| Fan Reviews |
| By Kristin Taylor - 2001, Webmaster HWO ________________________________________________ Since the first time I heard Hayleys 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 Im not usually the type of person who listens to a whole CD of classical music(afterall I am a 16 year old girl) but from the moment you hear Hayleys voice its 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 dont think there needs to be any comparison. To me Hayleys voice was the best I�d ever heard and alot clearer and more perfected than Charlottes. 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. Ive 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. 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-shes the nicest, most down to earth person i�ve eva met and after spending the second half of the show in Hayleys dressing room with her and her Mum, and looking throught her photo albums, I was still even more amazed. At the end of the second half Hayley went back onstage and sang 'Time to say Goodbye'. I watched from the wings with Hayleys 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 wasnt the only talent in the family. And after attending a concert on Hayleys NZ tour I knew that Hayley would go far. Though there was alot of supporting people in the show, Hayley was the clear star. And with 11 year old Sophie and 8 year old Issac Westenra joining her for a few songs the familys talent was clear. Hayleys and Sophies duet of Pinus Angelicus was the best Ive ever heard and their voices complemented eachother so well. While there were some songs like the Ava Marias and Pie Jesu that clearly showed off Hayleys range, when Hayley began �Bright Eyes� I heard many happy murmurs from the audience-especaly from younger girls.....and the old man behind me. It was obvious from these concerts and Hayleys 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 was some old favourites like �Silent Night� and then 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 eachother so well, it leaves you wanting more. Although �My gift to you� had alot of christmas songs I knew that Id be listening to it all year round. And its not only those who like classical music that appreciate Hayleys voice. Everyone thats ever heard her voice agrees that its 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 Hayleys talent and asked me to tell her shes �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 its nice to know we can make music in other genres. I know Ive said this word many times but I feel its the best way to describe Hayley-AMAZING! And she really is a true star. There couldnt be a better person for it to happen to. I have no doubt that she can go as far as she wants to with her talent-and that she will. Afterall it would be sad to deprive the rest of the world of Hayleys talent after weve 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, thankyou on behalf of everyone for showing us what genuine talent really is. From your biggest and most devoted fan and friend, -Krissi |