QUOTH KEITH (RE: THE ARTICLE) "THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY SAY"
ED: You'll find a few factual errors in this "article". I guess it doesn't pay to believe all you read in the press.

She may be performing at prestigious music events around the world and hanging out with the likes of Sting and Andrea Bocelli, but Hayley Westenra is still a typical Kiwi girl.

A room at the Hilton isn’t typical accommodation for a 16 year-old, but one look at the unmade bed and clothes spilling out from a suitcase onto the floor show she’s turned it into a home away from home...

Looking very different from her latest round of press shots (she now has light brown permed hair) Hayley spoke to nzgirl about touring, shopping and her new album “Pure”…

You’re living the high life…are you comfortable in these sorts of surroundings yet?
I still haven’t gotten used to it. I had this other room that had this massive balcony and I was like, “I don’t need this balcony”. I don’t even really need this big a room! It’s a bit weird because I’m just 16 and I’d be quite happy with just a pokey little room.

What’s a typical day for you?
Recently I’ve been having to get up really early like 6.30am, and go to do some breakfast interviews for radio or TV. Then I’ll have about half an hour for lunch…it’s not too bad. I have little breaks and it’s not too hectic. I’ll probably finish around 5 or 6. But each day is different.

I’m going to try and go to the gym as often as possible. I think its good to have some sort of exercise and I’m sure it will be beneficial to my singing. It goes along with eating well and getting enough sleep, so I’m going to try to do that every day…maybe. I try to get to bed as early as possible, but I usually get to bed about 10.30am.

Pure is a mix of classical, modern and cover songs, what artists do you listen to the most?
Usually I’ll listen to pop music. I like a mixture really, and the record company sends me compilations of 50 Cent, Daniel Bedingfield, Delta Goodrem and a few others. I really like Vanessa Carlton, Counting Crowes, Enrique…

Have you met many of the people you listen to?
I was able to meet Sting at the Classical Brit Awards, but up until now I’ve been meeting the classical musicians. I was able to meet Andrea Bocelli at the Classical Brit Awards. I don’t know why, but his album was the first one I ever bought when I was 11. He’s really nice – he said, “Where are you from?” and said, “Oh, you’ve got the voice of an angel”. I got a photo with them and I met a few other famous opera singers…and Vanessa Mae, the violinist.

If you could do a collaboration, who would you choose?
I’d probably choose Enrique! Don’t know how likely that would be, but it would be pretty cool.

You’re 16 now; do you get sick of still being referred to as an angel or delicate?
Not really. I should be quite grateful that it isn’t anything bad. I’m lucky they’re not saying terrible voice, and horrible personality…

What are your expectations for the album, considering it’s your first international release?
It’s hard because everyone else has expectations that it’s going to do really well, so I’m a little bit nervous as to how it will go. I haven’t though, “Okay, I’ll be happy if I sell this many records”. I’m just going to see how it goes and do my best at promoting it. I’m releasing overseas as well this time so it will be quite interesting to see how it goes in different countries.

*Hayley’s first album, “Voice of an Angel” was only released in New Zealand. [ED: YOU CAN'T MISS THIS ERROR!!]

What do you miss about being a normal teenager?
I guess I just miss being away from my friends and not having as much time to do things like going to the movies and parties. Ideally I’d like to have some more time to do those things but…can’t really complain! I’m lucky to be able to do what I’m doing.

I’ve been in London for about 4 months this year. I actually went to school for about 3 weeks when I came back here, just to see my friends again. I was really weird actually. I got back and I was expecting everyone to be going to parties and hanging out every night and it was actually quite boring. I thought, “There’s nothing much happening here…” It hit me then that what I’m doing is actually quite exciting. I’m going to be away until February next year now, possibly even later than that. Next I’m going to Australia to release my album, then to Asia, then the UK.

You’re still only just starting out, but what’s the most memorable moment of your career been so far?
My performances around New Zealand have been really great and the people I’ve worked with have been truly friendly and nice, and overseas it’s been all these prestigious places and events like the Classical Brit Awards. They had this red carpet that you walked up on your way into the venue and I arrived in a limousine and they had organised a big Maori welcome. There was this welcome as I walked up the carpet and there were all these photographers lined up taking pictures and say[ing], “Hayley, look over here”. That was memorable because I’d never done anything like that before.

What’s the best thing about guys?
They’re just really easygoing and really relaxed…well most guys are anyway. I didn’t get to mix with many UK guys while I was over there, but I think NZ guys are pretty good.

What’s the most annoying thing?
I think possibly they just don’t understand how girls want time to get ready – just the girly things. They probably allow 15 minutes to get ready and they expect that from us too. I don’t spend a lot of time getting ready and I’ll leave things to the last minute so I’m usually late.

What’s the biggest rebound no-no?
She should start afresh and although it’s hard getting on with it, she should just spend some time with her girlfriends rather than getting too hung up on it.

What’s the most extravagant thing you’ve ever bought yourself?
I bought a pair of jeans in London…I’m not a big label person, but there’s a shop called Miss Sixty (http://www.misssixty.com) that’s got lots of cool, funky stuff.

*Gets up and pulls jeans out of her suitcase*

It’s hard because you’re expected to have all these different outfits, but then you’re expected to travel round with a suitcase. When I go overseas I have two because of the different seasons.

Do you do a lot of shopping?
We do a little bit but it’s hard because you’ve only got a little bit of room in your suitcase. When we first went to London we thought it was too expensive and didn’t buy anything, but then we started to see lots of cheap stuff. We were just buying lots of cheap things and then we figured that we were better off saving and buying some really nice items.

How do you think success has changed you?
It can be hard when you’re mixing with adults all the time. I’ve probably grown in confidence a lot and I’m more comfortable talking to adults than perhaps some of my peers would be. It hasn’t really changed me – I can still relate to people my own age, but I can also talk freely to adults.

What’s the most common questions you get asked?
Do you have a boyfriend? That’s second down from anything related to Charlotte Church. They always ask me about school too. I go when I’m in Christchurch, but I’ve got a tutor who’s based in London. It’s hard because I know I should have a back-up. In some ways I know I should be spending a bit more time on it, but in others I don’t want it to get in the way of what I’m doing. You can’t spread yourself out too thinly. When you’ve got a spare half hour sometimes its nice to be able to lie down for half an hour and do some recharging as opposed to wearing yourself out worrying about school work.

What would you do if you had to stop?
To be honest I haven’t given it that much thought, but I’d probably have to do something involving music. I don’t know if I’d teach… I’m learning French and German at school and that’s quite cool, so I might find a job that includes those two skills. I hope I don’t need to!

Hayley’s second album, “Pure” is in stores now. [ED: "SECOND ALBUM" ... REALLY?]

http://www.hayleywestenra.com/

Thanks to Keith S for locating this article, and to Gareth K and Belinda H for Hayley's first album picture below.

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To set the record straight...

Jacket of Hayley's very first album "Walking in the Air"