Hayley Westenra (born 10 April 1987 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand crossover soprano and songwriter who is passionate about public welfare and charity. He has successfully released eight albums in Asia.
Dee Westenra, also known as Hayley Weststone, Hayley Westonwa, Hayley Westertra.
Hayley Dee Westenra, a New Zealand crossover soprano, is a classical crossover singer with the famous British crossover singer Sarah Brightman and the famous Italian singer André Bocelli. From the champion singer in the southern hemisphere, he has become the most high-profile shining star in the international music scene!
At the beginning, because of curiosity and fun, I suppressed the CD on my own, went to the street to sell art, gave away relatives and friends, but the fathers and elders of the villagers were amazed, word of mouth, the voice of the angel gradually spread through the media, new Zealand classical music fans and pop fans are all overwhelmed by their songs! At the age of 16, he signed to Universal Records and became famous with the album Pure( Pure!
Hayley Westera is the daughter of The Westlas, Jill and Gerald Westenra; she has a younger sister and a younger brother named Sophie and Isaac, respectively.
It was music that drew the red line for Hayley's parents, and her mother, Jill, went to Christchurch to pursue her degree and met her father, Gerald, at an after-show party at Anno Domini's after-show party, who was then a car parts salesman. Westenra is Dutch, and Gerald's ancestors came to New Zealand through Ireland in the 19th century to settle. Jill's parents, Gerry and Shirley, are residents of western New Zealand. Gerald and Jill met less than a year before they got married. Jill decided that nothing could be done halfway, so she took on a different job as a young man. When she was pregnant with Hayley, she was also very serious, eating more food, hoping to absorb more nutrients, and also reading different parenting books, hoping to have the healthiest baby. Hayley Dee Westenra was born on April 10, 1987. The name Hayley was also decided after careful consideration by both parents. Hayley represents the hero, while Dee is the name of Jill's doll. As soon as Hayley was born, Jill listened to classical music, not because she expected Hayley to become a superstar in the future, but because experts believe that classical music is beneficial to babies' brain development.
Hayley comes from a musical family, and her mother, Shirley Ireland, the mother of Jill, has a very beautiful vocal line, while her father, Gerry, can play them only once.
Hayley's family believed that Hayley's beautiful voice was inherited from her grandmother, Shirley. And, when Hayley was two years old, she had already sung "Silent Night" at her aunt Carol's wedding, and her family was not surprised by it.
Also, Hayley is very attentive and takes good care of others, and at family gatherings, she can ensure that everyone is happy. At a family gathering, Hayley's mother, Jill, read a letter from a friend or relative, mentioning that someone was studying ballet, and Hayley showed great interest in it, and her mother chose a class time for her, although she thought Hayley did not know what ballet was.
When Hayley was in elementary school, her parents simply chose the nearby Fendalton primary school for her, hoping that Hayley could meet more friends who lived nearby. But the school's principal believes that music is important to the child's development. So Hayley began to learn instruments such as violin and piano in her spare time.
At one point, Hayley said she wanted to perform ballet at school, so her mother prepared everything for her, but it was not clear why she wanted to do it. And her mother, Gill, always thought Hayley was a very introverted child, until she was surprised when she received the grade scale and the teacher commented on it that Hayley was humorous.
Jill is not a professional singer and doesn't think Hayley's voice is anything special, but Hayley's teacher, Lesley Compton, has a different view, believing that Hayley's voice is different and giving her a chance to sing solo. The song sung is the famous "The Littlest Star" (also translated as: Twinkle LittleStar).
When Hayley calmly walked to the stage to sing, Jill was extremely moved and burst into tears.
Today, various competitions are held at different shopping malls in Christchurch, including talent quests. At one point, Hayley decided to compete in a talent contest in the hope of doing his best. Jill helped her choose the right song, hoping to find a song that highlighted Hayley's natural voice, of course, the two mothers and daughters sometimes disagreed, but Hayley's parents must be present when they performed. The performance was a bit of a surprise, hayley was a little overwhelmed by the miskeying of the first part, but the clever Hayley corrected it when singing the second part. Unfortunately, Hayley did not make it to the semi-finals. Jill was not convinced that Hayley's beautiful singing voice was gifted, and often asked for the opinions of others. A big problem with Hayley's performances is that she performs so perfectly that judges may not realize how hard she tries, but Hayley learns how to please the audience. After each game, there will be a post-match review at home. After two years of competing, Hayley finally won the competition at Northlands Mall with her performance of Mists of Islay.
录制《Walking in the Air》
At the age of 12, Hayley went to a professional recording studio to record Walking in the Air. It is a souvenir record distributed to family and friends. Only 1,000 copies were made at the time (now a priceless collection in the minds of Hayley fans).
