When Arena was selected to appear on "Young Talent Time", the producers at Lewis-Young Productions and Network Ten asked her to change her first name from Filippina to "Tina" – creating her stage name as "Tina Arena" – so as to be more "relatable" to the wider national audience. In the mid-1970s, there was a minority of ethnic diversity represented in the Australian mainstream media, especially on primetime television. Initially appearing as a "Young Talent Time" contestant in 1974, at age eight, Arena went on to permanently join the cast as a regular member of the show's "Young Talent Team" in 1975, at age nine. She then quickly, and affectionately, became known on the show by her nickname "Tiny Tina". For her first appearance she performed ABBA's "Ring Ring".