Katherine Jenkins

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Katherine Jenkins bigraphy, stories - Welsh classical crossover singer

Katherine Jenkins : biography

29 June 1980 –

Katherine Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh lyric mezzo-soprano. She is a popular classical-crossover singer"". Retrieved 28 October 2009."". Retrieved 28 October 2009. who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.

After winning singing competitions in her youth, Jenkins studied at the Royal Academy of Music, modelled and taught voice. She came to wide public attention in 2003 when she sang at Westminster Cathedral in honour of Pope John Paul II’s silver jubilee. Since 2004, she has released numerous albums that have performed well on British and foreign charts. In both 2005 and 2006, her albums received Classic Brit Awards as Album of the Year. She has also been seen widely in concert, including concerts for British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has sung at sporting events, on television shows and in support of many charities. In Spring 2012, she competed on the US television show Dancing with the Stars, finishing in second place, behind NFL Super Bowl champion Donald Driver.

Discography

Studio albums:

  • Premiere (2004)
  • Second Nature (2004)
  • Living a Dream (2005)
  • Serenade (2006)
  • From the Heart (2006)
  • Rejoice (2007)
  • Sacred Arias (2008)
  • Believe (2009)
  • Daydream (2011)
  • This is Christmas (2012)

Artworks

In 2010 the Wales on Sunday newspaper commissioned Welsh food artist Nathan Wyburn to create a portrait of Jenkins made from hazelnut spread. Jenkins sent a text message to Wyburn, saying "You know you’ve made it when you’ve been painted in Nutella".

Television

On 23 December 2006, Jenkins appeared on ITV’s Parkinson show, backed by the Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir and a brass band."". parkinson.tangozebra.com. Retrieved 17 October 2007.

She made a cameo appearance in two episodes of Emmerdale which saw 11.6 million viewers tune in to find out who killed popular character Tom King who was murdered on Christmas Day. She appeared in the show on 16 and 17 May 2007 which saw her opening the village pageant."". BBC News, 26 March 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2007.

In July 2007, she performed live on Saving Planet Earth on BBC 1 to raise money for the BBC Wildlife Fund."". BBC Online, 11 May 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2007.

On 12 August 2007 she appeared on ITV’s Britain’s Favourite View, nominating Three Cliffs Bay on the Gower Peninsula as Britain’s favourite view.Pettie, Andrew. "". The Daily Telegraph, 14 August 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007. She commented; "I grew up on the edge of the Gower, but it was still a holiday place for our family. We’d go on weekend breaks to Three Cliffs Bay – six miles down the road! That’s how gorgeous it is."Crump, Vincent. "". The Times, 12 August 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007.

On 21 October 2007 she sang "Time to Say Goodbye" with Andrea Bocelli on the Strictly Come Dancing results show. Jenkins and Darcey Bussell performed a segment of their show Viva la Diva before the Queen at the 79th Royal Variety Performance, televised on 9 December 2007.Leigh, Spencer. "". BBC News. Retrieved 10 December 2007. On 15 December, Jenkins performed on The X Factor final with contestant Rhydian Roberts, performing the song "You Raise Me Up"."". BBC News, 12 December 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2007. Jenkins made an appearance on Saturday Kitchen LIVE in December 2008.

Jenkins appeared in episode 3 of the fifth series of The Apprentice, performing Leonard Cohen’s "Hallelujah" as part of a private recital to winning team Ignite. The programme was aired on BBC One on 8 March 2009. 2009 saw Jenkins performing on a large number of TV shows – The Royal Variety Performance, Children In Need Rocks The Albert Hall, The Alan Titchmarsh Show, This Morning, GMTV, Something for the Weekend, The Paul O’Grady Show, presenting for the BBC the week long series The Week We Went To War, Piers Morgan’s Life Stories for ITV1, Strictly Come Dancing, The Graham Norton Show and The Andrew Marr Show.