Seven Castles

Declan Galbraith

                                      

May 25, 2008

 

Declan Galbraith (born on December 19, 1991) is an English singer of Scottish and Irish origin. He and his family live in Hoo, a village near Rochester, Kent. The presence for his unique style and distinctive voice can be traced back to his early childhood. His grandfather who was in a band playing several instruments took him to concerts and the explosive mix of Scottish and Irish musical traditions inspired him and became his early musical influence. He would sit for hours just watching and listening. He claims he can remember singing at two years old. It was not long before his family and friends realized he had a very special gift.

 

His first publicly acknowledged performance was at the age of seven when he insisted on performing at the annual Rochester Dickens Festival where people would dress up as Victorians to celebrate the life of Charles Dickens and his links with the town of Rochester. It was reported that when he started singing, "the crowd went wild." It was soon after this when he started entering local talent shows and within a year he had won 15 competitions and more than £1000.

 

As a result of these talent show wins, major recording companies soon noticed his talent for singing and his first recording contract was signed very soon. His first recording was a version of "Walking in the Air", released on a special Christmas Hits album also featuring Westlife, Elton John and Elvis Presley among many others.

 

His first album entitled "Declan" was released in September 2002 under record giants EMI. It comprised mainly of Irish traditional songs but also contained some specially written materials. The album became a big success and charted in the U.K. and Ireland. Another big success came during a nationwide tour of Young Voices concerts when breaking the Guinness World Record. It was at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast in December 2002 when he sang "Tell Me Why" live with some 10,000 children and was also simultaneously linked, by radio and satellite, with more than 80,000 children in their schools all over the UK, who accompanied him in achieving the world's largest choral sing.

 

In March 2003 he won "Best Young International Performer" at the "Twenty-Fourth Annual Young Artist Awards".

 

He appeared at the Queen's Jubilee at St Paul's Cathedral, where he sang "Amazing Grace" accompanied by the St Paul’s choir, and at an Elton John concert where at least 22,000 listeners were present.

 

Two appearances on German TV led German media giant Pro7/Sat1 Media to bring him to its new record label Starwatch, distributed by Warner Bros. Records. In cooperation with producer Ully Jonas, the resulting album, entitled "Thank You", was released in December 2006 and contained many of his personal favorite songs including "An Angel" which was a huge hit in Germany; originally sung by the Kelly Family. "Thank You" was ranked No.5 on the German Top 40 in 2006 and the album reached gold in April 2007. His single "Love of My Life" was released last year. My favorite is "Imagine", originally sung by The Beatles.

 

He recently starting learning to play the piano and guitar and has also starting writing his own songs.

 

He is known for the control and range of his voice, as well as his ability to interpret and adapt material of differing genres. He has been hailed as a "once in a lifetime" phenomenal talent and a rising media star.

 

Last October he held a news conference in Beijing to promote his concert tour in China. Sound of Angel - Declan Galbraith Beijing Concert 2008 was staged at Beijing Exhibition Theater last night. However, it is not certain if his Shanghai concert on May 30 at Shanghai Grand Theater (Shanghai Gymnasium) will be canceled. 

【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2008年05月25日 星期日 05:16】【注册】【打印】