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Post by Nordly on May 18, 2008 19:12:42 GMT
I have one way:
She preforms the US anthem on the Fourth of July in Wash. DC
And it may happen!
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Post by stevemacdonald on May 19, 2008 13:52:27 GMT
I have one way: She preforms the US anthem on the Fourth of July in Wash. DC And it may happen! I hope so, however.... Hayley gave a splendid performance of the Star Spangled Banner at a NASCAR event back in '04, but I could tell she didn't put quite the same spirit into it that an American singer would. Also, the inevitable and countless sing-alongers in the crowd can diminish the moment by drowning her out. I'd like it best if she were to sing Shenandoah which, thankfully, doesn't get a lot of audience participation.
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Post by sonata58 on May 19, 2008 14:38:51 GMT
I sent in a request listing: Dark Waltz, May it Be, and Shenandoah. I'll let you all know which/if any were played. Well, it turned out that the radio library didn't have any recordings of Hayley Westenra. Too bad. Have the Merchant of Venice soundtrack and/or the 2007 West Side Story recording been released in the US? Maybe I'll try one of those. Or maybe you all can give me other suggestions. BTW, my nearby public library has all three of Hayley's US releases. I notice that they are checked out quite often (thought not as often as the Celtic Woman CDs). That is some good news.
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Post by milewalker on May 19, 2008 17:45:03 GMT
Both recordings were released in America. Good luck finding them anywhere but a very specialized record shop.....
I have some difficulty getting very excited about this appearance. Yes...any exposure in the US is a good thing, and yes the audience will be fairly large. However, at this time I see no reason to suspect that this particular appearance should be more successful than some of her previous oppurtunities have been.
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Post by Libby on May 25, 2008 23:13:46 GMT
Sonata, maybe they'd have the soundtrack from The New World, so you could suggest "Listen to the Wind". I agree with stevemacdonald; I'd rather she not sing the national anthem. She's not an American, and I think she'd stand out more if she sang Shenandoah. It's a beautiful, touching song that not as many people know. I'm guessing that Taylor Hicks (American Idol 2006) will be the one to sing the anthem. I'm sure Josh did hear Hayley sing at the Brits, and I think he would be impressed by her beautiful, passionate performance. In a magazine interview in 2005, when asked if he preferred Hayley or Charlotte, he chose Hayley (ask Stephany). I do know for certain that Hayley, at least, watched and enjoyed Josh's performance, because at the end of the video of "February Song", they show Hayley clapping and smiling, and saying something to the lady next to her. I'm dying to know what she said! You could tell from her face that she liked it. Here is the video (you can fast-forward to the end if you really can't stand Josh ): www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nYABF0vtMM
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Post by stevemacdonald on May 26, 2008 3:52:45 GMT
It would truly boost Hayley's profile in the United S if she & Grob recorded a duet. Her recent BRITs might well link them. One unknown is in respect to how well she'd be received by the larger fanbase he has in North America. In theory their fans overlap, with a slightly higher percentage of hers also loyal to him than the other way around. If they've done their homework, his people will be appropriately apprehensive about combining them. It's entirely possible that Hayley would become the favourite of some portion of his 'nites. Many will hear her for the first time if they duet. And with Hayley, she gets to you from the first time you hear her!
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Post by larryhauck on Jun 3, 2008 17:03:30 GMT
I've read all the suggestions and reasons that the U S is not feasable for Hayley, I aagree with some but not all. I have said before that it takes a good promoter to succeed here. Many lesser talented had done it. Also, I totally disagree with the notion that Hayley would have to compromise herself in any way. The U S is far from perfect; but we do have good moral people here.
Larry
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Post by martindn on Jun 3, 2008 20:50:46 GMT
Hi Larry,
Yes I'm sure you are right. On my first visit to the US, many years ago, I was impressed by the fact that politicians and others were happy to talk about their religious faith, something that they are all scared of over here. I have no doubt that there are many good people in the USA, everyone I have ever met there has been pleasant and welcoming, even though the media and films often give a difeerent impression.
There are many who in my opinion would love Hayley if they knew about her. But she needs to be better known. That is true everywhere. I stuck the picture I use as my avatar on my desk at work, and so far not one person that I work with has recognised her. Only a minority had heard of her when I mentioned her name. I'm sure if it were Amy Winehouse, just about everybody would have known instantly, her picture is in the papers every day here. So over here we celebrate the drug addict, and ignore the equally (at the very last, I'm being modest here on Hayley's behalf) talented but clean living alternative. I really don't think we can teach the US anything about morality. But yes, promoting an artist in the US is expensive and difficult, and Hayley might prefer to go for easier prospects first. I am sure she has the talent to succeed anywhere, but the US requires big money and the support of big business, and that has never been Hayley's style.
Martin
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Post by roger on Jun 3, 2008 21:28:28 GMT
From time to time, it is claimed that Hayley hasn't spent enough time in America to become well known. With that in mind, I did some research while the forum was down and found the results surprising, not because she has spent so little time there but because she has spent so much.
Of all the time Hayley has spent on concert tours and/or doing promo work from 1st January 2004 (when my records began) up to and including the forthcoming Japanese tour, 34 per cent of it has been in the US. As a comparison, 35% was in the UK, and 31% in the rest of the world.
I am not disputing that it hasn't been enough for her to succeed in the US in the way we would wish but, had she spent any more time there, she may have disappeared off the radar (a Bedlam expression!) everywhere else.