Street singing
After recording the record, Hayley went to the streets of Christchurch with her sister to sing. Hayley was still attending intermediate school when he first sold songs on the street. She sang at the Christchurch Arts Centre, but because she didn't have the money to buy lunch, she went out into the streets to sell songs. Since then, she and her sister have sung on the streets every weekend. Christchurch is the selling capital of New Zealand, with people from all over the world flocking every day. Selling singing is hard work, because there is no guarantee that there will be an audience, and there is no guarantee that someone will stop to watch, but Hayley performed well, causing passers-by to watch and marvel at how strong a small body can make such a strong and powerful sound. Selling vocals taught Hayley what to look out for when acting, but there was one thing she didn't have to learn: confidence. Many of the songs she sang were chosen by her mother, and while Jill was a little worried that people would think she was calling Hayley out to make money, she felt the most important thing was that she cheered hayley up on the spot. If Hayley had never been on the streets to sell singing, Hayley would not be the Hayley he is today.
Walking in the Air is a global follow-up
Hayley had sent Walking in the Air to different record labels, but there was no response. But Gray Bartlett MBE, who has listened to Hayley's records, thinks Hayley's talent is rare in a decade. He called Mike Valintine, a reporter at 60 Minutes, and told him to listen to Walking in the Air, and Valintine agreed to do an interview for Hayley. The impact of this fifteen-minute interview on Hayley cannot be ignored. Bartlett arranged for Hayley to meet with Universal Records executive Grant Kearney in Sydney. Kearney says that Hayley's attempt to record will affect her studies. He also expressed appreciation for Hayley's singing voice. Universal Records also said that they liked Hayley's singing. One of the plans was to make a basic record with Walking in the Air and improve the sound quality, but because it was technically difficult to do and Fajin, a brand new record was needed. Hayley re-recorded some of the songs, as well as a Maori version of God Defend New Zealand. Hayley was relieved to have expert assistance, and the photographer said hayley was very photogenic, which made Hayley feel very happy. For the music industry, the first officially released record, of course, the name is best the same as the singer, so this record is called Hayley Westenra, and the record is also released on Mother's Day, hoping to attract the attention of mothers and children. The 60 Minutes visit aired a week after the album's launch, and people rushed to buy Hayley's album, which had sold forty-five thousand copies in the first two weeks. Another one was released.
Despite Hayley's success in New Zealand, her international fame began after she signed to Decca Records (a subsidiary of Universal Records) and released Pure, a record that fuses classical, light pop and traditional Maori genres.
Shortly after the release of Hayley Westenra's first album, the 16-year-old New Zealand girl from Christchurch has made history in the music industry. In its first week of release alone, Pure sold 19,068 copies, soaring to the top of the British Classical Music Chart, making it the fastest-selling debut album in the history of the British Classical Music Chart. And entered the eighth place on the British pop music chart. To date, Pure has sold 20 million copies. In Hayley's hometown of New Zealand, Pure has been awarded the 10 Platinum Honor, making Hayley the best-selling singer of any music genre in the country's history.
After the release of Pure, Hayley and her family moved to London, England. For most of 2006, Hayley toured her record promotions. Her parents later returned to their hometown of Christchurch. Hayley returns to her hometown as much as possible whenever she has free time.
Performing for dignitaries
Hayley once performed at a concert for Prime Minister Blair, President Bush and the Queen of the United Kingdom. Later, when asked about her most impressive performance experience, she always said "BBQ" to people, and everyone was stunned to understand that BBQ is the world leader of the world, US President Bush, British Prime Minister Blair and Queen Of England.
Disney theme song
Hayley recorded the theme song for the Disney movie Mulan 2.
Her first screen appearance was as a bar singer in the 46th episode of the NBC drama American Dreams. In the play, Hayley plays the guitar and sings "Who Painted the Moon Black?".
Great Performances, a PBS show, also featured a special of hers. The title of this special is "Hayley Ixtra: New Zealand Live" (Hayley's first solo singing: New Zealand concert).
Winner of the 2004 Vodafone Cup New Zealand Music Awards for "New Zealand's Best Selling Record" and "International Achievement Award".
She has also won two Japanese Grammy Awards (Single of the Year "Amazing Grace" and Album of the Year "Pure").
Also in 2004, she embarked on her world tour of New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom. When she performed at the Sydney Opera House, the audience was full and the scene was extremely rare.
Hayley was invited to perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on her final tour of 2004, and Hayley successfully concluded her 2004 tour on the East Coast of the United States with a Christmas show.
In 2005, Hayley recorded the song "Bridal Ballad" for the film Merchant of Venice.
In the same year, Hayley released a new album, Odyssey (Fantasy Adventure), alluding to her musical path to success. The album blends genres such as classical, pop, Celtic tradition and new century. Hayley herself rewrote and arranged several of the songs, and released the American version on October 18. The most recent version was the British version, released on April 10, 2006, which added several new songs that were not in the original version.
On December 18, 2005, Hayley appeared on NBC's Kurt Browning skating show with Andrea Bocelli.
