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Post by jons on Jan 9, 2007 14:23:25 GMT
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Post by BarefootSoprano on Jan 10, 2007 21:33:58 GMT
Does anybody else think she looks and sounds very similar to Daisy Chute from All Angels? I do.  |
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Post by Natasha on Jan 10, 2007 23:42:18 GMT
Actually I completely agree Kristyn! That's what I thought when I saw/heard her. Andrea's got a smoother sound though I think. Her voice is very pretty and will be great in the easy listening genre.  And wow, she's got Mr. Webber backing her, how awesome must that be for her?!  |
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Post by jons on Jan 11, 2007 14:31:55 GMT
She came out of the blue for me. Not long to wait for the album!
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Post by stevemacdonald on Jan 19, 2007 7:00:15 GMT
Andrea Ross is headed for fame as the next major teen singing sensation **SPAM? PLEASE REPORT la HW and CC.
She has three huge advantages that I can spot right away:
1. Major label -- Universal
2. ALW and Disney in her camp
3. Favorable press
From what I've listened to on her site it's obvious she has a stunningly beautiful voice. Time will tell what sort of stylist she becomes. I see her sharing many fans with Hayley in the short term.
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Post by Caitlin on Jan 19, 2007 9:11:43 GMT
I"m in agreement with Kristyn and Tashi here: she does seem similar to Daisy. I think the only thing I don't like is her singing show tunes! To me they just don't sound right on her voice. In the long run though I think she's got a future. <3 Caite |
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Post by stevemacdonald on Jan 19, 2007 9:44:06 GMT
.. I think the only thing I don't like is her singing show tunes! To me they just don't sound right on her voice. In the long run though I think she's got a future. ... Fair enough, but I when I heard her on YouTube singing "Goodnight My Someone" at ALW's 2005 Sydmonton Festival I was in shock that someone so young (just 14 at the time) could put that much heart and soul into this sweet little Broadway classic. I believe many fans of Becky Jane, Charlotte, Hayley and other young singers will enjoy hearing this song, so here's the link: Goodnight My SomeoneSteveM |
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Post by postscript on Jan 19, 2007 13:59:08 GMT
.. I think the only thing I don't like is her singing show tunes! To me they just don't sound right on her voice. In the long run though I think she's got a future. ... Fair enough, but I when I heard her on YouTube singing "Goodnight My Someone" at ALW's 2005 Sydmonton Festival I was in shock that someone so young (just 14 at the time) could put that much heart and soul into this sweet little Broadway classic. I believe many fans of Becky Jane, Charlotte, Hayley and other young singers will enjoy hearing this song, so here's the link: Goodnight My SomeoneSteveM Sorry, Caite, this is an occasion I have to disagree with you and support Steve to quite an extent BUT... and this may be what lies behind your comment, Caite. This is a song for an older voice than Andrea's age and the age discrepancy does show in the overall nature of the voice. It doesn't quite sit right. The same can be said of ‘Meadow Lark’, which strikes me as a song competition required component and she’s trying to demonstrate her ability, which isn’t quite there yet—but it is a very challenging song which only someone of considerable potential and competence would dare undertake. Having said that, Steve is absolutely right when he highlights the extraordinary maturity of understanding of ‘Goodnight my Someone’ and the ability to deliver that understanding. Were she to sing that song in a few years time, I believe you would change your view, Caite because then that voice will have the necessary maturity of sound to make it fit properly. My feeling on Andrea is ‘wow’ what POTENTIAL. In my view, for the international stage, she’s got to do what Hayley did, unlike Church. Church was impatient to be mature before she was ready. Hayley was ‘mature’ early, in that she had the patience to pace her time going to the places she wants to go to, so she has always chosen songs to suit her age/ability and NOT pushed the horizons before the voice and the person was ready. Andrea needs to learn that patience. At this stage, she is not another Hayley or even Church but she does lead the group of ‘where are the next ones’? Watching the other options on the ‘MyTube’ page my view is this: give Andrea ten years and she’ll be in the Shirley Bassey/Judy Garland class and be amongst the best of her time. She's trying to be mature before her time adn it shows. Peter S. |
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Post by jons on Jan 19, 2007 14:16:14 GMT
Have you tried listening to the clips on her website? I've seen the video to 'Moon River' and loved it. There is a warmth in her voice on the that song that I like.
