Review
05 - By Kristin Taylor - 14th December
2001
_____________________________________________________
"Hayley
Westenra by Kristin T"
Since the first time I heard Hayley's voice,
when she was just 11 years old performing
on 'McDonalds Young Entertainers', I knew
she'd go far. So earlier this year when my
Mum brought home Hayleys CD 'Hayley Westenra'
I remembered her straight away when the opening
track came on: Walking in the air. This is
the same song she had sung 3 years earlier
on the well known NewZealand kids talent
show. Only difference was how much her voice
had matured.
Now I'm not usually the type of person who
listens to a whole CD of classical music,
(after all I am a 16 year old girl) but from
the moment you hear Hayley's voice it's pretty
hard not to listen; the clarity and richness
of a voice so young is a real rarety and
it was so nice to see that this was coming
from a New Zealander! While many people have
compared Hayley to Charlotte Church I really
don't think there needs to be any comparison.
To me Hayley's voice was the best I'd ever
heard and a lot clearer and more perfected
than Charlotte's. I told Hayley this in the
first letter I wrote to her. And I was quite
surprised when Hayley emailed me only a week
later offering tickets to a show she was
performing in up here in Auckland! Needless
to say, I accepted the tickets and the invitation
to go backstage and see Hayley at half time!
After listening to the CD, I thought there
was no way I'd ever hear anything better.
But when I saw Hayley perform live at the
'Bruce Mason Theatre' in May I realised I
had been wrong...
Hearing
Hayleys voice on CD is one thing, but actually
seeing her performing live is totally another.
I've seen quite a few people sing live, and
their voices are often not up to the same
quality as they are on the CD - but Hayley
amazed me once again by singing pitch perfect
and having the whole audience in awe of her.
By
half time I was quite excited about meeting
Hayley and after missioning through the backstage
area I finally saw Hayley waiting in the
room by the stage. When she saw me she ran
up to me and gave me a hug like we were old
friends. Well I guess we'd gotten to know
each other a bit after spending quite some
time on the phone the previous week!
When you see someone who gets as much praise
for their talents as Hayley does, you may expect
them to be a little big-headed. But not Hayley
- she's the nicest, most down to earth person
I've ever met and after spending the second
half of the show in Hayley's dressing room
with her and her Mum, and looking through her
photo albums, I was still even more amazed.
At the end of the second half Hayley went back
on-stage and sang 'Time to say Goodbye'. I
watched from the wings with Hayley's mum and
had to smile when all the Irish dancers, who
were also performing, just stood behind me
with their mouths open as Hayley sang.
Following
that show Hayley and I regularly talked on
the phone, and on more than one occasion
I could hear her younger sister Sophie in
the background practicing her music or singing.
Clearly Hayley wasn't the only talent in
the family.
And
after attending a concert on Hayleys NZ tour
I knew that she would go far. Though there
were a lot of supporting people in the show,
Hayley was the clear star. And with 11 year
old Sophie and 8 year old Isacc Westenra
joining her for a few songs the families
talent was clear. Hayley's and Sophie's duet
of 'Panis Angelicus' was the best I've ever
heard and their voices complemented each
other so well.
While there were some songs like 'Ava Maria'
and 'Pie Jesu' that clearly showed off Hayley's
range; when Hayley began 'Bright Eyes' I heard
many happy murmurs from the audience - especailly
from younger girls.....and the old man behind
me.
It
was obvious from these concerts and Hayley's
CD that she had the talent and character
to make her world famous. Although I knew
any follow up CD of the first one was likely
to be very good, I had no idea that Hayley
could actually make anything better than
that first CD. How wrong could I have been?
When I got 'My Gift To You' I was amazed
yet again.There were some old favourites
like 'Silent Night' and also some not-so-well-known
songs such as 'Mary Did You Know', but all
were sung to perfection and better than any
previous version I had ever heard. Then there
were the 2 songs that just made me hit repeat
time and time again. 'Do you hear what I
hear?' and 'Through These Eyes' were my two
favourites from the CD after listening to
them only once. Sophie joined Hayley on these
two songs, doing the backing vocals, and
it really made the songs. The two voices
go together and compliment each other so
well, it leaves you wanting more. Although
'My gift to you' had a lot of Christmas songs
I knew that I'd be listening to it all year
round.
And
it's not only those who like classical music
who appreciate Hayley's voice. Everyone that's
ever heard her voice agrees that it's simply
amazing, and you can never hear too much
of it! Although most of my friends prefer
listening to rock music, many of them have
commented on Hayley's talent and asked me
to tell her she's 'a very good singer' or
'really pretty'. And finally we have some
new kiwi music...while I do like all the
hip hop and r&b it's nice to know we
can make music in other genres.
I
know I've said this word many times but I
feel its the best way to describe Hayley
- AMAZING! And she really is a true star.
I have no doubt that she can go as far as
she wants to with her talent - and that she
will. After all it would be sad to deprive
the rest of the world of Hayley's talent
after we've got so much joy out of it! Im
sure that this will not be the last we hear
of Hayley Westenra.
To Hayley, and the rest of her family, thank
you on behalf of everyone for showing us what
genuine talent really is.
From
your biggest and most devoted fan and friend,
-
Krissi |
