UNITED KINGDOM: 13-year-old Faryl Smith makes music history with a record breaking studio deal

Record ID: 385083

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: 13-year-old Faryl Smith makes music history with a record breaking studio deal
  • Date: 17th April 2009
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (APRIL 15, 2009) (REUTERS) PAN DOWN UNIVERSAL OFFICES IN LONDON UNIVERSAL SIGN
  • Embargoed: 2nd May 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVAC8UJXUOTHMW5ALKUQUYU5E92A
  • Story Text: While recently unknown Scottish charity worker, Susan Boyle, has been launched as an instant global sensation since her performance on 'Britain's Got Talent', another performer, discovered by that same competition last year, is showing the world just how far an artist can come from that first big break.
    At the age of 13, Faryl Smith is already making music history.
    A 2.3 million pound (3.4 million US dollars) deal with Universal Classics and Jazz broke records when it became the biggest music contract for an artist of her age. She set another record by becoming the first classical artist to go gold within a week of releasing her debut album, the self titled 'Faryl'.
    Last month Faryl sang the national anthem to a crowd of more than 80,000 fans at the Six Nations Rugby tournament between England and France at Twickenham Stadium.
    And next month, in May, she will be the youngest ever solo artist to sing at the Classical Brit Awards at London's Royal Albert Hall.
    It would be a busy year for a seasoned professional, let alone a 13-year-old shoolgirl from Kettering, Northamptonshire.
    And it almost didn't happen.
    A far cry from the pushy 'showbiz parents,' known to pressure child stars, Faryl's mother and father were reticent to let her perform on the television show where her voice was discovered as "literally one in a million".

    "I never thought that I'd be where I am now. My mum and dad were very scared about me even going into 'Britain's Got Talent' because I'm only 13 and I said: 'Oh no it'll be fine, like, I won't get anywhere I just want to go for, like, a bit a experience and because I enjoy singing' and then I got into the final. So it was quite a whirlwind, the show, but it was an exciting one," the young talent from said.
    The next step in her skyrocketing career will take Faryl to the United States where she will showcase her singing in New York and Los Angeles.

    "It is very exciting because, I mean, doing everything here in the UK is exciting for me, but to even think about going to America and places like New York and LA, I'm really really looking forward to it and my family are coming with me as well," she told Reuters Television.
    But, with the help of her parents, the young student is taking it in her stride.

    "I think my mum always makes sure I keep my feet on the ground so it's okay but meeting people and seeing things and singing in such big places I never thought I'd be able to sing in is a very big thing for me at 13 but we we always just try keep your feet on the ground and take each day as it comes, really," she explained.
    Soon to resume her studies at school, Faryl said she she tries to keep a low profile amongst her friends and fellow students.
    After recently finding herself the subject of so much media attention, the young singer said it's a relief to not have to talk about herself so much when she returns to more normal surrounds.

    "When I go home I try just not to talk to talk about it because they (her friends) know that I've been talking about it here so they don't really-- they know not to ask questions," she laughed.
    The debut album, 'Faryl,' will be released in the U.S. on May 5.
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