On the release of her third album, Serenade, Katherine Jenkins talks about crossing over and working with Bryan Adams and Kiri Te Kanawa.
Last updated: 28 January 2009
Where are you at the moment Katherine?
I've just come from visiting my old school in Neath actually, which was really good. I talked to the kids and I gave a short performance.
Do you think that school kids might be interested in classical music from people such as you who have crossed over so successfully into the popular music world? You're a celebrity - and we know much of a celebrity culture we have now.
I've never thought about it like that! Maybe yes - it's true that these days kids just want to be famous, without necessarily being famous for achieving something as such.
I think it's important that children get exposed to different kinds of music, so maybe being well known outside the classical world will have an effect in exposing them to stuff they wouldn't normally listen to.
Has your crossover success taken you by surprise?
I can't believe how lucky I've been so far. The response from the public has been amazing and I know how lucky I am. I never thought it would get this big...
But you do a style of classical music that lends itself to that kind of crossover success, and you definitely straddle the worlds of pop and classical on this album. For instance, you worked with Kiri Te Kanawa and Bryan Adams on Serenade.
That was amazing! Kiri Te Kanawa is one of my all time heroes and it was such a thrill working with her. She's such a huge figure in the world of classical music and The Flower Duet is a song I'm very proud of.
When Everything I Do... by Bryan Adams came out, I was a teenager and I loved that film. I didn't tell Bryan when I was working on Quello Che Faró [an Italian-language version of Everything I Do..., featuring Bryan Adams on guitar], I didn't tell him how much of a fan of his I am. To be able to work with him was just amazing.
Do you have any expectations for this album?
No, no I don't. I never have any projections for sales and I wouldn't be disappointed if one of my records didn't sell as many as another. I obviously would like it to do well, but I'm just so happy to be doing this job.
I'll be doing some more work at Wales rugby games, and I love doing that, and there are things like visiting my school today that are great to do.
Words: James McLaren
