Never-Ending Story of Love

Those of you who are still here after myspacious soap operetta - welcome back! :-)

At times, the obligation that comes with being a myspace member (logging in regularly, checking messages, maintaining the homepage, etc.) can be a bit of a drag for some. But on the other hand, it can really turn into a wonderful tool if you use it the right away. Every now and then, you come across people, and particularly musicians, that you've been hearing of for ages but never actually met them (and in this case, I'm not talking about the celebrity spaces run by their loyal fans - we're on to the real deal here!)

In my case, yesterday I connected with a musician, singer/songwriter whose self-written song became the very first professional recording I made when I started making my initial steps in the recording world upon moving to London.

Her name is Kit Hain. Kit was the vocal half of the famous duo Marshall Hain whose "Dancing In The City" was a European top 3 smash, and mind you, she's written songs for Cher, Cyndi Lauper, Fleetwood Mac, Heart, Peter Cetera & Chaka Khan, to name but a few.

So when my producer, Chris Neil, initially played me Kit's newly crafted "Never-Ending Story of Love", I fell in love with it right away, and although Chris had in on hold for Celine Dion, I talked him into letting me do a version regardless. You can imagine my excitement when he told me that he was thinking of recording it with Celine - I was all the more ecstatic! :-) But I was 17 years old, you see....

Just a bit of history here (can't be as painful as soap operas, right?)

When I was 16 years old, I was introduced to Christopher Neil, the producer of Rod Stewart, Mike & the Mechanics, Cher, Sheena Easton and Celine Dion, among many, many others that I loved and admired as a little girl. You can just about picture me all thrilled and excited about meeting Chris Neil (I used to love his backing vocals on Celine's "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" - apart from being quite an amazing producer and songwriter, Chris started actually started out as a singer - the first Jesus Christ Superstar in the West End, in fact, no kidding!) when ITV's London Tonight informed us that they'd be interviewing him about my music for a special segment about a Russian girl (funny how at the time being Georgian was too confusing to explain to an average viewer) coming to London to make it in the showbiz across Europe. (For those of you who are interested, the video of the TV piece is actually on youtube accessible through myspace.)

To make a long story short, Chris invited us and the television crew to Metropolis Studios in West London, where at the time, he was mixing Rod Stewart's ninth studio album, "Human". I was not only blown away by meeting a hero of mine, but the recording studio made such a huge impact on my 16-year-old psyche, I made a promise to myself that one day I'd recorded in that very room, Studio D, with none other than the same record producer. Quite pretentious of me, really, and ambitious too. Oh, teenage madness!

I won't be exaggerating if I say that it took me literally 18 months to get back in touch with Chris Neil personally and to finally work with him. Guess where? In the same studio, the same control room, with the same engineer, Simon Hurrell, who recorded Celine's first few albums done by Chris ("Unison", "The Colour of My Love", to be precise.) Could I be more ecstatic?

Our first attempt was, in fact, this very same song, "Never-Ending Story of Love"... As I'm writing this blog, I happen to be listening to the demo on my laptop at the same time... So many memories, and it seems like a million years ago, honestly. The recording session coincided with my falling in love for the very first time, therefore, the experience and the outcome meant SO much more to me... teenage follies, first time in love, etc. Don't laugh, it's not supposed to be cheesy!

So when I eventually connected with Kit through myspace last night for the very first time, it brought so many more memories back, it's quite incredible, and she asked me to send her an mp3 of the track - my very studio recording in the west with a world class record producer... How much more significant does it get for an artist? I'm a bit nervous about Kit hearing this demo - I was, after all, 17 years old, brand new to the whole process, really.

And yet, I can remember this session in such great detail - every take, every break in-between the takes... I could not believe it was really happening to me. And little did I know at the time that it was only the very beginning of a rather adventurous journey.........

Soviet Idol Not Allowed!

A lot of my friends have been asking me both jokingly and seriously over and over again: "Why aren't you on American Idol?" Well, I have never tried it on this side of the ocean, but I did audition for the original Pop Idol show in the UK a few years ago... Without even knowing what Pop Idol was all about!