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Post by stevemacdonald on Jan 19, 2007 20:48:10 GMT
Just so we don't underestimate how much machinery is working on Andrea's behalf, here's an article about her in one of the USA's most influential newspapers, The Boston Globe:
On to a bigger stage
With Andrew Lloyd Webber's backing, Andrea Ross readies her first CD
By Catherine Foster, Globe Staff | January 6, 2007
It's 9 p.m. on a school night and 15-year-old Franklin native Andrea Ross only got home at 7:30 from a sports conditioning class. She's fighting a cold, her voice sounds scratchy, and she has several hours of homework ahead. Still, the young performer is happy to talk about her burgeoning other life -- as Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's protege.
He's not calling her that, nor is she. But over the last two years, Lloyd Webber, the creator of such mega hits as "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Evita," "Cats," and "The Phantom of the Opera," has taken a special interest in the young singer who made a splash in Boston musicals, and he has quietly taken steps to further her career.
Under Lloyd Webber's supervision, Ross has completed her debut CD, "Moon River," which will be released in England on March 5 . The Noble and Greenough sophomore will leave for London in two weeks for a Jan. 23 media showcase that will officially launch the CD, and she'll spend three weeks traveling around England doing media interviews.
Like any young performer, she's also got a new website, andreaross.com , to promote the album. Snippets of the songs, and the first entry in Ross's blog, are included.
Ross spent two weeks last March recording the CD in London. "Andrew was in the studio every day," she says. "We weren't expecting it, and almost all the people in the studio weren't expecting him every day. It was really good for me to know that he was so dedicated and supportive of my album when he had so many other things going on at the same time."
She is signed by Really Useful Group , Lloyd Webber's international entertainment company, which is producing the record, and Universal Classics and Jazz, which is in charge of the CD's sales and distribution. It's being launched in the UK, Andrea's father, William Ross, says by phone, because, "They want to see how it goes before releasing it in the US."
The CD contains 14 popular classics and show tunes, including lushly orchestrated ballads written by composers including Burt Bacharach , Henry Mancini , and Lloyd Webber. Really Useful Group and Universal representatives chose the material. "I didn't pick them out," she says. "For my first album I'm not going to have that much say. But I liked the songs."
Ross says that during the recording, producer and music arranger Nigel Wright made her do numerous versions of the songs, always looking for new feelings.
"It was not nerve-wracking, except for being in front of a 65-piece orchestra," Ross recalls. "The good thing was they didn't start me off with that."
Ross says working in the sophisticated studio was at first intimidating. "The feel of it was completely different from the low level stuff that I'd done before. My voice was really clear."
She's been around Lloyd Webber enough now that he no longer makes her nervous.
"Having him there makes me work harder to prove myself more," she says. "I don't think of him as Andrew Lloyd Webber, I just think of him as Andrew."
Lloyd Webber first heard about her after his assistant stumbled upon an unsolicited e - mailed demo of the 13-year-old Ross singing two songs, sent by her then-agent, Aggie Gold.
Andrea, who's been performing since she was 8, was gaining traction in Boston. She won an Elliot Norton Award for her work in three 2004 shows, the Lyric Stage Company's "A Little Night Music," and two at the Wheelock Family Theatre , "The Sound of Music," and "Ramona Quimby ."
The composer has an eye for talent; Sarah Brightman auditioned for him when she was 21 and went on to perform leading roles in "Cats" and "Phantom."
This time around, Lloyd Webber arranged to meet Ross and her parents in California in 2005. But Ross said at the time that he wasn't sure what to do with her, given that her voice was more mature than her years.
He invited her to perform that summer at his annual Sydmonton Festival , a private gathering at his country house, where he tries out new work. She won a rare standing ovation there.
After the festival, Lloyd Webber signed her to Really Useful Group and she auditioned for a few record labels before they chose Universal.
