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Entering Auckland's magical St Matthews-ln-The-City
cathedral, I was a little disconcerted to join the hardened media crowd
swigging bubbles in this most hallowed of venues. The eclectic mix of musos,
media-types and those who pass as celebs in this city, exchanged banter
between the gothic arched columns of the nave.
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Hush fell over the congregation as Gerhard Simanke, head of promotions at
Westenra's New Zealand record company, Universal Music, introduced Hayley to
the crowd. An angelic figure in an emerald green evening dress, Ms Westenra
was dwarfed by a huge banner of Kevin Westenberg's photo of her looking
wistfully out to sea. Obtaining the 'wistful' effect was no mean feat. It
was shot in freezing conditions in Portugal with Hayley shivering away on
the rocks, trying to look like she was enjoying herself. The pressure was
on; Westenberg was used to working with the likes of Coldplay and U2.
Despite her inexperience, Hayley's professionalism saw her through.
Only candelabra lit the cavernous space, which soon filled with the crystal
clear notes of Hayley's voice as she treated her audience to a very special
experience. Songs from her new album Odyssey demonstrated a new maturity to
her work. Produced by Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer Sir George
Martin, this album is a diverse mix of classical, traditional and a
contemporary acoustic sound. 'Never Saw Blue' is already a hit. Her own
composition, 'What You Never Know (Won't Hurt You) was lovingly delivered;
its insightful lyrics belying the writer's age and innocence. 'I Say Grace'
left the audience on such a high they demanded more and were rewarded with
probably the best performance of 'Pokarekare Ana' ever delivered.
Hayley was jettisoned from her life as a schoolgirl living at home with her
family in Christchurch onto the international stage. Her parents, Gerald and
Jill Westenra, encouraged all three of their children to explore their
musical talents. By the age of 11 Hayley had mastered the violin and piano
and appeared in 40 amateur musicals in the local area. At the age of 12, she
recorded some of her favourite songs in a proffessional studio as a memento.
Her first album, Pure, was recorded at 15. Its overwhelming success opened
up duet opportunities with Andrea Bocelli, Jose Carreras, Bryn Terfel and
Russell Watson. Suddenly Hayley was the muse of presidents, prime ministers
and royalty accompanied by orchestras or sometimes only by the acoustic
guitar; she sang live at major sporting events in the UK, USA, Australia and
at home in New Zealand.
All of this exposure brought with it a new confidence, which became embodied
in a richer, more rounded quality to that crystal clear voice. Inspired by
her grandmother, who was a singer and her grandfather, who played the piano
and piano accordion, Hayley grew up with music. Her Welsh and Irish ancestry
ensured a fondness of a good tune and, to be sure, hers is an intuitive
talent, naturally born. She was told she had 'perfect pitch' at the age of
six. This is not a voice coached into perfection, but a gift she was given
and has chosen to share.
To help her focus, Hayley says she pictures the scene described in the song
lyrics, totally immersing herself in the music. 'May It Be', the haunting
ballad from The Lord of the Rings movie, brought her home to New Zealand in
her mind, surrounded by its stunning landscape.
Back on stage, Hayley infused enthusiasm and love for what she does,
punctuating the free flowing narrative with infectious laughter. She
demonstrates an obvious delight for introducing new material, which is
equally met by the joy of putting her individual stamp on old favourites,
such as Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now'. A couple of hours in her company
proved to be an uplifting experience.
Pure has sold over two million copies worldwide. In New Zealand Pure is the
biggest selling home grown album of all time and is certified eleven x
Platinum with sales in excess of 175,000 units. Odyssey was released in New
Zealand on 8 August and at the time of writing, is already double platinum.
Other countries enjoying the latest offering are Australia, Japan, Hong
Kong, Singapore and Korea. In the U.K., where she now lives, Odyssey entered
the album charts at number 10 on the pop charts and at the time of going to
print, sits at number one on the classical charts. Historically the hardest
marketplace to conquer is the U.S. and Canada. Fans there had to wait until
18 October to buy Odyssey at the record store.
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Is her international success the result of a
good business sense as well as well-honed raw talent? The downfall of many
talented artists has been a failure to surround themselves with the 'right
people'. At the tender age of 19, much of Hayley's life to date has been
managed by her parents, who travelled with her and helped her to purchase
her London apartment. One of the main changes Hayley noted when becoming
professional, was the number of people who were suddenly around her. She has
a manager, (Steve Abbot), an accountant a business manager, a lawyer and all
the people at her record company, Decca: marketing, promotion, press people,
etc. As their professional guidance takes over some of the role her parents
initially played, Hayley takes on a new independence.