In autumn of 2002, as an aspiring 17-year-old singer, I finally decided to make the big move to the UK and really focus on my music career. With nothing to my name but "a voice", I embarked on a journey that would take me to some of the most exciting, thrilling, even somewhat scary places...

On my way to Sheremetyevo International Airport of Moscow, I got an email from DJ Neil "Doctor" Fox, a dear friend, great champion, adviser (you name it!) suggesting that since I was going to be in London anyway, I should pop over to the final off camera audition for an upcoming ITV show called "Pop Idol" - a new television contest that was about to hit primetime TV in the UK for the first time.

I had no idea what the show was all about, so I called Chris Neil, someone I have immense admiration for and really looked up to from day one (he later became my executive producer.) "Just do it, you never know, you have nothing to lose!" he encouraged me during the long-distance call.

As soon as I got off the plane, I literally rushed over to the ITV studios with my dad and a family friend of ours. I barely made it in time for the last call of auditions - and had to talk my way through the security, as I was already too late by then.

It was nothing like what we see on television - completely off camera, intimate, equally stressful but still somewhat relaxed... We made sure that by the time I showed up at the audition, Foxy was no longer there, so it wouldn't look like a set up or a name-dropping contest.

And there they were: Nicki Chapman from 19 management, Pete Waterman, the producer of Kylie Minogue, among others, and THE Simon Cowell from BMG. I have to admit, at the time, nobody outside of the tight circle of the music business in the UK knew anything about Simon, so to me, he was a complete stranger!

The three potential contestants lined up, I was the last one... Two other girls were sent home within minutes... I got a bit scared, I thought: "That's it, bye-bye, Tinatin!"

By the time it was my turn, I stood center stage in the spotlight and started chatting to the judges, the most charming of whom was Simon, in all honesty. I sang "The Power of Love" and I was amazed when they didn't stop me even when I got through the second verse!

The most critical of the three was definitely Nicki - she said I looked somewhat tired, so in response, I started recounting my flight details, but Simon quickly cut us off: "Come on, Nicki! She has a great voice. You're really good. Tell me more about yourself..."

I must have spent at least half-hour, if not more, just talking about music, who I was planning to work with in London, etc. and Simon and I really clicked. The best part of it was that because at the time Pop Idol was still completely unknown as a project, and so was Simon Cowell to the general public, I didn't feel the need to "please" him or gain his approval - I could be myself and let the rest take care of itself.

It was unanimously decided that I would enter the final selection of contestants before the TV show kicked off (at the time, it was done mostly off camera) - but then Simon verified my citizenship... Oops! "You have to be British in order to qualify, I think, but let me check..." So they looked into the rules and regulations and the contract confirmed his hears - no Soviet idols (nor any other nationality) allowed, gotta be a Brit :-(

I was slightly disappointed, especially because I had no clue about the show and who would have known back then that it was going to take over primetime TV!

Instead of worrying about the legalities, Simon immediately suggested that I get Chris Neil, whom he had known for years and who was also about to become my producer, to contact him and arrange an A&R meeting independently (at BMG) outside of the Pop Idol framework.

Before we knew it, Pop Idol took off within a month and Simon Cowell became the biggest TV star in England, so when the meeting was moved once again to January of the following year, Chris and I laughed and politely thanked Simon's assistant.

Although, I have to admit, Simon was the most charming, warm, gracious gentleman, so every time I see the really nasty Simon on American Idol, it makes me smile... He was far from it when I met him, and to be honest, I don't for a second believe he's changed that much - but it's a great TV personality that surely achieves its goal for what it is.

Fond memories, though, I always smile when I remember my Idol experience... Didn't regret it for a second, but on second thought, I don't think I would have signed up for it now, even though it was fun and exciting at the time - and adventurous, too!

So, my dear friends, I did American Idol before it was American Idol - in fact, before it was even on air :-) All the more to tell the grandchildren!