Posh Spice, Victoria Beckham, isn't used to hearing the word "No" especially when it comes from the mouth of a Christchurch teenager just beginning to make her mark on the world stage.
But that's exactly what 15-year-old Kiwi singing sensation Hayley Westenra said when the former Spice Girl asked her to perform at a private million-dollar party to celebrate her 28th birthday.
It's not that Hayley, who is in the United Kingdom performing in concerts with tenor Russell Watson, has anything against the pregnant pop star. In fact, the youngster, who was once a fan of the five-piece girl band, was absolutely "gutted" at having to decline the offer because of commitments back home.
"Posh Spice's parents were in the audience at one of my concerts, and while I was singing they rang Posh at home on their cell phone and let her listen to me. She was like, 'Who is that?' and they said, 'Some girl from New Zealand,' "laughs Hayley, who has been performing "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Pokarekare Ana" at the sell-out concerts. "Her parents came backstage afterwards and said Posh loved me and wanted me to sing at a party she was having, which was going to include artists like Elton John, and I was just blown away. It was totally like a dream. I couldn't say anything at the time. I was completely speechless. I was so amazed by the offer, but then to know I was going to be back in New Zealand when the party was on and there was no way of changing flights or anything, at the same time I was completely gutted." The Posh party is the same night as the New Zealand Music Awards, where Hayley is performing, and the following day she is due to sing at a Mother's Day concert in Auckland with her 11-year-old sister, Sophie."
"I'm really looking forward to the music awards and I'm not the type of person to cancel things on a whim," says the star, who is currently recording her first album for Decca in Dublin. "My sister is also really excited about performing with me and I wouldn't want to disappoint her." These days, getting hold of Hayley, who already has two successful albums to her name, isn't as easy as picking up the phone and dialling her family home.
Just finding out what side of the world she is on can be quite a task. As we talk about how much her life has changed in just a year, Hayley is jetting across London in a black taxi cab on her way to a clothes shopping expedition for the photo shoot to capture the cover image of her new CD.
"I am so excited at the moment," says Hayley, who got to perform for and meet British child singing wonder Charlotte Church while she was in Wales. "I'm finding it really hard to believe everything that is happening to me. I'm constantly pinching myself."
Story: Sarah Henry