Faryl Smith

[gra7890]

Nov 23, 2008 8:19:34 GMT Richard said:

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's tired of all these comparisons. Unfortunately we'll never stop the press from doing it.

Richard

Hi Richard,
What took you so long i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

May 11, 2008 22:57:59 GMT gra7890 said:

A star of the future definitely but another Hayley
Hayley's voice is beautiful and unique, those are two of the reasons we are such fans. As well as Hayley being the person she is
Is it fair to 'hang this title' on Faryl, or should she be allowed to find her own identity

Best Wishes,

Graham

[milewalker]

Nov 22, 2008 16:15:10 GMT stevemacdonald said:

I've sounded off on this before and now I can't resist the urge to do it again: Faryl Smith is definitely NOT another Hayley, and the same could be said that Hayley is not another Sarah Brightman. It does Faryl a disservice in the long run to have comparisons built into her image. Let her be who she is, just like we allowed Hayley to get out from Sarah and Charlotte's media-suggested shadows.

Hi Steve,

I agree that we probably shouldn't build other singers into her image. However, I wonder if it is possible to not do that in terms of her musical niche.

Here is a good natured wager - if Faryl signs a contract, the first round of publicity from her handlers will compare her with some other well known singer - just like the Hayley/Charlotte comparison had its roots in the early publicity emanating from Hayley's camp

Jon

[stevemacdonald]

Hi Jon,

I wonder if Faryl hasn't come along too late to add anything new to the genre. There are only a half-dozen very successful female crossovers singers in the world today. Though there is some variety in their repertoires they all pretty much cover the same crossover war-horses, as if that were a rite of initiation into the club. You just know that if Faryl gets signed she will record Amazing Grace, Ave Maria, Pie Jesu, etc., to get things started.

In any event, she will have to be spectacularly good to distinguish herself with overly familiar songs. It might work better for her if she avoids overlapping with the others completely. That will nip the unnecessary comparisons in the bud.

[milewalker]

Hi Steve,

A couple of years ago, when I was defending Hayley from the charge of being a Charlotte clone, I spent a little time looking at the repertoire shared between the crossover singers. The result of this suggests that all of those songs aren't so much a "rite of initiation" as the simple fact that the total amount of available material to sing is pretty small. On one side, there are the big arias, which they avoid, and on the other side are songs which are too evocative of mainstream pop. Because the niche in between is narrow and somewhat out of vogue, there are very few new songs written. This leaves them very little choice but to cover the same material. Over time they try to differentiate themselves a bit by covering songs just outside the niche according to personal style and taste.

As long as the prospective buyer is actually among the crossover initiate, there isn't an overriding reason to compare one singer with another. As you say, none of them are really significantly different enough from the others to make such a comparison useful. If I have already collected records by Charlotte, Sarah, Hayley, and Katherine, the chances are I am going to discover Faryl and quite possibly try her music simply in the course of following my hobby. The problem is that most buyers are not among the initiate. If the only singer of the niche I have heard of is Charlotte for example, it is still helpful to know that Faryl has more in common with her than Beyonce.....

Jon

[fusilier23]

Hate to say it, but Jon's right. There's a somewhat limited number of crossover pieces that will get a young female singer noticed. Becky Taylor tried to go in a different direction that eschewed religious music and it got her nowhere.

The fact is that the gray brigade that follows this kind of thing will always be looking for the next perfect granddaughter, and that includes a character element, which these religious pieces seem to fill.

As for Faryl herself, her voice kind of reminds me of Kristyn Murphy, our own Barefoot Soprano, who also has a darkish tint to her voice, and who MIGHT be going places, we will see how her time at the Hartt School shakes out. All in good time, though.

BTW, to say Faryl has a "rather plain face" is cruel and unfair, it's no different than poking fun at Chloe Agnew's weight, which I hope no one would do here.

[martindn]

The shortage of good material for crossover singers is a problem I agree. Hayley at least has the right approach to tackling that problem. Write some new songs herself!
Hayley I think wants to be around for a long time. So what can she do once she has recoded all the crossover standards, which she pretty much has done? She seems to be pretty inventive at finding new stuff, Now is the Hour, Majesty and Songbird, even songs like Both Sides Now are not covered by other "crossover" singers. I think Hayley knows she has to do something a bit different to survive in the long term. And she is working on it.
As for Faryl, yes, you make a good point Steve that most people won't want another version of Ave Maria etc. She probably needs to do something a bit different fairly early on. The "child star" appeal has a limited shelf life, and to survive beyond that she will need to do something original to distinguish her from the rest. Hayley had her Maori songs, but even that won't last for ever.
Faryl becoming "another Katherine Jenkins" won't work for long either, since we already have Katherine.

