Faryl Smith 'Faryl' album

Faryl's Smith's stunning debut release Faryl has made record-breaking history in the UK, becoming the fastest-selling solo classical debut ever, breaking previous records held by Charlotte Church. The "Britain's Got Talent" star has signed the biggest record deal ever awarded to a young classical artist, by the biggest classical music label in the world, Decca/Universal Music. The Sunday Times in London said Faryl "...sings like an angel, sells like Luciano Pavarotti." The CD is slated for release on May 5th in the U.S. on Decca.

Faryl - released on March 9th in England -quickly achieved gold status, and surpassed the likes of U2, Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson on the charts. Her rising star recently reached new heights after she performed in front of 82,000 people at the Six Nations Rugby Match, where England surprisingly reigned victorious over France, resulting in Faryl being dubbed England's "lucky mascot."

She first rose to prominence when she appeared almost a year ago on Britain's smash UK TV talent show, "Britain's Got Talent," dazzling audiences with her incredible talent praised by the world-famous Simon Cowell "This has been amazing... I can't believe everything that's happening and I'm still only 13,"the young singer declared. Faryl continues, "Every singer dreams of recording their own album, but to have this chance at my age was amazing."

Faryl consists of an eclectic mix of 12 stunning tracks ranging from such signature classics as Amazing Grace to the lesser known Welsh hymn Calon Lan , taught lovingly to Faryl over the phone by her Grandfather. The album features Faryl's signature song Ave Maria - gaining standing ovations whenever she performs it. River of Light is based on The Blue Danube by John Strauss - one of the most popular tunes of all time, set to lyrics for the first time. Another gem is The Way Old Friends Do written by Abba's Bjon Ulvaeus, taken from their 1980 classic Super Trouper album. Bjorn personally changed the lyrics to suit the young star. Adding a new dimension to the album is Annie's Song - Faryl's rendition of US country star John Denver's smash. The haunting ballad highlights Faryl's varied vocal range and diversity. In a nutshell, Faryl sings with precision, emotion and power.

Faryl Smith biography
“When people come up to me and say ‘oh, your singing made me cry’, it’s nice to realize that you’re making other people happy. But I don’t know how I do it, I just sing.” -Faryl Smith, December 2008

One minute, Faryl Smith was an ordinary schoolgirl with a talent, the next she was being told in front of a national television audience, “You are literally one in a million” and “super-talented”.

This is how 13-year-old singing sensation Faryl Smith sang her way to the final of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent and into Britain’s front rooms. It was an endorsement worth its weight in platinum with Faryl now about to sign the largest record deal ever awarded to schoolgirl.

2008 has been a year to remember for Faryl, but it is set to be the first of many. Talent show fame came with a spot on the Britain’s Got Talent Tour, but where most will fade away after that initial burst, it was always clear that Faryl was destined for something special.

She is still an ordinary schoolgirl from Northamptonshire who plays right-back for her county championship winning football team, now she will have to find some extra time for superstardom.

No one really thinks it will be a problem. Besides the emotional power of her voice, what impressed judges and audiences most about Faryl is her amazing composure and maturity. If she felt nervous walking out to sing in front of the TV cameras, you would never have known it.

“I’m nervous before I go on,” she admits, “but once I get on stage and start singing, I’m fine. I try not to look at the audience because it would probably put me off – I just look at a spot on the wall or something.”

Despite her youth, Faryl had already been through several tests of her nerve and ability before she faced the bright lights of Britain’s Got Talent. When she was 10, she won three awards at the Eisteddfodd in her home-town of Kettering, Northants, then took first prize in the 10-15 age group at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfodd. In November 2007, she reached the final of the Festival 4 Stars in Glasgow.

“We just enter these things and see what happens,” she shrugs, laughing. “Everything I do is just gaining experience.”

That chimes perfectly with advice given to Faryl by her musical heroine, Katherine Jenkins, who has been keeping a big-sisterly eye on her progress.

“Katherine has been a great inspiration, definitely,” says Faryl. “I sing some of her songs as well. She’s got the whole package. She’s got the look, she has the ability to reach out to all kinds of people, she’s got everything. I met her before I did Britain’s Got Talent, and she said ‘enter every competition you can and you’ll meet different people, it will bring your confidence out. Then something might happen from there’. Obviously it did - good advice!”

Despite her sudden fame, Faryl hasn’t felt any urge to start behaving like a prima donna.

“I don’t want to be one of those bossy superstars,” she says with impressive determination, “I’m only from a small town and I’m not going to behave like that. My friends still treat me the same. They don’t treat me like a famous person, they’re very supportive.”

She also has a family network around, ensuring Faryl can fly high whilst keeping her feet on the ground. Her parents, Linda and Tony, have carefully shepherded their daughter through her fledgling career, though they’ll be the first to admit that they’re not musical (“no way!” chuckles Faryl).

Linda is convinced that Faryl has inherited her musical genes from her great-grandmother, who “used to sing on the Welsh radio and won a lot of competitions”. Her great-grandma still has a healthy pair of lungs at the age of 95.

“My grandfather’s Welsh, so there’s Welsh blood in me,” Faryl adds, “And Harry Secombe is in our family tree. I think the musical thing just missed a couple of generations and came down to me.”

The ghostly influence of the great Sir Harry is difficult to measure, but on a more practical note, Faryl gives plenty of credit to her history of singing in choirs. As well as being a chorister in her local church choir, she’s a regular performer with Kettering’s Masquerade Youth Choir, an outfit which can boast some impressive achievements.

“The choir go to Llangollen every year, and we won it this year actually. We also got to the final of the BBC Radio 3 choir of the year. And we got through to Last Choir Standing (on BBC television), but our choir teacher thought it would demand too much time and be too pressurised for us, so he withdrew us from it."

Her choral experiences have been important in shaping her voice and her choice of repertoire. "The choir sing contemporary songs and ballads, but they're mainly classical," she explains. "My singing teacher started me off with show songs and stuff because I was at that age, then after that we moved on to classical songs. If it wasn’t for the choir I don’t think I would be singing as a soloist, because they bring you out and let you know that you have got a voice. But of course when you’re singing with the choir you’re not a soloist, you’re part of the group.”

To round out her musical knowledge, Faryl is studying the piano (time pressures forced her to give up the guitar). “I know quite a lot about music now I’m playing the piano,” she points out, “and it helps with the singing and recording. It means that if people start talking about crotchets and quavers I do have some idea what they’re talking about.”

Despite her packed schedule, which includes acting, she’s doing her best to keep turning out for her local all-girls football team, (“I’m the strong one, I barge people out of the way”).

The Beautiful Game exerts a powerful grip on the Smith household, with her brother Shea a keen fan and her dad the chairman of a local youth football club. “I’ve been brought up to support Manchester United,” she says. “I kind of have to – I’d be kicked out of the house if I supported Liverpool.”

And after all that, any spare minutes are devoted to shopping.

"Oh yeah, if I've got time I'll definitely nip into Top Shop. In fact I like any nice shop with loads of clothes in it. And I like cheap bargains as well -- Primark's quite good for that. My brother Shea is an apprentice plumber, so hopefully he'll make a lot of money and take me shopping!" With a multi-million pound recording contract soon under her belt, he won't need to!

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