The Press
SINGING IN THE RAIN: Hayley Westenra steps through the showers in Christchurch yesterday.
KIRK HARGREAVES/The Press
Before you read this article, you should read this one. This is described about the beginning of this article.
Singer aghast at award controversy
05 July 2003
By ANNA CLARIDGE and MARGARET AGNEW
Christchurch singing sensation Hayley Westenra has lashed out at her New Zealand agent Gray Bartlett for dragging her into a New Zealand music race-row.
The star this week distanced herself from Mr Bartlett after he told a Sunday newspaper that performers like Westenra missed out on music awards because of a "politically correct" bias towards Maori and Pacific musicians.
"I had nothing to do with it really," Westenra said this week. "I got home and looked at the paper and went `No!' ... they're not my views at all. I just feel awkward about it."
The 16-year-old – who recently landed a deal with Decca Records – spoke out ahead of next week's release of her international debut album, Pure.
Her mother, Jill, said Decca was also upset at Mr Bartlett's comments.
"(Hayley) doesn't feel that way. She never expected to get an award, she doesn't really care whether she got an award. It doesn't really make a difference. Awards are nice, but they're a short-lived high. It means nothing if you're not still performing, if people aren't enjoying your music."
Mr Bartlett, who lays claim to being the first to discover Hayley, last night described her concerns as "pathetic".
"I think it's very important to make it clear that that was just using an example. I just mentioned, when they (the Sunday newspaper) asked what sort of names, I mentioned people like her and others that I've produced, including Ben Morrison. So that's pretty pathetic to be upset about it, because as far as she's concerned she should be very grateful for front-page publicity, especially when she's got a brand new album coming out. So I find that pretty pathetic, quite frankly.
"I didn't drag her into that at all. I'm not really concerned about her response, because the fact is I've been in the business a long time. The facts are that she sold a lot of records that we produced. That was her biggest-selling album yet.
"That was produced in New Zealand, by New Zealanders. Then it sold an enormous amount of copies for which there was no industry recognition whatsoever," Mr Bartlett said.
"I'm not dragging anyone into it at all. To me she is an item to be produced. Her name happens to be Hayley Westenra. It could be anybody that our company produces. I'm sorry if I made Hayley feel uncomfortable but we're talking business here."
