When did you discover Hayley?

[Richard]

Hello George!

Thanks for sharing your memories and that lovely candid photograph of Hayley. I resized it to 720x540 pixels so it fits the screen.

Best Wishes,

Richard

[george]

Thank you Richard for resizing my photo. I am slowly joining the 21st century. Just a little slower than most!

If it is easy to explain, maybe you could PM me with instructions.

Thanks again

George

[roger]

Thanks for the great photo, George. I witnessed that scene from the opposite side of the auditorium and noticed it was almost entirely children who were approaching Hayley for autographs. At 6' 2", I reluctantly concluded that I didn't qualify.

Just to prove to Dave (lol) that my spreadsheets occasionally come in useful, I can confirm the event was the Sargent Cancer Care Christmas concert held on 12th December 2003 during which Hayley sang 'Away In A Manger', 'White Christmas' and 'Pokarekare Ana'.

Having waited with Keith and Simon just inside the stage door after the concert, I was astonished when she greeted them by name. They had met her a few weeks earlier during the filming of the 'Loose Lips, TV programme. Although I had seen her only six days earlier, our meeting had been brief, outdoors (in Trafalgar Square) and in the dark. There was no way she would even recognise me. Wrong....

"Hi Roger" she said and I have never got over it! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Roger

[I-H-F]

I first came across Hayley on 'The Frank Skinner Show' in 2003. I remember thinking she had a great voice for someone so young. Hayley gave an interview, and sang "No Matter What" with Frank at the end of the show.

I wasn't really into classical music at that time, but I did see her Pure CD in a shop after the show, and I meant to buy it as I was impressed by her voice. However, I didn't and 3 years went by until late 2006 when I came across a video of Wuthering Heights on YouTube and I remembered her from Frank's show.

I tried more and more of her songs on YouTube, and was so impressed that I bought three of Hayley's albums within a short space of time.

So, its been about a year and a half I've been listening to Hayley, but I regret not buying her album back in 2003!

[Nordly]

December 2006, although I didn't learn about HWI until April 2007, where I lurked until September 2007

[milewalker]

Like Steve above, I was a member of the CCFans forum, and became involved with Hayley by way of that thread - and yes, Hayley was pretty controversial in those parts back in the day. For reasons which are so obvious that I will not detail them here, Hayley met with considerable resistance from that world when she first appeared. Anyway, I had "Hayley Westenra" shipped to me from New Zealand in late spring, or early summer 2001.

Memory plays tricks on us all of course, but having said this, my recollection of some events differs slightly from Gerrit I think that the topic of Hayley certainly came up in several places where we were both contributing, but I am almost certain that he and I at least discussed her at some length some time before Pokarekare Ana was released (the initial version of which was on her second album of course).

I can provide one other early anecdote which may have a very indirect effect to this day. The US and British CC sites (the Brit site was run by Simon) had had a falling out for reasons which are not relevant here, and at the time I was co-managing Gerrits CC group. We were functioning as something of a neutral third party, so people like Simon were occasionally posting there when they could not on the US sites. As I recall, the topic of Pokarekare came up there with a brief discussion, and this may have been not only what triggered Simon's actual interest in her, but also may be what sticks in Gerrits memory above. Or of course, my own memory may be at fault.

Jon

[larryhauck]

I first saw Hayley on PBS in 2006. Then I saw her with the Celtic Woman group in 2007.Larry

[matt]

well i first seen her on macy's thanksgiving day parade and a few other things afterwords but didn't really pick up on her til Celtic Woman

[xcv462]

I first heard Hayley on PBS in 2006,I had to see who was singing.
Hit the Internet and found her web site,then HWI.
Hers was the first record I ever bought,I now have all her albums.
She's on my I-pod and I listen to her every day.
Hayley makes my life better just knowing she's out there,and what a beautiful young woman she has become.

[comet]

18th November 2005.

I got The Songbird Collection - Over The Rainbow..
The song on it was Mary Did You Know.
I mistakenly thought it had something to with The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown which I had just read or was reading

I had five discs in my player on "RANDOM" mode all female artists, I had to look through about 100 titles to figure out who it was.

and so my addiction started...the first thing I ever checked on the "Internet" was "Hayley Westenra"

But what was that magic ?, why did Hayley stand out head and shoulders above the hundreds of other artists around at the time ? It must have been something exceptional that has brought us all here.

