Will Martin

[Dave]

Hello Will fans!

The man of the moment was interviewed on BBC Breakfast yesterday, you can view or download the interview from my webspace:

BBC Breakfast - Will Martin 5m 30s, 700 kbps, 29 MB.

I thought the interviewers sounded a bit awkward in this one, for some reason. Perhaps they were thrown by his rather unusual "singing for my breakfast" promotion!

Dave

[James]

Hi,

Don't think this has been posted yet, but there was an article in the Mail on Sunday last week mentioning Will Martin and his debut CD. There will be a free CD in next Sunday's edition featuring 10 tenors including Will Martin and Jonathan Ansell. Hayley also gets a mention - the paper also tries to take the credit for launching Hayley's career! However, these CDs are actually a good way of promoting some singers to a new audience.

See here for the article and a link to an interview with Will.

FREE CD of Tenors Take Ten inside next week's Mail on Sunday


Inside every copy of next week's Mail on Sunday you'll find a free copy of the Tenors Take Ten CD.

Next week The Mail on Sunday brings you another wonderful exclusive: a unique CD of magnificent arias from the world’s leading classical singers, free inside every copy of the paper.

Placido Domingo, Russell Watson and Aled Jones are among the ten soloists who have united for Tenors Take Ten, a disc recorded exclusively for our readers.

The artists include a sensational newcomer, too. Over the years, our free classical CDs have earned a reputation for bringing previously unknown singers into the public eye.

Opera diva Katherine Jenkins was still a struggling music teacher with dreams of a recording contract when she featured on our Classical Legends CD in 2003.

Also on that disc was Hayley Westenra, at the time a little-known 16-year-old from New Zealand without an album to her name.

Now it is the turn of Will Martin, another gloriously talented young New Zealander – and one who is set to take the world of classical music by storm.

Will sings Going Home, the opening track on Tenors Take Ten, a song adapted from the horn theme from Dvorak’s famous Ninth ‘New World’ Symphony.

‘The lyrics are appropriate for a Kiwi kid a long way from home,’ says Will, who is now based in London. His debut solo album, A New World, also features the song.

Will admits that until his teens he was a typical sports-mad New Zealander, though he says he was too small to play the national game – rugby. Instead he played tennis and football and gained a martial arts black belt by the age of 12.

But not long after that, his life was transformed. Staff at his boys’ school were looking for volunteers to play the part of Eliza Doolittle in a production of My Fair Lady. Despite having never sung on stage, Will auditioned and won the part. He was hooked.

‘I realised that performing beautiful music was far better than doing school work,’ he explains.

‘After My Fair Lady I started having classical training. Music just took over my life – it really was that dramatic. I didn’t have time for anything else. By the time I was 16, I’d stopped doing sport and my homework. I was totally focused on singing.

‘In my late teens I decided to give it a go as a profession. My passion has always been classical music and musical theatre, but that rarely pays the bills in New Zealand. So I decided to sing anything, anywhere.’

Will spent four years as a jobbing singer until, at the age of 22, he recorded a demo and sent it to three leading British record companies.

‘I didn’t expect to hear back from them,’ he admits, ‘so it was an incredible surprise when all three got in touch with me almost immediately. I decided to sign with Universal because they were the most passionate about the music.’

Will recorded A New World in London and it will be released on Monday.

‘I like getting a story across to an audience,’ he says, ‘and the best stories, I find, are in classical music. I also love the emotion in the songs.

‘For instance Going Home, the track I sing on The Mail on Sunday CD, is a timeless piece of classical music with a wonderful score and beautiful lyrics, but we have produced it as if it was written yesterday. The song is nearly 100 years old, but we give it a contemporary edge.’

Will wants to make classical music more accessible. ‘I want to take away the stigma that it has, to remove its reputation as being boring,’ he says. ‘If it is presented in a fresh and modern way, a broader market might have a listen and enjoy it.

‘I’m really excited to be part of Tenors Take Ten. To sing the first song on an album with such a high calibre of artists is a real privilege. I hope Mail on Sunday readers will enjoy listening to Going Home as much as I enjoyed singing it.’

