Post by drew on Nov 1, 2006 13:59:35 GMT
Laura bids for Xmas chart top spot
01 November 2006 | 08:25
REBECCA SHEPPARD
DIVINE VOICE: Laura Wright
A SUFFOLK schoolgirl aiming for the top-spot in the Christmas music charts has said it would be a massive accolade for her classical girl group.
Speaking to the EADT just before going on stage in Newport to support the hugely popular opera singer Katherine Jenkins, Laura Wright said she was viewing the festive number one bid as both exciting and strange.
It has been a whirlwind few months for the 16-year-old Framlingham College student since being chosen to be part of the all-female classical supergroup All Angels after a nationwide search.
And now bookies have said the quartet are the second favourite to be crowned top of the yuletide single charts with their cover of Robbie Williams' Angels.
The teenager from Framsden, near Debenham, said: “I'm really excited about it but it's surreal. It's something you watch every year to see who gets to number one and it's so weird and amazing that we are now part of that.
“We have only just started out and it's all new and crazy but that would be something massive for us. It would boost our profile and boost what we have been doing - we've all been working really hard.”
Laura, who is the current BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year, sings the lead on the album version of the track and could do so on the single as well.
While she said it would be recognisable as Angels, the group's take on the popular song is very different.
She said: “We are a classical band, or a 'classical crossover', as people keep describing us.
“Angels is not a classical song but it is in the way we sing it - we are not trying to imitate him. What it will do is show how versatile we are.”
Describing the arrangement as “really lovely”, she said the second verse sees more harmonies with the other girls in the quartet - 17-year-olds Charlotte Ritchie, Melanie Nakhla and Daisy Chute.
There are also “gorgeous” instrumental sections, featuring the flute and exotic instruments, but the meaning of the song, which was originally written for Robbie's mum, would be the same.
While she admits that the ballad may have been overplayed, she said she is a Robbie fan, adding “who isn't”.
But there is also a reason closer to home which explains why Laura enjoys singing Angels, which did not make it to number one for Robbie when he released it in 1997.
“My gran absolutely loves him,” she said. “It will make her happy.”
The charity track, which will be released on December 18, has been named the official single of the British Legion Poppy Appeal.
Bookies William Hill have given odds of 7-1 for the group to get the Christmas number one, putting them second favourites behind the yet to be decided X-Factor winner.
Sir Cliff Richard, who is releasing a cover of his classic track Move It, featuring Queen's Brian May, is also a favourite, along with Take That.
William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: “Christmas Number One is a national institution with hundreds of thousands bet annually on the winner, all of which has been changed by the X Factor, which is in danger of becoming the Scrooge of Christmas Number One betting.
“We can only hope that groups such as Take That and All Angels can break the mould.”
It will be the group's second single after their version of Fleetwood Mac's Songbird - popularised by Eva Cassidy - is put out on November 6, while their album will released on November 13.
For the pretty teen - who is now on half-term from college, where she is studying for her AS Levels - it could be the first steps in a career as a classical singer, much like Katherine Jenkins.
She said: “She's my idol. I was watching her perform only last year and now I'm here.”
William Hill Christmas Number One Betting:
(1-3) X Factor winner
(7-1) All Angels
(10-1) Take That
(12-1) Cliff Richard and Brian May
(16-1) Cliff Richard and Daniel O'Donnell
(14-1) The Puppini Sisters
Copyright © 2006 Archant Regional
01 November 2006 | 08:25
REBECCA SHEPPARD
DIVINE VOICE: Laura Wright
A SUFFOLK schoolgirl aiming for the top-spot in the Christmas music charts has said it would be a massive accolade for her classical girl group.
Speaking to the EADT just before going on stage in Newport to support the hugely popular opera singer Katherine Jenkins, Laura Wright said she was viewing the festive number one bid as both exciting and strange.
It has been a whirlwind few months for the 16-year-old Framlingham College student since being chosen to be part of the all-female classical supergroup All Angels after a nationwide search.
And now bookies have said the quartet are the second favourite to be crowned top of the yuletide single charts with their cover of Robbie Williams' Angels.
The teenager from Framsden, near Debenham, said: “I'm really excited about it but it's surreal. It's something you watch every year to see who gets to number one and it's so weird and amazing that we are now part of that.
“We have only just started out and it's all new and crazy but that would be something massive for us. It would boost our profile and boost what we have been doing - we've all been working really hard.”
Laura, who is the current BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year, sings the lead on the album version of the track and could do so on the single as well.
While she said it would be recognisable as Angels, the group's take on the popular song is very different.
She said: “We are a classical band, or a 'classical crossover', as people keep describing us.
“Angels is not a classical song but it is in the way we sing it - we are not trying to imitate him. What it will do is show how versatile we are.”
Describing the arrangement as “really lovely”, she said the second verse sees more harmonies with the other girls in the quartet - 17-year-olds Charlotte Ritchie, Melanie Nakhla and Daisy Chute.
There are also “gorgeous” instrumental sections, featuring the flute and exotic instruments, but the meaning of the song, which was originally written for Robbie's mum, would be the same.
While she admits that the ballad may have been overplayed, she said she is a Robbie fan, adding “who isn't”.
But there is also a reason closer to home which explains why Laura enjoys singing Angels, which did not make it to number one for Robbie when he released it in 1997.
“My gran absolutely loves him,” she said. “It will make her happy.”
The charity track, which will be released on December 18, has been named the official single of the British Legion Poppy Appeal.
Bookies William Hill have given odds of 7-1 for the group to get the Christmas number one, putting them second favourites behind the yet to be decided X-Factor winner.
Sir Cliff Richard, who is releasing a cover of his classic track Move It, featuring Queen's Brian May, is also a favourite, along with Take That.
William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: “Christmas Number One is a national institution with hundreds of thousands bet annually on the winner, all of which has been changed by the X Factor, which is in danger of becoming the Scrooge of Christmas Number One betting.
“We can only hope that groups such as Take That and All Angels can break the mould.”
It will be the group's second single after their version of Fleetwood Mac's Songbird - popularised by Eva Cassidy - is put out on November 6, while their album will released on November 13.
For the pretty teen - who is now on half-term from college, where she is studying for her AS Levels - it could be the first steps in a career as a classical singer, much like Katherine Jenkins.
She said: “She's my idol. I was watching her perform only last year and now I'm here.”
William Hill Christmas Number One Betting:
(1-3) X Factor winner
(7-1) All Angels
(10-1) Take That
(12-1) Cliff Richard and Brian May
(16-1) Cliff Richard and Daniel O'Donnell
(14-1) The Puppini Sisters
Copyright © 2006 Archant Regional