Roger
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Post by martindn on Jun 3, 2008 21:55:08 GMT
Hi Roger,
Thanks for that, it is interesting. But to be fair, we should probably divide those figures by the areas of the countries involved. If we did, we would see that the UK is way ahead of anywhere else. There are probably a dozen Hayley concerts this year I could easily get to without a night away from home. If I lived in the US there might be none. The best bets outside the UK would be NZ and Japan, and perhaps lumping them all together as "the rest of the world" gives a false picture too. These two countries dominate. So where else will she go this year? Spain we know about, but not open to the public, Afghanistan ditto. Oh and Jersey (not technically in the UK) and is there one in Dublin? Possibly Germany and France. In terms of appearances per square mile I'm sure Britain wins hand down. In that we are very fortunate.
Martin
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Post by roger on Jun 3, 2008 22:40:34 GMT
Hi Martin,
In grouping all the other countries together, I was trying to make exactly that point - that the UK and the US are way ahead of all the others. The most surprising result being that the UK (35%) is only one per cent ahead of the US (34%).
Any time spent in places like Afghanistan (which hasn't happened yet anyway) and Ghana were not included in my calcualtions because I was only focusing on the time spent giving concerts and doing promo work (radio and television appearances, magazine interviews and so on).
I did cheat slightly by including Jersey as part of the UK but Dublin was, of course, listed as the Republic of Ireland which, from memory came out at 1 per cent (to the nearst whole number in all cases). New Zealand was 9%.
Roger
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Dave
Administrator
HWI Admin
Posts: 7,688
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Post by Dave on Jun 3, 2008 22:47:15 GMT
Hi Larry and Martin and thanks Roger for those figures, I had no idea! Of course, someone has to bankroll major promotional efforts to break into a large Country like the US and that someone is usually the record company, in the hope or expectation of recouping their huge expenditure from later album sales. That effort was made for Hayley in 2004 and 2005 but for whatever reason, it didn't come off in the way it was hoped for. For a new artist like Hayley who has only moderate levels of album sales in other, much smaller countries, the record company is unlikely to try again in a major way. I'm quite certain that the record company have not yet recouped their investment in the US and Hayley will need a long career I think, if they are ever going to recoup it all. None of this is Hayley's fault - it was simply a case of the record company taking a calculated risk which did not pay off - and the maxim "once bitten, twice shy" holds good here, I think. To reinforce the point made by Roger, 34% of Hayley's time has been spent in the US but less than 10% of her album and DVD sales have been in the US. It doesn't make good commercial sense to keep pushing hard in this situation, well not at the moment anyway. Hayley's strongest markets are the UK, NZ and Japan so that's where she is likely to continue to spend most of her time - she does after all have to earn a living from concerts and if she can sell plenty of albums in relation to the size of the Country, that's where her concerts will be well supported and also, travel costs will be kept down. Things may change in the future of course to make the US a more profitable place for Hayley to spend more time and I hope they do. I often wonder why it is that some excellent artists easily do well in one Country yet in another Country with an apparently similar culture, they completely fail to make it big in spite of the best efforts. A couple of examples are Cliff Richard who was huge in the UK but not in the US, Josh Groban who is huge in the US and although he is widely known about in the UK, doesn't sell many albums in spite of a couple of attempts over the last two years. And of course, Hayley. It's all a bit of a mystery to me! Cheers, Dave
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Post by howard on Jun 3, 2008 22:57:57 GMT
Hello Everyone,
I don't think it is necessary to bombard Bedlam.
I have just posted the following under Hayley's performance for the 4th of July: That will be the only appearance for Hayley in the U.S. for 2008 due to pervious commitments.
However, I can't explain anything more but U.S. fans need to keep checking Hayley's official website for 2009.
My Very Best, Howard USA
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Post by Gene on Jun 3, 2008 23:40:11 GMT
From time to time, it is claimed that Hayley hasn't spent enough time in America to become well known. With that in mind, I did some research while the forum was down and found the results surprising, not because she has spent so little time there but because she has spent so much. Of all the time Hayley has spent on concert tours and/or doing promo work from 1st January 2004 (when my records began) up to and including the forthcoming Japanese tour, 34 per cent of it has been in the US. As a comparison, 35% was in the UK, and 31% in the rest of the world. I am not disputing that it hasn't been enough for her to succeed in the US in the way we would wish but, had she spent any more time there, she may have disappeared off the radar (a Bedlam expression!) everywhere else. Roger Hi Roger, Can I assume that the 34% in the US includes Hayley's tour with Celtic Woman? I saw Hayley with CW in New York City. Fantastic! A question: as wonderful of an opportunity that this was for Hayley (and CW), do you feel that the tour with CW provided the individual introduction and focused exposure that Hayley would have obtained in the US had the 34% reflected her own concerts? Regards, Gene
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Post by roger on Jun 4, 2008 7:56:07 GMT
Can I assume that the 34% in the US includes Hayley's tour with Celtic Woman? Yes, it does, Gene. It includes both legs of that tour but not the gap in between. It also includes the tour in which she supported Il Divo. In fact, any public concerts in which she appeared either headlining or as a guest. As for your other question, I am not convinced that the CW tour provided the "individual" introduction to any great extent, but it undoubtedly made all CW fans aware of her existance. Hopefully, many of them will then have looked her up on HWI! Roger
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