Next week’s free album also includes a performance by Jonathan Ansell, hailed as ‘the Justin Timberlake of Opera’ after his group G4 were runners up on the X Factor three years ago.

His debut solo album, Tenor At The Movies, raced to number one in the classical charts earlier this year and was even a top-ten hit in the pop charts. On next Sunday’s free CD, he sings Canto Della Terra.

‘I just love it,’ he says. ‘It’s a modern classic – very catchy and fun to sing. It’s on my new album Forever and I knew it was the right choice for Mail on Sunday readers. It’s one of my favourite songs – both to listen to and to perform.’

Jonathan, 26, says he found solace in music when his dyslexia made his schoolwork challenging and frustrating. He has been singing in choirs since he was eight and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

It was while he was at college that he and a group of fellow students went busking on the streets of London to help make ends meet.

‘At first, it wasn’t easy. But we soon hit on a technique that seemed to work,’ he says. ‘We’d sing a couple of big arias, such as Nessun Dorma, then something a bit less showy, so people would pay us and move on, making room for new people. I once went out on my own and made £520 in just three hours.’

He persuaded some of his busking friends to audition for the X Factor, and G4 were born. With their clean-cut looks and popular approach, they became firm favourites until they broke up last year.

‘I’ve always wanted to make opera accessible to everyone’, says Jonathan. ‘It doesn’t matter if people buy an album because it’s me or because they love the music – just as long as they listen to it.

‘I hope Mail on Sunday readers will play this free album when they are at home, just doing the ironing or having dinner, and enjoy it. That’s all any singer can ask for.’

[Stephany]

Hi everyone

Wow - thank you so much for everything! I feel very spoiled

Richard, many thanks for all the links, podcasts and articles! I loved listening & reading them all so thank you very much for the great find. You made my day!

James, thank you for the Mail on Sunday article - not sure why they gave themselves so much credit for Hayley's career launch though.

Dave - thanks a million for the BBC Breakfast video! I'm so happy that you recorded it. The interviewers talked more about the "Singing for a supper" initiative than Will's music but it was interesting nonetheless. The comparison with Josh Groban and Hayley is inevitable - however, the "classical Jamie Cullum" doesn't sound right for some reason! I also liked what Will said about Hayley - very true!

Roger, I have to admit I was a little apprehensive before reading your review - I wasn't sure you would like Will's voice as much as I do. I'm thrilled to hear that you liked the album! I think that the track with All Angels is superb so I don't know why he didn't perform it when he was on tour with the girls.

Thanks again for everything! It's great to find so many little jewels on this forum even though it's not a Will Martin fansite. Haha.

Stephany x

[martindn]

Hi All,

I have just looked out my copy of the Mail's "Classical Legends" CD. The first two tracks are Bailero from Katherine Jenkins, taken from her album Premiere, and Hine e Hine from Hayley's Pure. I don't believe that this could have been before those albums were released, and especially as Pure was released before Premiere had even been recorded. IIRC it was the autumn of 2004 when Premiere was released, and Katherine said that she had just recorded it in March of that year when she accompanied Hayley on the Pure tour (which was of course after Pure had been released). So "without an album to her name" seems a bit unlikely, she already had a number one classical album by that time.
This album was put together for the Mail by UCJ, so I suppose it could have come out before Premiere (there is no date on it), but since Pure was released before Premiere was recorded, it could not have been before Pure.

Martin

[Richard]

Hello Stephany!

Here's another interview from Female First! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Will Martin talks about his new album


Will Martin

New Zealand music sensation Will Martin is heading for UK music domination. At only twenty-three he has already packed a heck of a lot into his life; from school musicals to singing the New Zealand National Anthem in front of a sold out All Blacks crowd.

Will is now gearing up to release his album here in the UK, and it has been described as a stunning collection of classical and crossover songs. 'A New World' has been recorded with a full orchestra, and the selection of songs simultaneously reflects Will’s origins and the scope of his unfaltering ambition.

We caught up with Will for a chat about his favourite cocktails, getting up at 6am and why he hopes he wont be breaking too many girls hearts.

