Post by roger on Sept 6, 2005 15:43:11 GMT
This appeared today in Channel News Asia's Entertainment Section.
Young New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra claims she only realised how famous she’d become when she received a phone call from big shot Hollywood composer James Horner last month.
Oscar winner Horner has composed music scores for several major blockbusters including A Beautiful Mind and Titanic. Westenra said that she was “absolutely ecstatic” when she got the call.
“It was definitely one of the high points of my life,” said the 18-year old at The Oriental hotel on Saturday night, shortly before she performed a private showcase in Bukit Batok. Westenra spent a few days in Los Angeles laying down vocals for Horner’s main theme song for an upcoming film, rumoured to be the new Terrence Malick opus The New World, which stars Colin Farrell.
But it’s not surprising that Horner approached Westenra: New Zealand’s answer to Charlotte Church is destined for the big league.
When Westenra’s first international album, Pure, was released in 2003, it became the fastest-selling debut classical record of all time. It has since sold two million copies worldwide — surpassing the debut album sales of fellow child soprano Church and tenor Andrea Bocelli.
She has also scored success on the mainstream pop album charts, with Pure standing alongside Daniel Bedingfield and the Black Eyed Peas on the British Top 10 in 2003. In Singapore, Pure sold an estimated 10,000 copies, an impressive number considering it was released with little fanfare.
Her latest album, Odyssey, released two weeks ago, looks set to be another winner. A Universal Music spokesman said it has already moved 4,000 copies and is this week’s “best-selling album in Asia, topping the Black Eyed Peas, Mariah
Carey and Gwen Stefani”.
While Westenra seemed modest about her musical achievements,she admitted to being frustrated by the press she’s been getting.
“To be honest I’m happy things have turned out as well as they have,” she said. “But I’m also annoyed that people have this idea that I’m one- dimensional.
Just because I didn’t study at a prestigious music college or didn’t pay my classical dues doesn’t mean I’m not good enough.
“The sad fact is the classical crowd can be quite banal. Thankfully, people in general have been very supportive. Those are the people I sing for, anyway.”
Young New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra claims she only realised how famous she’d become when she received a phone call from big shot Hollywood composer James Horner last month.
Oscar winner Horner has composed music scores for several major blockbusters including A Beautiful Mind and Titanic. Westenra said that she was “absolutely ecstatic” when she got the call.
“It was definitely one of the high points of my life,” said the 18-year old at The Oriental hotel on Saturday night, shortly before she performed a private showcase in Bukit Batok. Westenra spent a few days in Los Angeles laying down vocals for Horner’s main theme song for an upcoming film, rumoured to be the new Terrence Malick opus The New World, which stars Colin Farrell.
But it’s not surprising that Horner approached Westenra: New Zealand’s answer to Charlotte Church is destined for the big league.
When Westenra’s first international album, Pure, was released in 2003, it became the fastest-selling debut classical record of all time. It has since sold two million copies worldwide — surpassing the debut album sales of fellow child soprano Church and tenor Andrea Bocelli.
She has also scored success on the mainstream pop album charts, with Pure standing alongside Daniel Bedingfield and the Black Eyed Peas on the British Top 10 in 2003. In Singapore, Pure sold an estimated 10,000 copies, an impressive number considering it was released with little fanfare.
Her latest album, Odyssey, released two weeks ago, looks set to be another winner. A Universal Music spokesman said it has already moved 4,000 copies and is this week’s “best-selling album in Asia, topping the Black Eyed Peas, Mariah
Carey and Gwen Stefani”.
While Westenra seemed modest about her musical achievements,she admitted to being frustrated by the press she’s been getting.
“To be honest I’m happy things have turned out as well as they have,” she said. “But I’m also annoyed that people have this idea that I’m one- dimensional.
Just because I didn’t study at a prestigious music college or didn’t pay my classical dues doesn’t mean I’m not good enough.
“The sad fact is the classical crowd can be quite banal. Thankfully, people in general have been very supportive. Those are the people I sing for, anyway.”
As well as the 'blonde hair' bit, the last part is also interesting: 
