“It’s fantastic to see our albums doing so well,” smiled 35-year-old Katherine. “Aled is a wonderful singer and a lovely man. I’m delighted that people have responded so positively to our work.”
There is a false stereotype that female classical singers all have a large and imposing build. Such a description could never be applied to Katherine. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women to grace the music business, it is no surprise to learn that she supplemented her student grant by working as a model.
“I did quite a lot of make-up and hair modelling,” she recalled. “It was a way to support my studies at the Royal College of Music along with other things like giving singing lessons and working as a tour guide on the London Eye.
“But I knew modelling was never going to supplant music. Even after I won a competition to become The Face of Wales. Many doors could have opened for me in the modelling world but music was the only career objective I’d ever had since I was a child.”
Born in Neath, Katherine’s vocal ability and stage presence was evident from an early age.
“I sung and played piano but I also enjoyed performing in stage musicals at school. My favourites were ‘Calamity Jane’ and ‘Guys and Dolls.’ The more serious side of singing was taken up by my performances in the Royal School of Church Music Cathedral Singers and the National Youth Choir of Wales.”
Katherine won three different Welsh Choirgirl of the Year competitions and earned the St. Cecilia Award, the highest honour for female choristers. A scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music was followed by a six-album record deal with Universal Classics and Jazz.
“I performed a lot of opera while I was at college. The Marriage of Figaro, Cosi fan Tutte and Carmen were works I particularly enjoyed. But my recording career has almost always been a blend of opera, hymns, classic songs and quality pop. The kind of music I’ve performed throughout my singing life but all brought together on each album.”
Apart from her 2011 pop crossover LP, “Daydream,” which reached number six on the mainstream chart, and her 2012 album of seasonal songs, “This Is Christmas,” every one of Katherine’s studio albums has topped the UK classical chart.
“I think the record company bosses were very wise in that they allowed me to become established to some degree before releasing my first album. I’d sung at a special mass in Westminster Cathedral honouring Pope John Paul II’s silver jubilee, performed on television and supported Aled Jones on his concert tour.
“I even sung the Welsh rugby union team’s official song for the 2003 World Cup. This all meant the public knew me before there was an album for them to buy.”
Since then, Katherine’s fame has spread far and wide. She has even been a contestant on the US television show, Dancing With The Stars.
“I’ve never worked so hard as on that show,” she laughed. “Learning the dances was so demanding. I’d been a guest singer on one of the shows in 2011 and they invited me to compete the following year. I had a wonderful partner, Mark Ballas, but he certainly put me through my paces. It was a great experience though and we eventually finished runners-up.”
America has a special place in Katherine’s heart. She is married to US painter, sculptor, photographer, filmmaker, writer, producer and actor Andrew Levitas.
“He is an amazing person. I’ve never known anyone with so much talent in so many different fields. We had a wonderful wedding at Hampton Court Palace and the birth last September of our daughter Aaliyah just completed our happiness.”
A particular favourite of the British Royal Family, Katherine’s new album was principally recorded as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II commemorating her 90th birthday. It contains a new song, This Mother’s Heart, which was originally written as Katherine’s gift to the Queen. But since becoming a mother herself, the song has taken on a dual meaning.
“We were originally thinking of Her Majesty as a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and mother to the nation. But Aaliyah was in the studio while I was recording the song and I basically sung it to her.
“She actually inspired all the emotion of the song in me. I couldn’t get to the end without bursting into tears. It has become as much for Aaliyah in my heart as for Queen Elizabeth so I hope Her Majesty doesn’t mind sharing.”
in
brief
Bahari
Anyone who purchased Zedd’s 2015 album, “True Colors,” will be familiar with American all-girl trio Bahari as featured vocalists on the opening track, Addicted to a Memory.
Still all just 18, singer/bassist Natalia Panzarella, singer/keyboardist Ruby Carr and singer/guitarist Sidney Sartini have been together for three years. They will release their debut EP next month. Available now though is the lead single, Dancing On The Sun.
No official video has been made as yet but an audio posting can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbkV_f6mNK0
Dancing On The Sun is the follow-up to Bahari’s debut single, Wild Ones. This track was among the first batch of songs they wrote together and originally released at the end of 2014. The Wild Ones official video is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5ikNGZKJBU
Bahari recently did an interview and song showcase on Los Angeles radio station KIIS 102.7 FM. This can still be accessed at (no www.) m.kiisfm.com/features/nextup-1831/articles/15/496632/next-up-artist-of-the-week-14652688/
David Bowie
With the weather beginning to warm up, it seems David Bowie has given a surprise parting gift to fans who bought his “Blackstar” album.
A photo was shared on the imgur website which shows a cluster of stars within the black star depicted on the vinyl album cover’s gatefold. It was discovered when the gatefold was accidentally exposed to warm sunshine. The normally plain black image magically came to life.
Anyone who has the album might like to view what they can expect to see by checking out the photo at (no www.) imgur.com/DWfh36J
Laura Marano
Laura Marano will be a familiar face to television and film fans. She has been acting professionally since the age of five gaining her first significant role at seven playing Kate Malone, the daughter of lead character Jack Malone in the CBS drama series, Without a Trace.
Now 20, Laura has a string of acting credits to her name but is probably best known as Ally Dawson in the Disney Channel teen sitcom, Austin & Ally. Laura’s musical ability was showcased in the series and on the accompanying soundtrack albums.
This led to a deal with Big Machine Records. The Nashville-based label is primarily known for country music. But the success of their major star, Taylor Swift, with her pop album, “1989,” opened the door for pop acts such as Laura.
Her debut single, Boombox, is accompanied by an unusual video which is more like a short comedy film. It can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdFIKU53KEU
Although the song has yet to enter Billboard’s Hot 100, the video has registered around 18 million views.
Radiohead
Radiohead have been teasing, or annoying, their fans in recent times. British followers received postcards from the band with “Burn The Witch” printed on them. Radiohead’s social media pages, along with those of frontman Thom Yorke, were completely erased. Their website gradually faded eventually turning totally white.
After two blank days, everything was suddenly reactivated. Two short videos eventually gave way to the full stop-motion animated video for the band’s new single, Burn The Witch.
The video imagery was clearly influenced by the innocence of the 1967 children’s television series, Trumpton, combined with the 1973 British horror film, The Wicker Man.
The movie starred Edward Woodward as a police officer who eventually meets an untimely end. It appeared that the stop-motion protagonist’s fate would mirror that of Edward’s character. But the closing moments of Radiohead’s video reveal a somewhat happier outcome.
The video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI2oS2hoL0k