What have you been up to recently?

Well it has been a very long day for me so far because I was up at 6am. I did a photo shoot for the Daily Mail, and the only time they could fit me in was between 7 and 9 this morning. I'm also getting ready for the release of the album, which is on Monday, I've been working towards that really, promoting it up and down the country. I'm really looking forward to 'A New World' being finally in the store, it has been a long time coming. I finished recording the album over a year ago!

The album is called 'A New World' is there a meaning behind that?

There is two meanings behind it. We've taken a new take on the music, reinvented a lot of the songs, so it's a new world of music, but also one of the main songs is from the new world symphony, so it's very appropriate I think.

Are you excited about your album release?

Very much so, In New Zealand, the album was released before Christmas, but since then I've been back here working towards this. It's a lot of hard work and I certainly hope the public will be as excited as I am. I'll actually be doing my official tour in Spring, so watch out for that!

You were number two in New Zealand. Are you aiming for number one here?

To get to number one here in the classical chart here would be amazing. I don't have that as a goal though, I just want people who listen to the music get something out of it. If all goes to plan then maybe a good chart placement will be a side effect of a lot of people enjoying the music.

Who are your fans?

My fans are, funnily enough, female! They range from kids to grandparents age. But also I've been going into schools recently and I have had ladies as young as ten saying that I'm their favourite boy in the world! It is quite a generous fan base. The record company want to sell lots of albums but I just love to sing songs, so if people like what I'm singing, then that's great. I like to entertain and tell stories through music.

Tell us about your involvement with Frank Warren.

It's an amazing opportunity, Frank Warren is obviously a big promoter and he wanted to get an anthem for boxing within the UK, so he commissioned a company to organise it and I was invited to be that singer. So I recorded the song, which is called 'The Prize' and that will be used in conjunction with any boxing event.

Are you a fan of boxing?

Yes, I'm from New Zealand so I'm really into my sports. We love rugby, football, tennis and boxing. It's a great interest of mine and to be part of this new association is great.

Are you going to be breaking many girls hearts with your sports games?!

Well, you know I'm going to follow the sports and play them and if a girl's heart gets broken in the process then... well, we'd have to sit down and chat!

Are you single then?

Yes, yes I am.

What artists influence you?

I'm influenced mostly by song writers. It's amazing the idea of someone creating an original song. I grew up listening to my father's music so artists like Sting, Van Morrison and Elton John are favourites of mine. I love classical artists though, I'm listening to Newton Faulkner on my ipod at the minute, and he's pretty cool too- I listen to whatever takes my fancy at the time.

How would you describe your musical style?

The genre is called crossover, I'd like to think I'm pushing the boundaries and bringing an entertainment element to it, so people of all ages can be entertained at the same time.

Do you have a favourite band?

At the minute, I really don't know. I couldn't choose a favourite band or artist right now.

What was it like singing the New Zealand National Anthem?

That was a very special experience, it was at a rugby match and to stand up and sing with all the New Zealanders there was so amazing. Rugby is the sport of New Zealand so everyone was singing along in the stadium and that was an incredible experience.

You have achieved quite a lot quite young. How do you feel about that?

I decided when I was 19 that I wanted to give this a go professionally, rather than, you know, chasing a dream. I thought that I would try and make this my career, once I make a decision I'm quite pro-active; I go for things.

Finally, William from 'The Academy Is' wants to ask you- What was the last foolish thing you did?

I have an issue where if someone introduces me to someone famous, I don't have a clue who they are and I'll find out afterwards that they are really famous. I met Gary Barlow a while ago and didn't have a clue who he was. I know now that he's part of Take That and they are huge over here, but I do that quite a lot and it's very foolish.

Female First- Laura Terry

Richard

[grant]

Hello everyone

Wills album was advertised on Channel 4 at 4.30pm this afternoon in the middle of 'Deal Or No Deal' game show. Clips from two tracks were played.

The advert was sponsored by TESCO who have Will's album at £8.73.

