On the morning of the release day for her new single 'Break It To My Heart', Katherine Jenkins took the time to talk to us about the song.
This is the first of a two-part interview with the classic/crossover star (read part two right here), and sees Katherine discussing her time on Pop Star To Opera Star and Daydream, her 8th studio album.
-The new single comes out today. Do you still get a buzz around the releases after all this time?
Oh my gosh, in just the same way! I get so nervous. It's been quite daunting, actually, this week. The album came out last Monday, and so all week I've been waiting for the chart position.
It almost feels worse than the first time round, you know? You just want people to like it - you put yourself out there when you make an album.
It's also been two years, which is the longest time I've gone without making an album. I think the break's done me good, but it's also made this important for me.
-How's the reception been to it so far?
It's been fantastic, I couldn't have asked for better. It's gone into the pop charts at Number 6, which I'm really happy about. People like Jason Derulo had albums out, and it still went above that. It's amazing that people are buying classical albums, and they compete with big pop records with that.
-What do you think the reason is behind that, the appeal of it?
I feel like the attitude towards classical music has changed. Six or seven years ago there was a large element of snobbery attached to it, people were intimidated by it.
A lot of that change is down to the artists, the younger, more approachable artists. You even get people now coming on things like X Factor or Britain's Got Talent, who want to sing classical stuff, and then programmes like Pop Star To Opera Star.
It's breaking down those barriers, and making people feel like...actually, I do like this music, I don't need to feel like it's something that's not for me,
-You mentioned Pop Star To Opera Star, which you've been heavily involved in. How was that?
I love doing the show, because I used to be a teacher before I got my record contract. To have something where I can use that again has been brilliant, because I always said I'd like to go back and teach again.
Everyone thinks 'Oh, with your life now, why would you want to go back and do that", but I really do want to go back and do that. So, it was the perfect thing for me, to be able to pass on what I've learnt.
There's people like Joe McElderry who has a natural voice anyway, and they all worked really hard.
-What is it, do you think, that makes a great pop/classical crossover act?
The way I see a good crossover artists is somebody who's trained and has the background in the core classical stuff.
In my case, I went to the Royal Academy, and I always thought I'd go down the straight classical route.
It's also somebody who's not afraid to step away from that a little bit, and is interested in that kind of music, but also incorporate a pop approach. It's about not thinking that this has to be an elitist art-form, and wanting to share it with more people.
-Obviously your own catalogue is quite varied, with songs like Queen's 'Who Wants To Live Forever'. Do you enjoy putting that kind of spin on relatively more contemporary tracks?
Yeah I do, I think that's it's always good to keep people guessing about what you'll do next. I never in a million years thought I would cover Queen, or Bob Marley, but there's things you try and experiment.
I think it's just something I started doing almost to reach out to a younger audience. Trying to pick songs people already knew and felt comfortable with, then challenging them to hear it in a more classical way.
-With the selection of the songs, is it completely your decision?
Yeah. I feel really strongly that these are songs I have to sing again and again. If you don't love it to begin with, you're not going to love it in a hundred performance's time, you know? When I first hear it, if it doesn't move me, then it's not important enough for me to want to sing it.
-You mentioned this has been your biggest gap between albums. How has the whole recording process changed, for you, over the years?
With whatever you're in, the more you do, the more you develop a style and routine. Because this is my 8th album, and I recorded it with two producers I'd worked with before, I felt like we knew each other really well.
I did do it over quite a long time this time. I love going into the studio, because I feel - as a perfectionist - it's the only opportunity I get to really make sure it's as I wanted.
The rest of the things I do, I'm often so frantic and crazy that I'll always try to do my best, but sometimes you don't get the chance to shut yourself off and make this the best you can do.
The recording stage can go on forever. I always have to know that I left it at the best I could've done.
-Can you see a similar gap between this and the next record?
Yeah, I think I will take the same amount of time. The reason I left the gap between this one and the last one was because Believe was the first album to have the international success that it did.
So, that meant I spent 18 months firstly going to new countries releasing and promoting the album, and then returning to tour the album. So, probably I will do the same, yeah.
Check back tomorrow morning for the second part of our interview with Katherine Jenkins.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
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