[grant]

Hi Comet

I was on the verge of expressing my surprise that you hadn't posted on this thread before now - then discovered that I hadn't either! Guess I was confusing this thread with the "How did you discover Hayley?" one.

It irks me that I am unable to precisely identify one of the most significantly important events in my recent life - the point at which I first discovered Hayley. However, as my discovery was a track played on Classic FM, I am never likely to establish the actual date, but it would be nice to know the year at least!

I know I first saw Hayley on 'Songs of Praise' and that she was wearing the full length blue gown that she wore on the DVD and on the 2004 'Big Sing', but I'm not convinced that it was this latter that I saw, as I have it in my mind that she sang "Amazing Grace" and a traditional hymn.

Prior to seeing her on TV, I had had "Pure" for some time and heard her even before that, but the actual time line is a mystery, try as I might to pinpoint it.

What I do remember from hearing Hayley on the radio, was that she was being played quite regularly, so it is likely to have been around the release date of either the original "Pure" (September 2003) or the Special Edition (November 2004). The latter would seem to be too short a timescale for what I remember, so it may actually have been earlier than I first thought!

If anyone can remember if/when Hayley appeared on SoP prior to Big Sing in 2004, it might help!

I can then vote in the poll

Best wishes
Grant

[Steve H]

Hi All,

I discovered Hayley purely by chance when I purchased the Russell Watson Live in NZ DVD from Smiths, it was on special offer at £3.00 so as I never miss a bargain, and had never heard of Russel Watson I ent for it!

when I watched it I was beginning to think i had made a mistake when the announced a special guest - Hayley Westenra, I thought Hayley who?

I played the two tracks Hayley did until I nearly wore the DVD out, Thinking this young lady lived in New Zealand I started doing a bit of work on 'Goggle' I obviously gave up two easily as I could not find ant info on where she lived.

I learned the DVD to Stuart who like me was mesmerised by this young lady's singing. However he obviously did better than me on Goggle as he rang me the following week to say " Hayley was in the UK and doing a signing in Oxford Street HMV the following day, and even more annoying he said he would pop along and see her, I could not get the day off work as I was tied up all day.

The rest as they say is history, Stuart found HWI within weeks and we both met up with Roger, Dave and Richard at St John Smiths Square to see Hayley, this was followed by a signing that Hayley agreed for us to have a photo with her.

I have never looked back!

Steve H.

[nicola]

I think I am one or Hayley's earlier fans (from someone in the UK, at least). I found out about her in 2002. I was friends with Andy Wood from a Sarah Brightman forum (only old timers will recognise his name as he once run a website of hers; I think it was called 'Hayley Wesntenra's World). We had a close friendship, and he had discovered Hayley through a NZ friend. He sent me two albums of Hayley's to see what I thought of her. I didn't like the albums (dire material), but was immediately struck by her voice. I vowed to keep an eye on her.

As luck had it, she came over to the UK and did promotion here in 2003. Whilst she was promoting Pure (which I absolutely loved with all of my heart and soul), she went on a chat show called 'Loose Lips'. I immediately signed up as an audience member so I could see her live and meet her. There, I met Keith, Simon and Shirley in their blue jumpers. XD I did meet her back then, but I was so shy I only got an autograph from her, and then left. Besides, Keith, Simon and Shirley seemed ecstatic to monopolise her time! <3

[martindn]

When? late March 2004, Northampton Derngate. I have described that incredible experience several times elsewhere, so I won't do so again. I have never been blown away like that by a singer at any time in my life, except perhaps at subsequent Hayley concerts. Her magic never fails.

Martin

[alanthefan]

I first discovered Hayley after watching some show on the ovation channel and they have what is called Ovation Interludes, she came on singing a love song with Helmut Lotti, I have never really been into music but my jaw just hit the floor, I was spell bound, she sang like an angel and didnt even seem to move her lips, it was so effortless, I missed her name as they gave it before the song but for some reason i couldnt get it out of my head, I emailed Foxtell and they couldnt give me an answer, so I would check every session between shows and eventually it came on again, After that I went straight to the closest music store and managed to get PURE, I was in heaven. Thank you hayley for sharing your beautiful voice with the world.
Alan.