“He’s like my second dad”: Tina Arena breaks her silence on the loss that has left her heartbroken
For Tina Arena, saying goodbye to Johnny Young means saying goodbye to far more than an Australian entertainment legend.
He was the man who gave a seven-year-old girl her first major opportunity, watched her grow as a performer and remained a deeply important figure throughout her life.
Following Young’s death at 79, Arena has opened up about the loss — describing the man who helped begin her career as being “like my second dad.”
The call that changed a little girl’s life
Arena first appeared on Young Talent Time in 1974, when she was just seven years old.
The program, created, hosted and produced by Young, became one of the defining television shows of its era and a launching pad for a generation of Australian performers.
For Arena, it was the beginning of an extraordinary career.
Speaking on the Glowmusic.co vodcast just hours after news of Young’s death broke, she struggled to put the loss into words.
“The thing that has happened overnight and is very raw for me is the passing of John Young… which is someone who started my career.”
Then came the words that perhaps best explained what Young meant to her:
“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
“He was the one”
Arena remembered that Young was the person making the creative decisions on Young Talent Time — including choosing the children who would appear on the program.
And among those children was a young Tina Arena.
“He was the one. It was his show – he made the creative decisions and chose the kids, and we had a really wonderful relationship,” she recalled.
Their connection went far beyond the television studio.
“He’s like my second dad,” Arena said.
And now, after his passing, that relationship has left an especially painful absence.
“His passing… pretty tough,” she added.
“I hope he’s looking down on us, and I’m sure he is.”
The little girl who found her voice
Young Talent Time gave Arena something that would eventually become much bigger than a television appearance.
It gave her a national audience while she was still a child — and the opportunity to develop her voice and confidence as a performer.
Arena would go on to become one of Australia’s most successful singers, building a career that extended well beyond the country.
But when she looked back on where it all began, she pointed to the same man.
Johnny Young.
His belief in young performers became part of the legacy he left behind.
Dannii Minogue remembers him too
Arena was not the only former Young Talent Time star struggling with the loss.
Dannii Minogue, who joined the program on her eighth birthday in 1979, also paid tribute to Young.
“Johnny Young holds a place in so many hearts, and today my heart is broken,” she wrote.
For Minogue, too, Young Talent Time represented the beginning.
She remembered the program as a treasured part of Australian television and said generations of Australians continued to hold memories of the show and its music close to their hearts.
Her older sister Kylie Minogue, who also appeared on the program, described Young as someone who was deeply embedded in their family’s memories.
The man behind a generation of Australian stars
Young hosted Young Talent Time from 1971 until 1988, creating a program that became a defining part of Australian popular culture.
Along with Arena and Minogue, the show helped launch the careers of performers including Jamie Redfern.
But Young’s own career was much broader than television.
He was a singer, songwriter and producer who created and produced music including “The Real Thing” and “Smiley”.
His contribution to Australian entertainment would eventually be recognised with his induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
A final chapter marked by tragedy
Young’s family confirmed that he had died following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.
He was 79.
He leaves behind his wife Marisha, daughters Anna and Fleur, his late son Craig’s memory, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
There is an especially painful chapter within the family story.
Young’s only son, Craig, died from pancreatic cancer in 2014 at the age of 48.
Craig was Johnny’s son from his first marriage to Jane, who died from leukaemia in her twenties.
The loss of Craig was a devastating event in Young’s life, and his death from the same disease more than a decade later adds another heartbreaking dimension to the family’s story.
“Goodnight Australia”
As tributes continue to arrive from the performers whose lives Young helped shape, one thing has become increasingly clear.
His greatest legacy may not be found in the television shows he created or even the songs he wrote.
It can be seen in the people who were given their first chance because he believed they had something special.
For Tina Arena, that first chance happened when she was only seven.
Decades later, she is one of the voices remembering the man who gave her that beginning.
“He’s like my second dad.”
And perhaps those five words say more about Johnny Young’s impact than any list of career achievements ever could.