But is she ready? Vocally, yes, her voice has become more versatile and able
to adapt to the different styles featured in her second album. It now lends
itself better to the 'pop' genre whereas previously, her high pitch was more
classical. This gains her a wider appeal but also exposes her to a life she
has so far been sheltered from.
Her voice is often compared to that of the extreme Charlotte Church, but in
terms of her behaviour, Hayley Westenra could not be more different. Unlike
some other people her age, she doesn't enjoy late nights partying. Instead,
she takes care of her voice by drinking large amounts of water and only eats
healthy food. When she can, she ensures she gets plenty of sleep, but this
is often difficult with a full tour schedule. The result of this clean
living is evident in her glowing flawless skin. It also means her body is
not used to the abuse of a 'normal' teenage life. A recent catch-up with old
friends staying in halls of residence at The University of Otago left her
laying low back home with her parents in Christchurch, recovering from a
sore throat.
Given her early dedication to her musical career and her wholesome
lifestyle, it is not surprising that Hayley's romantic encounters have been
fairly minimal. "It's hard because you may meet someone but then again you
won't see them for like, another year," she explains. Her life on tour is
not exactly conducive to romance. The Odyssey tour started in New Zealand
before moving on to Sydney, Hong Kong, Tokyo (for the fourth time this
year), Nagoya and back to London. Trawling through the websites dedicated to
Hayley Westenra, you soon realise that she is not short of male admirers,
however. There were various rumours about her 'close friendship' with fellow
London-based Kiwi singer, Daniel Beddingfield. At the time she barely knew
him but since the stories broke, she admits they have actually become
friends. Maybe her standards are too high, but the radar is activated; "I'd
be over the moon if I met someone. Seriously, I'd be telling everyone." When
asked if anyone has come close she replies coyly, "Um, no."
The publicity surrounding her latest album launch, coined 'Hayleymania' by
the New Zealand Herald, does not seem to have gone to her head. Now a
teenage millionaire she is surprisingly blase about her finances. Singing
for Hayley is "like a hobby". She doesn't know how much money she has. "It's
all in the system, money going back and forwards," she says. Is this an
endearing lack of materialism or a concerning naivety? Her charity work
would point to the former but her early focus on music could have cocooned
her from the broad spectrum stuff. This is the girl who has never heard of
Homer, or his Odyssey.
Hayley is certainly very prudent about the way in which she spends. The only
money she spends on clothes is for her fabulous performance dresses, which
one might argue are a 'business expense'. Even her latest newsletter
confesses that all she bought after 'shopping 'til she dropped' in the
Singapore malls was a bottle of water and some seaweed.
Inspired by Princess Diana, she has become a Unicef ambassador. In this
role, Hayley recently undertook her first five - day field trip to Ghana.
"We went around these communities and saw the shocking poverty and it was
just heart-wrenching. I won't forget the images I saw or the people I met
over there. I'm trying to raise enough money, with the public's help, to
provide 5000 bicycles for the children."
Not forgetting that charity begins at home, Hayley is a patron of the
Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre in Auckland, co-founded by her good friend
Hinewehi Mohi. When back in England, she visited the Nordoff-Robbins Music
Therapy Centre. Their approach is based on the belief that everyone can
connect to music, and Hayley truly believes this rings true. "The approach
is very gentle and instinctual. Through music, the therapists manage to find
a connection with the clients who seem to have walled themselves in and
withdrawn from the outside world. Music is what finds its way through that
wall and connects them to the outside world. It seems music really is a
universal language." Hayley found the improvement that the children and
adults make there can be quite dramatic and very heart-warming.
'Heart-warming' is a fair description of the effect her voice has on you. If
you liked the first album Pure you will love Odyssey. If Pure wasn't your
bag, give Odyssey a spin. You could be pleasantly surprised. These two
albums chart the maturing of what is surely one of the most exciting voices
to emerge from New Zealand to the world stage in recent years. |