Lloyd Webber has been pretty mum on the subject of Ross. Jeremy Marsh , CEO of JML, an artist management company that works with Really Useful Group, said the composer has been focused this past year on the TV reality audition for the lead in "The Sound of Music." He found Connie Fisher and focused on the launch of her career.
"With 'Sound of Music' now up and running," Marsh says, "he's now ready to start launching Andrea's career."
Ross says that "Andrew is definitely opening doors. One of my goals is to be in one of his shows, either in the West End or on Broadway."
Here's what the composer had to say when he introduced her at Sydmonton, as seen on a video on YouTube.com:
"I've not heard a voice like this for a long, long time," he said. "I think she's quite extraordinary. I ask you to give a hugely warm welcome to somebody who I think you're going to hear an awful lot more of for the next . . . 50 years."
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Post by postscript on Jan 20, 2007 12:21:27 GMT
Notice, within the Boston Globe report you provided, for which many thanks Steve, the following paragraph:
"This time around, Lloyd Webber arranged to meet Ross and her parents in California in 2005. But Ross said at the time that he wasn't sure what to do with her, given that her voice was more mature than her years."
This is the very point I was making. Webber, with his vast experience may now know what to do with her, but he was initially flummoxed. Who are any of us to presume to counter Webber's advice and intentions? He masterly handled a unique situation in finding his lead for The Sound of Music which made fascinating television and was a massive risk.
The key at her age is getting the right medium/vehicle for her. Also, providing that insight as to the true nature of the Sydenham Festival she was, in effect, not giving a performance but treating it as a 'competition style' show case to exhibit her talent. The very point I made. Given that, her choice of repertoire was right but not right for a general audience performance YET. Give her five years and those songs she sung will fit her perfectly. That is when she will be very very interesting!
Right now, what can she sing that separates her from the present formula yet sits properly with her, visually and aurally?
Peter S.
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Post by 1littlegirl on Jan 23, 2007 0:25:53 GMT
Here is the tracklisting for her album: 1. Moon River 2. No Matter What 3. Songbird 4. White Horses 5. Heart Like A Wheel 6. The Prayer 7. All The Love I Have 8. What The World Needs Now Is Love 9. You Raise Me Up 10. Popular 11. Learn To Be Lonely 12. Start Of Something New 13. Whistle Down The Wind 14. One World I've only heard of five of these songs.  |
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Post by stevemacdonald on Jan 23, 2007 2:20:40 GMT
Thanks for the tracklisting, Cathleen.
Since Andrea and Hayley are now label mates (Universal), maybe they'll be allowed to perform duets and medleys together. Might I suggest:
"Moon River of Dreams"
"No Matter What You Never Know"
"Beat of Your Heart Like A Wheel"
"The Peace Songbird"
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Post by stevemacdonald on Jan 23, 2007 5:18:07 GMT
Heads Up! You lucky folks in the UK are able to get a hold of this today: ANDREA ROSS - Debut EP Andrea Ross is a 15-year-old singing sensation from Boston, Massachusetts. Andrea was discovered by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has produced her debut album and today - Monday 22 January - she releases her debut EP. Containing four tracks - 'Start of Something New', 'Popular', 'No Matter What' and 'White Horses', this EP is a wonderful example of what to expect from this brilliant young star. Andrea has already generated a huge amount of interest from the media, with features running today in the Daily Express and Metro (London). (from www.classicsandjazz.co.uk/ucj/tssite/homepage.do?ruleset=news&id=50685918) I sincerely hope one of you (Jon?) will run out and buy this EP and let us know if it's any good. |
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Post by comet on Jan 23, 2007 9:59:58 GMT
Hi Folks, Don't know where else to pose the question. DID ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER KEEP HIS PROMISE. ? Did he ever write the promised song for Hayley ? as referred to in The world at her feet. comet Edit: I have quoted this post in The World at her feet[/color], where discussion on this matter should continue. Richard |
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And wow, she's got Mr. Webber backing her, how awesome must that be for her?! 