Martin

[milewalker]

Hello Martindn and all,

On a comment I made concerning Faryl on You Tube, I suggested that she was "right on the cusp" of being able to sing that sort of material professionally. A part of the child star phenomenon as it has applied to singing so far has been a tolerance of errors which would not pass muster if the singer was 18. Unfortunately, as I see it, the less unique the talent becomes (Faryl has several predecessors now) the higher the quality bar will be raised concerning the acceptance of new talent.

As I also said on You Tube, what I hear from Faryl right now, is a rather different voice (it is deeper, darker, and sounds a bit more mature than the others), but one which has many of the same strengths and weaknesses that Charlotte had at the same age - right down to the jaw tension. It wouldnt solve all of her problems getting a career off the ground, but it certainly wouldnt hurt to bide her time and improve.

Fusilier23 touches on another point above which is well - a bit touchy if you stop and analyze it for a moment. There is, I suspect a genuine catch-22 regarding very young female crossover singers who must be perceived in a certain way in order to be successful. I actually hadnt considered the possibility that staying away from sacred material might have contributed to Becky Taylor's lack of success - thats one for you Steven! I think he might be right, and if he is this may not bode well not only for Faryl. but for other rising young singers of the genre as well.

If I were an aspiring 13 year old crossover singer, I probably wouldnt want to sing big arias. If I must also eschew hymns because they are too derivative of other young singers, it simply doesnt leave me with a lot of room to maneuver. Most other songs are widely considered to be be non age appropriate as well, and Taylor's "A Dream Come True" is a pretty good sampling of the sort of thing which is left.

Jon

ps Martindn - I agree that there is an aspect of this discussion which is relevant to Hayley. However, I am not sure that an ongoing discussion of Hayley is on topic here. For this reason, I will likely bring up the point you mentioned on another board at some point.

[postscript]

Hi Milewalker and all,

I think your post 51 most interesting. Whether it was circumstance or intent and I think it a combination of the two Hayley has never over-pushed herself, she has bided her time and I think this is the key for Faryl. At her age it seems growing up is a long process and patience is hard to muster but she must for the longer term.

Peter S.

[Richard]

Hello everybody!

Faryl Smith is all over Google News this morning, because she's just signed with Universal. This article from Wales Online is very interesting.

Talent show finalist signs £2.3m record deal

Dec 10 2008 by Karen Price, Western Mail

A TEENAGER related to the late Sir Harry Secombe has signed a £2.3m deal with the world’s largest record company.

Faryl Smith, who took first prize for singing at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod when she was 10, was offered the biggest record deal ever awarded to a schoolgirl by Universal Classics and Jazz.

The mezzo-soprano, now 13, shot to fame earlier this year as a finalist on the ITV1 hit series, Britain’s Got Talent.

Although the show was won by teenage break-dancer George Sampson, music moguls were mesmerised by her remarkable voice and, after strong competition for her signature, Universal enticed her with their offer.

Under the watchful eye of her idol and mentor Katherine Jenkins, Faryl yesterday signed the contract at London’s Royal Albert Hall before preparing for her debut performance at the venue alongside Jenkins.

They sang Silent Night together before Faryl, who is from Kettering in Northamptonshire, performed Amazing Grace.

Last night Neath-born Jenkins said when she first met Faryl as she won the competition in Llangollen she knew she was a star in the making.

She said: “When I saw her on Britain’s Got Talent this year, I knew she had become even better. She’s one in a million, a great girl with an incredible voice.

“I came from a small town too and all of a sudden had this amazing career unfolding in front of me. It’s been so great to follow her progress and I’m thrilled to keep being on hand for advice.”

In between her school work, Faryl is now busy recording her debut album, which will be released in March 2009.

She is just a year older than Charlotte Church was when she signed her deal with Sony BMG 10 years ago at the age of 12.

Faryl said: “It’s all just so overwhelming. I’m honoured to be joining such a fantastic record company, especially since it’s where Katherine started.