In 2006, Hayley sang the song "Listen to the Wind" on the soundtrack to the movie "The New World."
She spent much of her time in 2006 on a world tour with the pop opera quartet Il Divo.
In March, she also had some of her own special performances in the United States. The tour was scheduled to end in June, but it was delayed by 6 days, so Hayley lost a chance to return to her hometown of New Zealand. She is scheduling several concerts in the UK and Germany before the summer ends.
In August 2006, Hayley joined the Irish folk bel canto group Celtic Woman and appeared on their second major DVD/CD album, Celtic Woman - A New Journey: Live at Slane Castle.
On 5 September, Hayley was named one of junior Chamber International magazine's "Top 10 Young People in the World 2006", becoming the first person in New Zealand to receive the award.
On October 27, Hayley and British tenor Alfie Boe held a concert at Canterbury Cathedral, a medieval religious shrine in Britain.
On 13 November, Hayley represented New Zealand at the World War II commemoration in London, England, where three of her uncles and grandfathers served on behalf of the Commonwealth, one of whom died. During Christmas of the same year, Hayley shared the stage with cardiff Howell's Junior School Youth and Children's Choir at the City's Wales Millennium Centre in the UNITED Kingdom, a Christmas carol that was broadcast live at ITV.
In March 2007, Hayley released a new album "Celtic Treasure" in the United States, which was sung in New York.
On May 6, Hayley sang the hymn "Abide With Me" at Crystal Cathedral in the United States. In July, she co-recorded a 50th anniversary remake of Leonard Bernstein's magnum opus, the great Musical West End Story, which was nominated for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
At the end of the year, Hayley successfully held the "Baby" series of concerts in Fukuoka, Sapporo, Tokyo, Sendai, Nagoya, Yokohama, Hiroshima, Osaka and other cities in Japan.
In 2007, he released his solo album "Treasure".
In June 2008, Hayley released a new Asian album, Hayley sings Japanese Songs, in Japan.
In October, Hayley released a selection album, River of Dreams, in the UK and New Zealand.
In November, Hayley sang "River of Dreams" at the Royal Albert Hall concert on royal army remembrance days and sang "Today Won't Come Again" with British tenor Jonathan Ansell.
In November, Hayley sang as the world-famous soprano at Trafalgar Square in the United Kingdom on Armistice Day to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Royal Army.
In March 2009, Hayley released another Asian album, Hayley Sings Japanese Songs 2, in Japan.
Hayley gave a concert at scotland's Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on May 23.
On July 16, Hailey sang for the opening of the "Kaohsiung World Games" in Taiwan, she sang the classic song Amazing Grace in English, we Are The Champions with the stars in English, The Prayer in Italian, Pokarekare Ana in New Zealand Maori, Nada Sousou in Japanese, and the Moon Represents My Heart with Chinese. Some 45,000 spectators were stirred by her beautiful singing voice.
On October 3rd, Hayley sang Ave Maria (Wan Fu Maria), A Thousand Winds(into a Thousand Winds), Danny Boy (Danny Boy), Hana, Hine E Hine (Girl, Girl) at the Taiwan Theater Theater... and again sang The Moon Represents My Heart, Tears, Pok arekare Ana, The Prayer.
In October, Hayley also held concerts in Tokyo, Kobe, Nagoya, Saitama, and Yokohama.
During the Christmas festival in 2009, Hayley successfully held a Winter Magic concert in the UK.
From 7 July to 2 August 2010, Hayley participated in the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain as a charity ambassador for the Royal Army.
On October 27 and November 1, Hailey held concerts in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Taipei, Taiwan, with nearly 15,000 spectators participating in the Kaohsiung concert alone. Hayley arranged the trip to the Orient from a busy schedule in London, England, and Italy.
On October 30th, Hayley successfully held a concert at the Shanghai Grand Theatre, she sang Hayley's trademark hymn Amazing Grace, Prayer, Scarborough Fair and other classic songs, and when she sang the traditional Chinese folk song Moon Represents My Heart for the second time with standard Chinese, the audience stood up and applauded.
During the 2010 Christmas season, Hayley also held Christmas wishes tours in Manchester Bridgewater Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Birmingham Sun, London – Barbican.
In 2010, Hayley collaborated on a new international album with the world-famous composer Ennio Moricone in Rome, Italy. Enno Moricone not only composed new songs and his famous works for this album, but also arranged for his orchestra in Rome to score the album, and he highly praised Hayley as a rare talent in the world music scene today, and greatly appreciated her singing talent and language talent.
On 23 October 2011, he sang the national anthem "God Defend New Zealand" for New Zealand at the final of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in Auckland, New Zealand.
In April 2012, Hayley, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and many world-class artists were invited to perform at the 2nd Beijing International Film Season Film Concert and Closing Concert.
On 27 May 2012, Hayley celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II's enthronement at [[Guernsey]] and the National Symphony Orchestra and local artists.