Kirsty Bertarelli
Kirsty Bertarelli will be releasing her latest single ‘Send Out A Message (To The World)’ on the 20th May 2013. She collaborates with Ronan Keating and sings a beautiful song that will be sure to brighten up your day.
We talk to Kirsty about her latest single, a new album for the UK and her success in Switzerland.
So your latest single ‘Send Out A Message (To The World)’ is available from the 20th May. Could you tell me where the idea originated from to write this song?
It’s a really optimistic song. I was just having such a wonderful time in the studio, writing songs, following my passion. It’s a really feel good song, it’s about being true to yourself, following your dreams and seizing opportunities.
You collaborate with Ronan Keating in the song- Was it your idea to have him featured on the track?
Actually he came about through Don Mescall, who I was working on the album with, who produced it. It was his idea because he’s a good friend of Ronan’s, and we met and he did the video with me and we hit it off immediately, it was fantastic because he’s got such a beautiful voice.
Where did the idea for the video to ‘Send out A Message’ come from? Was this your idea?
Yeah I just wanted it to be as natural as possible because that’s how the song came about. It’s a feel good song and the way it came about was so natural. We wrote it in the morning and sang it in the afternoon. So I wanted to keep that feeling, and it was easy with Ronan as we just clicked immediately and you can see that in the video.
Where did your love of music come from? Have you always been into music from an early age?
I have! My first memory was wanting to sing from around the age of 5. I did theatre with my mum at the age of 9 or 10 and then I carried on my love of music and learned the trade of song writing in my 20’s, when I moved to London, and that’s how 'Black Coffee' came about.
You mention ‘Black Coffee’ which the UK girl group, ‘All Saints,’ had a number 1 hit with. What was the inspiration behind this song?
The inspiration actually at the time, came from my boyfriend, who is now my husband, and it’s really a love song, about meeting him and falling in love. It was wonderful that the ‘All Saints’ sang it and did such a great job with it and took it to number 1.
What artists have you aspired to be like? Either in their success or with the writing abilities.
I’m inspired by lots of people. In the early days my biggest inspiration was Bryan Adams. I listen to ‘Summer of ‘69’ about a thousand times! He’s such a story teller. I think that shows in my work quite a lot. I love Adele, her words are so potent and her voice is amazing and Norah Jones is so incredible.
You’ve been working on your album ‘Love is.’ Could you tell me what your fans should expect from this and what is the vibe you are going for?
As I progressed with the songs I decided to call it ‘Love is’ because there is so many facits of love. Love can be irresponsible, and sometimes it can be very painful, other times it can be exhilarating. There’s a song called ‘Spin My World’ and it’s also a relationship between a mother and her child and the wonderful bond you have, which is unconditional really.
You have recently supported the band Simply Red. How did you find this experience?
It was just a dream! That was with my last album which did well in Switzerland. I think the biggest dream for a song writer is to get a connection with a song to the audience and if you have a sign that is really happy and you make people smile or if it’s a really sad song and they are touched emotionally then it’s worked, that’s what really matters to me.
You moved out to Switzerland and recorded the album ‘Elusive’ in which you had a Top 20 Hit. How did this feel as you had some time off previously? Were you nervous at how fans were going to react?
Yes I was nervous, I think it’s only natural to be nervous (laughs). Music has been a constant in my life, whether I was singing songs or singing lullabies to the kids, or singing in the car having another melody. I carried on writing. I was nervous to do the first shows, but in fact it’s the most rewarding because you can really get your message across.
How do you find Switzerland fans different to the UK fans- In terms of how they react to your music or music in general?
Well they reacted so well in Switzerland to ‘Elusive.’ I was really taken aback. In fact they are still playing it on the radio now! So I’m excited to give them this new album so that they can play some more music. I’m just starting off here doing a radio promo tour later and on Monday I’m going on the ‘Lorraine Kelly Show’ with Ronan to sing live. I’m just enjoying every moment really.
You have previously said that: “It's important to a woman's self-worth and self-belief to be making some money.” Do you believe that women should be independent and make a living for themselves?
I think women should just be happy doing whatever they want to do. Whether it’s being a mum, pursuing a career, everybody’s different and everyone gets satisfaction from different things. I’m a mother and my kids are the most important thing to me.
What’s next on the agenda for you?
I’m going to sing ‘Send out A message’ on a radio station later and I’m hoping that with this gloomy weather it will put some sunshine into someone’s life (laughs). And I’ve got promo with Ronan and hopefully I’ve got a few tours lined up. So yeah, exciting stuff to come!