“She has been brilliant, there’s so much to learn and she will always take my calls, I feel much better knowing she is around.”

The schoolgirl, whose hobbies include playing right-back for her county championship-winning football team, added: “People keep asking me what I’ll do with the money. My family are all Manchester United fans, but we can’t quite afford that so my Dad is thinking of buying Kettering Town instead!

“But this is about the opportunity of a lifetime for me, singing is my passion and to be given the opportunity to make a career of it at such a young age is a dream come true.”

Faryl’s grandfather is Welsh and her mother Linda is convinced her daughter has inherited her musical talent from that side of the family. She says Faryl’s great-grandmother “used to sing on the Welsh radio and won a lot of competitions”.

Faryl added: “My grandfather’s Welsh, so there’s Welsh blood in me and Harry Secombe is in our family tree. I think the musical thing just missed a couple of generations and came down to me.”

Faryl gives credit to her history of singing in choirs. As well as being a chorister at her local church, she’s a regular performer with Kettering’s Masquerade Youth Choir.

She last performed in Llangollen with the choir in July – just weeks after her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent.

“The choir go to Llangollen every year, and we won it this year,” she added. “We also got to the final of the BBC Radio 3 choir of the year. We got through to Last Choir Standing, but our teacher thought it would demand too much time and be too pressurised, so he withdrew us from it.”

Universal Classics and Jazz head Dickon Stainer said: “As soon as we saw Faryl, it became an ambition to sign her. Her potential is massive and the size of the deal reflects our faith in her as a long-term artist. This is a watershed for the classical crossover world, it shows it competes with pop music on a global scale. Faryl is worth every penny.”

Here's a photograph from the Mail on Sunday.

British classical singer Katherine Jenkins, left, and Universal Classics and Jazz Head, Dickon Stainer, right
look on as the 13-year-old officially signs to UCJ after turning her back on Simon Cowell

Richard

[drew]

Whatever happened to Syco?

Is Faryl being managed by Bandana?

Seems like Mothers' Day will be quite competitive in the stores next year.

Northamptonshire Enterprise

Faryl Smith from Kettering, a finalist in last year’s Britain’s Got Talent, announced on the evening that her debut album will be released next year on Mother’s Day.

[/size]

[stevemacdonald]

This Universal contract makes her a label mate with Hayley. This could lead to collaborations down the road. Don't be surprised if Faryl opens for Hayley regularly in 2010, 11,12, etc.

[Jeff]

Dec 10, 2008 16:10:33 GMT stevemacdonald said:

This Universal contract makes her a label mate with Hayley. This could lead to collaborations down the road. Don't be surprised if Faryl opens for Hayley regularly in 2010, 11,12, etc.

Let's hope so. Great minds think alike Steve !

[postscript]

British classical singer Katherine Jenkins, left, and Universal Classics and Jazz Head, Dickon Stainer, right
look on as the 13-year-old officially signs to UCJ after turning her back on Simon Cowell

That's the bit that really got me. I've been concerned about my hearing indirectly that Cowell was already 'behind her' and implicationss she was committed. This is a thinking girl and I reckon she can handle what is to come, just as Hayley has.

While I have not yet met Katherine or heard her live, I wonder if the age difference will keep her out of competition with Hayley were these two (Hayley and Faryl rather than Katherine be teamed up). Being that much older Katherine appears to be more seriously considering the possibility of operatic styling.

With Hayley insistent on maintaining the integrity of her image, such an approach would go well with Faryl being so young and still a schoolgirl. To me Faryl's voice is 'the clarinet' sound like Hayley: rounded, smooth, mellifluous and I reckon there will be at least one a cappelle rendition on Faryl's CD. What will it cover in terms of approach, range of song types, arrangements, backing etc.

Looking at the superb range of female classical singers now in Universal's 'stable', where is the music for them all to be to the 'fore?

Peter S.

[Natasha]

I should have known Universal would snap someone up to try and fill Katherine's place! Good luck to Faryl! Faryl looked lovely in the pictures, and Katherine, well she always looks like a model anyways. Its not fair that someone can be that gorgeous and talented in other area's too, you think they could share some of it with the rest of us?

[Richard]

Hello folks!

In case anybody's getting confused, Katherine Jenkins recently signed a new contract with Warner Music. There is a thread about this HERE.

Richard