Enya

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Enya : biography

17 May 1961 –

1992–99: The Celts, The Memory of Trees, and Paint the Sky with Stars

In 1992, a re-mastered version of the Enya album was released as The Celts including a longer, modified version of "Portrait", which was renamed "Portrait (Out of the Blue)".

Four years after Shepherd Moons she released The Memory of Trees (1995), another Top Five success in both the UK and Germany, as well as her first Top 10 album in the U.S. Singles released from the album were "Anywhere Is" and "On My Way Home".

In 1997, Enya released her greatest hits collection, Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya, again a top five smash in the UK and Germany, which featured two new songs: "Paint the Sky with Stars" and "Only If…"; "Only If…" later became a single. ("Only If You Want To", is an early version of "Only If…". It appears on a promotional Japanese CD called The Best of Enya, and does not include the French lyrics.) She was offered the chance to compose the score for James Cameron’s 1997 feature film Titanic, but she declined. A 1989 recording of Enya singing "Oíche Chiúin", an Irish language version of "Silent Night", has been reissued at least twice: on The Christmas EP (which otherwise contains several non-holiday related previously issued recordings by Enya) and the 1997 edition of the charity album A Very Special Christmas.

Ansett Australia extensively used "Storms in Africa" for promotional purposes when the airline re-branded itself in the 1990s. The 1992 film Sleepwalkers features "Boadicea" as the film’s signature tune. "Boadicea" has also been sampled into the popular Fugees song "Ready or Not".

2000–04: A Day Without Rain

Following a five-year break Enya released the album A Day Without Rain in 2000, featuring 37 minutes of new material (34 minutes on the U.S. version). The album is Enya’s most successful to date, peaking at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The first single, "Only Time", was used in the film Sweet November and received U.S. radio airplay in late 2000. In May 2001, NBC began using "Only Time" to accompany commercials for their television series Friends, which helped the song top the Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts.

After the 11 September 2001 attacks "Only Time" was used as a soundtrack in many radio and television reports about the attacks. Enya released a special edition of the song, and a maxi single was issued on 20 November 2001 featuring a pop mix, with proceeds donated to the families of victims. "Only Time" peaked at number 10 on the U.S. Hot 100, number 12 on the Pop Chart and hit number one on the Adult Contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary charts. In Germany, "Only Time" re-entered the German single charts at number 1 and the album A Day Without Rain reached number one some weeks later. Enya won an Echo Award for best selling international single in Germany of 2001, and received a nomination for best selling album.

In 2001, Enya recorded "May It Be", which was featured in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, earning her an Academy award nomination for Best Original Song, but lost to Randy Newman. It was her second consecutive single to enter the German charts at number one. The video features scenes from the Peter Jackson film.VH1.com –

A new song called "Sumiregusa" ("Wild Violet") was based on a Japanese poem by Roma Ryan. In September 2004, the song was used in Japan as part of an advertising campaign for Panasonic. Warner Music Japan stated that Enya’s next album was scheduled for release in Japan in mid-November. Enya issued a press release on her official Web site on 19 September stating that this was a mistake and no new album was immediately forthcoming.