In an industry that values sex, edginess and street cred, being seen as a polite good girl could be a career kiss of death. But kind-hearted soprano Hayley Westenra, who 10 years ago began her career as an innocent 14-year-old singing Pokarekare Ana, has never strived to be one of the cool kids, and her album sales have never suffered.
The angelic-voiced soprano doesn’t have a bad word to say about anyone (even Dame Kiri Te Kanawa who famously called her a “fake” singer who “won’t last” in 2008). Now 24, the Christchurch-born singer says she’s comfortable with her wholesome image, but admits she sometimes feels like a “square” when surrounded by trendy music-business types .
“I’ll never be able to compete with cool London girls who have that grungy look going on,” says Hayley, who has lived in the UK since 2007.
“But that’s all right, I’m quite happy being me. I’m a Kiwi girl at heart, that’s always going to be reflected in the way I dress.”
“I remember when I first went over to London – I felt like such a country bumpkin. Everyone was so dressed up and everything was so expensive, so oum and I would be shopping at five-pound stores,” she says with a breathy giggle.”
But don’t mistake Hayley’s niceness for naivety. There’s a savvy intelligence behind those sparkling blue eyes and Hayley has ensured her career has gone the distance while those of her contemporaries, such as British singer Charlotte Church, have floundered.
But her success hasn’t always been easy. Earlier this year Hayley revealed she entered what she called a “dark space” in 2007 where she plunged into depression and became “obsessed with food” and controlling her diet.
Although Hayley recently said that reports of her eating disorder were sensationalised and her eating habits were no different than other girls’, she admits there were times when she struggled to find her place.
“It’s easy to be influenced when you’re young, but now I’m more sure of my style and who I am,” says Hayley.
“There have been times when I’ve been pulled in different directions – I’m not classical, nor am I pop. Industry people have different opinions about where I should be heading.”
While most 24-year-olds are entering their working lives, Hayley, with a decade of work under her belt, is embarking on her 10th Anniversary Homecoming Tour of New Zealand where she’ll perform tracks from her fifth internationally released album, Paradiso. Hayley says performing in New Zealand will always hold a special place in her heart, particularly in her earthquake-damaged home town, Christchurch.
“I think it will be quite emotional performing on home soil. That’s going to be really special. I haven’t performed in the CBS Canterbury Arena, but apparently that’s the place to perform these days in terms of atmosphere,” says Hayley.
Joining Hayley on her tour is her French boyfriend of nearly three years, Arnaud Sabard, who works on her crew as a sound engineer. Hayley had a chance to show Arnaud (32) around New Zealand a few years ago when he spent Christmas in New Zealand with her family.
“We did a bit of sightseeing and he loves New Zealand. He feels at home here,” says Hayley.
Although she’s grateful for Arnaud’s support on this tour, Hayley admits she was pleased his work commitments meant he wasn’t able to come to New Zealand to watch her sing the national anthem at the Rugby World Cup final.
The New Zealand versus France match caused a bit of tension between the couple because Arnaud – a rugby fanatic – wasn’t going to let Hayley sing the praises of the All Blacks.
“I’m kind of relieved he wasn’t here, because that could have been a bit awkward,” says Hayley. “He’s a staunch France supporter and he’s stoked his team got through to the final.But I had a word with him on the phone and I thought he’d be like ‘All right, you guys deserve to win,’ but no,” she laughs.
Perhaps we have Hayley to thank for a part in the All Blacks’ victory – she’s known as the team’s lucky charm as they tend to win whenever she sings the national anthem.
“over the years I’ve had a chance to sing to them at a number of matches,” says Hayley, who admits she was more nervous about the outcome of the final than she was about singing in front of 60,000 people at Eden Park.
“Sometimes we’ll hang out after the game,” says Hayley of her All Black friends. “They’re a bunch of great guys – so down-to-earth and musical, too – Piri Weepu’s a killer guitarist,”says Hayley.
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