoll">{{cite web | archive-url = https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20010328130000/http://www.howlspace.com.au/en2/arenatina/arenatina.htm | url = http://www.howlspace.com.au/en2/arenatina/arenatina.htm | title = Tina Arena | last1 = Nimmervoll | first1 = Ed | author-link1 = Ed Nimmervoll | publisher = Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music. White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd (Ed Nimmervoll) | archive-date = 28 March 2001 | access-date = 27 October 2015 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The artist followed with another single, "[[The Machine's Breaking Down]]", in July 1990, which peaked in the top&nbsp;30.<ref name="AUS Charts"/> Her debut solo album, ''[[Strong as Steel]]'', was released in October, and peaked at number&nbsp;17 on the ARIA Albums Chart.<ref name="AUS Charts"/> Most of the album was produced by Ross Inglis.<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="Layland"/> Penelope Layland of ''[[The Canberra Times]]'' opined that "the frantic single, 'I Need Your Body', is quite uncharacteristic of much of the music on Tina Arena's album, ''Strong As Steel''. In fact, it is one of the weakest tracks on an album which bounces with potential pop hits."<ref name="Layland">{{cite news | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122328490 | title = Just Saved from Total Banality | last = Layland | first = Penelope | newspaper = [[The Canberra Times]] | date = 6 December 1990 | access-date = 27 October 2015 | page = 21 | publisher = National Library of Australia }}</ref>

According to music historian [[Ed Nimmervoll]], Arena "was not comfortable. This was not her. This was not what she wanted to be for the rest of her life. Tina went into seclusion while she decided what to do next, moving to Los Angeles to be a nobody again."<ref name="Nimmervoll"/> She relocated to LA in 1991, where she took more singing lessons and started songwriting.<ref name="McFarlane"/> Upon return to Australia, in 1993, she performed in the local December 1992 to February 1993 musical theatre production, ''[[Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat]]'', as the Narrator, at the [[State Theatre (Melbourne)|State Theatre]], Melbourne.<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="big talent time"/><ref name="Nimmervoll"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/17360|title=AusStage|website=Ausstage.edu.au|access-date=12 August 2019}}</ref> In 1992 Arena sang background vocals on the debut album by Australian singer-songwriter [[Rick Price]], titled ''[[Heaven Knows (Rick Price album)|Heaven Knows]]'', which was released in July 1992, and she appeared in the 1993 music video by Price for the single "[[A House Divided (song)|A House Divided]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://australianmusichistory.com/rick-price-heaven-knows-tour-1992-93/|title=Rick Price – Heaven Knows tour 1992–93|date=7 November 2010|website=Australian Music History}}</ref>