Katherine Jenkins

Katherine Jenkins

Katherine Maria Jenkins OBE is a Welsh mezzo-soprano from Neath, Wales. She came to wide public attention in 2003 when she sang at Westminster Cathedral in honour of Pope John Paul II’s silver jubilee. Since 2004, she has released numerous albums that have performed well on British and foreign charts. Six out of seven of Jenkins’s studio albums reached number one in the UK classical charts between 2004 and 2008.

About Katherine Jenkins in brief

Summary Katherine JenkinsKatherine Maria Jenkins OBE is a Welsh mezzo-soprano from Neath, Wales. After winning singing competitions in her youth, Jenkins studied at the Royal Academy of Music, modelled and taught voice. She came to wide public attention in 2003 when she sang at Westminster Cathedral in honour of Pope John Paul II’s silver jubilee. Since 2004, she has released numerous albums that have performed well on British and foreign charts. In both 2005 and 2006, her albums received Classic Brit Awards as Album of the Year. Six out of seven of Jenkins’s studio albums reached number one in the UK classical charts between 2004 and 2008, selling a total of more than 4 million copies. She is the first female artist to win two consecutive Classical BRIT Awards. Her fourth album, Serenade, was released on 6 November 2006 and reached number five in the mainstream charts selling more than 50,000 copies in its first week. On 20 October 2008 Jenkins released Arias, which is her last album with Universal Music. She made various appearances with various musicians like Andrea Bocelli and Chris Botti and made various TV appearances. She signed the biggest classical recording deal in history, for US$10 million, with Warner Music Music. Jenkins has sung at sporting events, on television shows and in support of many charities. She has been seen widely in concert and has performed for British Armed Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jenkins’s Italian-language version of Dolly Parton’s \”I Will Always Love You\”, first performed live at Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire on 28 August 2005, was the first cut on her third album Living a Dream.

The album entered the album charts at number three, beating the Spice Girls and Girls Aloud. Jenkins commented: “I can’t thank my fans enough for all their support. It’s almost too much to take in. I can never thank them all enough for their support’” She was awarded an OBE for services to music in 2010. She was also awarded the OBE in 2012 for her contribution to the music industry and to charity work in Wales and the Republic of Ireland. She currently lives in London with her husband and their two children, a son and a daughter, and works as a freelance voice coach, a tour guide on the London Eye and as a model, she entered a modelling competition and became the Face of Wales 2000. She received A grades in her GCSEs and A Levels and participated in productions such as Calamity Jane and Guys and Dolls. She studied vocal performance with John Hugh Thomas and passed her Grade 8 examinations with distinction in both singing and piano. Between 1991 and 1996, Jenkins was a member of the Royal School of Church Music Cathedral Singers and passed the St Cecilia Award, the highest RSCM award for female choristers. Her second album, Second Nature, reached number 16 in UK Albums Chart, and was Album of The Year in the 2005 BRITs Awards.