The group released two top-ten albums, Young Divas (2006) and New Attitude (2007), and achieved three top-fifteen singles, including the hugely successful "This Time I Know It's for Real".

In 2017, Paulini made her musical theatre debut in the Australian production of The Bodyguard, playing the lead role of Rachel Marron—originally portrayed by Whitney Houston in the 1992 film of the same name.

[13][14] Being part of the program helped Paulini to build up her confidence because she was a shy teenager, and it eventually led to her winning the TV talent show StarStruck in 2001.

Other members of Mixx included Ben Kotobalavu on drums, his brother Rowland on bass, Jona Uluinaceva and Henry Foon on keyboards, Apakuki Nayacakalou as the guitarist, and Rupeni Davui on percussion.

[21] Throughout the season, Paulini continued to impress the judges and viewers with her performances of songs by Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Thelma Houston, Toni Braxton and Etta James.

[2][9] In the final five-week, following her rendition of Destiny's Child's "Survivor", male judges Mark Holden and Ian Dickson were not impressed with the tight-fitted gold dress Paulini wore for the performance.

[22][23] Dicko commented on the dress saying "You should choose more appropriate clothes or shed some pounds", which resulted in a great deal of debate and controversy in the media relating to self-esteem and body image of teenage girls.

[27][28] During Dicko's appearance on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia in 2012, he revealed that "people were virtually spitting on me" after that Australian Idol episode had aired, calling it a defining moment for him because he "became a national pariah" overnight.

"[25] In July 2017, Dicko apologised again in a pre-recorded message he left for Paulini during her radio interview on Hot 91.1 FM's breakfast show, Dave, Sam & Ash.

"[27] After joking that his "cruel little words" turned them "into Australian reality TV's power couple", he ended his message by telling Paulini, "what I want to say is, I'm so proud of you girl, you go get'em.

[55][56] Throughout most of 2006, Paulini was part of the all-girl singing project Young Divas with former Australian Idol contestants Ricki-Lee Coulter, Emily Williams and Kate DeAraugo.

[57] Young Divas released a cover version of Donna Summer's 1989 single "This Time I Know It's for Real", through Sony BMG, to promote tickets for the tour.

[60][63] Young Divas' commercial success prompted the release of a self-titled debut album of classic disco and pop covers, on 27 November 2006, establishing themselves as an official group.

[60] Coulter left the Young Divas in June 2007 to resume her solo career, and was replaced by Australian Idol season four runner-up Jessica Mauboy.

[69][70][71] In July 2008, Paulini collaborated with Guy Sebastian on the single "Receive the Power", which was chosen as the official anthem for the Roman Catholic Church's 2008 World Youth Day held in Sydney.

[86] Paulini's second independent single "Show Me Your Colors (The Ping Pong Mix)" was released as a digital download on 15 May 2011 to coincide with her performances at the 2011 Volkswagen Table Tennis Cup in China.

[91] The song was inspired by Paulini's trip to New York, where she noticed a group of women "screaming with excitement" as a truck full of firemen drove past them.

[13] She worked on the album for five years in Berlin, London, Los Angeles, New York City and Paris with several writers and producers, including Chris Rosa, Erik "Blue2th" Griggs and Philippe-Marc Anquetil.

[116] Paulini was eventually dropped from Decca Records because both Come Alive and Merry Christmas were not commercially successful, revealing she had lost her life savings on the failed album deals.

[28] Paulini played the lead role of Rachel Marron—originally portrayed by Houston in the film—a fictional pop superstar who is stalked by a fan and falls in love with her bodyguard.

[123][124] Paulini had lost work throughout 2018 after news broke of her fake driver's licence scandal from the previous year, stating that all of her gigs after her stint in The Bodyguard musical were cancelled.

[137] Shaad D'Souza of The Guardian felt that Paulini was "underused" in her role, but praised her singing and brief moments in the musical, writing "She brings depth and intrigue to the decidedly underwritten Svetlana, and is a much-needed anchor in the show’s second half.

[147] That same month, Paulini was cast as one of the Divas in the Gold Coast production of the Priscilla, Queen of the Desert musical, which played shows at The Star from 16 July until 7 August 2022.

[113][161] Paulini named Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey as her biggest musical influences growing up, stating that "they demanded attention when they would get up on stage and that is what I have always wanted when I get up and perform.

[6][175] The film is based on the true story of a group of Australian nuns and nurses held by the Japanese as prisoners of war at the Catholic mission station Vunapope, on the Papua New Guinea island of New Britain in 1942.

[6][175] In preparing for the role, Paulini spoke with nuns who had been through World War II experiences and read books on one of the film's other characters, Sister Berenice Twohill.

[6] During one scene in the film, Paulini's character sings a Latin requiem in Papua New Guinean dialect while standing beside a huge cross, after death has come to the mission during an aircraft attack.

"[210] In June 2017, Paulini was charged with "corruptly giving a benefit to an agent", after she paid AU$850 to a Roads & Maritime Services (RMS) employee for a fake, NSW open driver licence, despite not being qualified to drive.

[84] Their relationship made news headlines beginning in July 2006 when Paulini was spotted with bruises, which prompted her parents to lodge a formal complaint to Naiqama's St George Illawarra Dragons club about the couple's personal issues.

[215] Paulini told The Daily Telegraph that despite their split, they managed to maintain a friendship, and that she vowed to keep her personal relationships in the future "very, very low key" out of the spotlight.