Best wishes
Grant

[Martin]

For all you ladies here is a Classic FM competition you may be interested in via the website:

"Dinner at the Ritz with Will Martin
To celebrate the release of Will Martin's debut album 'A New World' we're offering you the opportunity to dine in style with the young singer at The Ritz Hotel in London "

Martin

[roger]

When I chanced to be in my local branch of W H Smith today, I noticed that they are promoting 'A New World' as their album of the week. Unfortunately, all four empty jewel cases that were prominently displayed each had a label stuck on them saying "Out of stock"!

What happens when they are out of stock of 'Out of Stock' stickers?

Roger

[martindn]

Hi Roger,

That is a good sign surely. If only that could happen with Hayley's albums!

Martin

[roger]

Hi Martin,

Well, it is a good sign provided they had a good quantity in the first place and have sold them all. My fear is that they only had a very limited supply, sold both of them on Monday morning, and then missed the rest of the week's sales.

Roger

[roger]

From ITN.co.uk...

Will sets Classical Charts Record
Updated 20.23 Sun Sep 28 2008
Keywords: youngest tenor, UK, classical charts

A 24-year-old has become the youngest tenor in musical history to top the UK classical charts.

Will Martin, who lives in London, has soared to number one with his debut album A New World, outselling the rest of the top five put together.

Will Martin, who lives in London, has soared to number one with his debut album A New World, outselling the rest of the top five put togetheWelsh operatic baritone Bryn Terfel is number two and a best-of compilation by the Three Tenors - Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo - is number three.

Martin left his native New Zealand less than a year ago to pursue his dream to become a successful classical music star.

In 2003, fellow New Zealander Hayley Westenra became the best-selling debut classical artist with a number one chart position, aged just 16.

A Universal Music spokeswoman said: "Will has become the youngest tenor in musical history to get to the top of the classical charts. In tenor terms, he is a mere boy."

Tenor is the highest male voice in the modal register used for classifying singing voices.

The combined classical albums chart which incorporates individual artists and compilation albums, is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company.

Roger

[martindn]

By the way, Tenors Take Ten, which I hopre to listen to in a few minutes if I can keep Hayley off my CD player for long enough includes performances by the following artists.

Will Martin
Blake
Johnathan Ansell,
Russell Watson
Placido Domingo
Jose Carreras
Vittorio Grigolo
Aled Jones
Alfie Boe
The Three Tenors

Perhaps it should be subtitled "People Hayley has duetted with" (except for Domingo and perhaps Carreras)

Martin

[Dave]

Sept 28, 2008 20:43:44 GMT @roger said:

From ITN.co.uk...

Will sets Classical Charts Record
Updated 20.23 Sun Sep 28 2008
Keywords: youngest tenor, UK, classical charts

A 24-year-old has become the youngest tenor in musical history to top the UK classical charts...

In 2003, fellow New Zealander Hayley Westenra became the best-selling debut classical artist with a number one chart position, aged just 16.

Nice one Roger, you beat me to it!

Just to add, as they mentioned Hayley, his main album chart position is no. 21 (compared to Hayley's no. 8 with Pure) and I estimate that his sales were between 8,000 and 10,000 (compared to Hayley's 19,000).

This is a good result as I suspect that he's had a lot less promotion in the UK compared to what Hayley had in 2003. Will must be slightly disappointed though, at just missing the top twenty but if we all push hard, perhaps he can climb that one place he needs next week!

Cheers, Dave

[larryhauck]

Hey Martin,
You skipped the best ever. Luciano Pavarotti.

Larry

[Richard]

Hello folks!

As Stephany mentioned earlier in the thread, Will Martin supported the Fron Male Voice Choir on their UK tour back in April and May this year. I've found some photographs on their website HERE, including these four of Will.

Will Martin and Ann Atkinson performing "How Great Thou Art"


Will Martin at the Piano - Birmingham Symphony Hall - 16th May


Keith Preston, Steve Thomas, Will Martin and Bob Evans in full voice "knocking on the door"
of the "Dingy 'otel" at the Preston Guildhall Afterglow - 24th of May


Will Martin at his last appearance with the Choir on the "Encore Tour"

Richard