Throughout her astonishingly prolific career, she’s also continued to write music for other artists, do session work and record her own solo material.
Orianthi, Goddess of the Guitar
Widly talented Orianthi is a phenomenal singer, savvy songwriter and world-class guitarist. Since bursting onto the scene nearly 15 years ago with her rock-infused pop smash “According to You” — which is now RIAA-Certified Platinum and has over 17 million streams on Spotify — she’s performed alongside a veritable who’s who of global superstars, including Michael Jackson, Prince, Carlos Santana, Steve Vai, Richie Sambora, Carrie Underwood and Alice Cooper.
The Aussie beauty effortlessly slides from pop to rock to country to heavy metal and back again. But what never changes is her passion for performing, which shows through in every concert she plays and every track she touches.
“I love music so much that I don’t like to put barriers on anything,” says Orianthi, 39. “I just feel like if you play with conviction — if you play it, you love it and you mean it — that’s what it’s all about.”
“When you’re authentic yourself and everything has integrity, that’s what people see and feel.”
As an ambitious newbie, Orianthi self- produced her very first record, 2006’s Violet Journey. Taking inspiration from Prince, she did more than just sing. She played every instrument on the album, showcasing her immense talent, and mailed out CDs to industry heavy hitters.
From there, she demonstrated her guitar- playing skills at the National Association of Music Merchants Show (NAMM) in Anaheim, signed with Interscope Records, moved to L.A. and professionally dropped her last name Panagaris.
Orianthi was on the fast track to success, and as she worked on Believe — her breakout album — she received a message that would change her life.
“I was in the studio with Diane Warren — who’s an incredible songwriter — and was putting down a vocal. This is when MySpace was going on, and I got a message through MySpace that Michael Jackson was watching my videos, and Prince had told him about me. Carlos Santana had told him about me, and he was looking for a guitar player,” she recalls.
Later that night, Orianthi had a phone call with Jackson himself and auditioned for him the very next day. After she played three songs — including “Beat It” with its iconic guitar solo — the King of Pop immediately hired her as the guitarist for his This Is It tour.
That led to lengthy days of rehearsals with Jackson and his band, which went on for nearly four months — until the legend’s untimely death in June 2009 after going into cardiac arrest at age 50.
Weeks later, as she grieved for her friend and collaborator, Believe was released and “According to You” raced up the charts.
While her career was skyrocketing, Orianthi admits, “Mentally, I was not in the best place — I’ve got to be honest — because I was trying to process the loss. I can’t say that I enjoyed that time. … Everyone who knew Michael loved him. He was big teacher, and he made me a better performer. So I have mixed feelings about that whole time of my life. But I am very grateful I had the opportunity to work with one of the biggest pop stars in the world and learn a lot from him and that whole band.”
Orianthi followed up Believewith her third album, Heaven in This Hell, and also served as guitarist for rocker Alice Cooper from 2011 to 2014. She recalls touring as a “zombie covered in blood for four years,” and adds, “It was wonderful.”
The blonde stunner considers guitar god Santana one of her biggest musical influences, but when it comes to her varied stage looks, she follows her moods and takes inspiration from her personal style icons — Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Nicks and Brigitte Bardot.
Orianthi is a woman of substance, but being an attractive female in the public eye, who excels in a male-dominated industry, means she’s also had to deal with her share of insults and crazies.
“On Instagram and Twitter, I do get some haters,” she confides. “I’ve had quite a few kind of stalkeresque people and had to get the police involved. One camped under my balcony in a tent — in a loincloth with a didgeridoo. That was really weird. Some people cross the line, for sure.”
Orianthi reveals one of her proudest accomplishments has been the release of her very own Gibson guitar. The fiery red instrument boasts a Sitka spruce top and flamed maple back. But the stylish axe is truly unique for having an acoustic body, an electric neck and a pickup modified to her exact specifications. While the guitar’s launch was met with plenty of positivity, it also attracted cruel critics.
“Like ‘Who is she? She doesn’t deserve it.’ You know, all this stuff,” she shares. “A lot of my dear friends reached out to me — including incredible male artists — who said, ‘Don’t worry. They’re just miserable people.’”
However, no amount of dismissive comments can erase the fact that the guitar is one of the company’s bestsellers, which she calls an “honor.”
Orianthi tells Penthouseshe’s currently focusing on her solo work with her own personal band and has both a radio-friendly collection of singles and a bluesy rock album in the pipeline after releasing Live from Hollywood and Rock Candy in 2022.
“We’ve been touring since the end of 2022, playing back-to-back shows — heading off to Japan, heading off to Europe, doing tons of festivals. It’s been very good for my spirit, my soul,” she says.
“It’s been very fulfilling. I feel like I’m on the right path now because there’s a peace within the storm of crazy.” The philosophical artist says, “There are lights and drains in life. You’ve got to find the right people who resonate with you. Then you can really be your authentic self who can create the best possible music. You can create, and you can really focus, have a focus on your art. Because if you’re distracted by the wrong energies around you, that’s the worst thing.”
And as Orianthi dedicates herself to her creative efforts, she reveals, “My number one goal in life is to inspire more people to get into music — whether it be an outlet or a profession — because it helped me save my life. I wouldn’t know what else to do without holding my guitar and getting to express myself through that. It brings me a lot of joy.”
“Music is such a form of magic. It’s a wonderful thing. I’m grateful I get to share it.”
At least one of us, admittedly more a fan of other music forms, nonetheless found himself embarrassed at how someone this extraordinary had completely passed his notice — and this from a guy that spent a summer hanging out at Eddie Van Halen’s house listening to him play. In case you too have missed Orianthi somehow, you can do the Instagram thing, or even check out her website to check out tour dates or grab some merch. Better yet, though, set aside an hour or so to ramble through YouTube following her name. Then do those other things and go out and turn your friends on to her music.
