Chloë Agnew has been along for the whole ride as Celtic Woman came out of nowhere to become one of the world's most popular musical acts.
The group will make its first appearance in central Pennsylvania Tuesday at the Giant Center, as part of a 75-city American tour to promote its fifth album, "Songs from the Heart."
Agnew was asked to join the group by composer David Downes in 2004, when she was 15. The young singer, who had already recorded two solo albums, didn't see much of a future for Celtic Woman beyond filming a PBS special in Dublin. "That was originally supposed to be just a one-night show," said Agnew, a Dublin native who is the daughter of noted Irish singer Adele "Twink" King and professional oboeist David Agnew.
"We were supposed to just invite our family and friends along, have fun and sing a few songs," she added. "Little did we know."
Fronted by five women -- four singers and a violinist -- and backed by an orchestra, Celtic Woman soon took the international music scene by storm with its combination of traditional Celtic songs and Irish-sounding rearrangements of contemporary pop hits.
One critic aptly called Celtic Woman "Riverdance for the voice."
The group's self-titled debut album spent 81 weeks at the top of Billboard's World Music Chart. The album that knocked it from its lofty perch? Celtic Woman's second album, "A Celtic Christmas." That was followed by a third consecutive No. 1 album, 2007's "A New Journey." "Songs from the Heart," debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, a measure of broad cross-genre appeal.
Each recording has been made in conjunction with a television special and a DVD. In less than six years, Celtic Woman has sold more than 5 million albums and DVDs, and have been seen by thousands more on stage during several international tours.
Agnew spoke recently from Schenectady, N.Y., where Celtic Woman performed last week:
It's a very long tour. Do you get homesick?
I get it in dribs and drabs. Obviously, when I started touring with Celtic Woman, I was 15. It was a lot harder then. I found leaving home very hard. It seems to be the more you go home and come back out again, the harder it gets. The goodbyes never get any easier. But we have a little family out here. We look after each other and take care of one another. Everyone knows when someone is having a down day, and they are sure to be around you and give you a hug and pick you back up again. It's hard, but we get by.
Do your parents still live in Dublin?
They do. I live at home, actually, with my mom and my little sister. My little sister [Naomi], actually, is at the moment with me. She's traveling around with me for a little while. That helps cure the homesickness.
Are you amazed by Celtic Woman's success?
I am, absolutely. I think we have to pinch ourselves sometimes to believe it's really happening to us. We originally thought it was just going to be a one-night show. It's hard to believe we are where we are today. I think we've just stopped planning things because we have no idea what lies around the corner. It's just been the most incredible journey, and just when you think it can't get any bigger or better, it does. We just take each day as it comes and try to savor every moment. Before you know it, it will all be gone, you know.
Have you given much thought to what you might do next?
No, I'm still very young. I'm only 20, so, you know, I'd like to think that I still have a lot of time ahead of me to decide what I want to do. Right for now, like I said, I'm just enjoying the journey. Just taking each day as it comes. That's what being young is all about. I've been able to get out and see the world before I have bigger problems in life to deal with (Laughs).
Why do you think people all over the world love Irish music?
I think Irish music is very connected to Ireland's heritage and its culture. In the hardest times and the happiest times and the saddest times, the Irish always turn to music. We have a song for everything. We've a drinking song; we have a song for milking the cow. We always turn to music. I think that's in our blood. I think that message is subconsciously carried in the music all over the world. There's a lot more Irish in the world than you think. We've been amazed by the amount of people, particularly here in the United States, who come up to us and say, oh, you know, they're half Irish or they're one-thirteenth Irish. They are determined to have a bit of Irish in them.
Do you get much chance to interact with the Irish-American culture here?
Yeah, we do. We've been invited to a lot of things like the governor's breakfast in New York City that's held on Patrick's Day, and we've been welcomed by Irish cultures in the likes of Boston and places like that where there's a whole Irish community. I know that a lot of our musicians will all travel out on days off and go to a local Irish pub and play at a session there. We are still very much connected to the Irish-American culture here in the States. That's wonderful to be able to just share music no matter where you are from. The Irish are everywhere here in the States. Bound to always find an Irish pub with a musician in the corner who plays to the Irish.
David Downes produced your first two albums. Is that how he knew about you when he was casting for Celtic Woman?
Yes, but that's not actually how David and I knew each other. Both my parents are in the entertainment industry at home, and I was lucky to know David growing up, just because of my mom and dad. When I was 11, I saw an appeal on television shortly after the events of 9/11 here in the States. It was an appeal to children all over the world to donate some of their pocket money to the children who had been affected by 9/11. So I rather cheekily took down David's number out of my Mom's phone and called him and asked him if he would mind recording a charity single. He took me into a studio, unbeknownst to my parents, myself and a little friend. We recorded a Christmas song. We released it for charity in Ireland, and it raised over $40,000 at the time, which was a huge feat for two 11-year-olds. It was shortly after that that David approached me to record my first album at 12 and a second one just before I turned 14. After that, he asked me to be part of Celtic Woman.
What's the best thing about being in Celtic Woman?
Because I toured with Celtic Woman for such a long time juggling school, it was a totally different world for me. I did the show by night and school by day. It was quite hard to try and master both. The show is my No. 1 priority now. The most rewarding thing is getting up on stage every night doing what you love for people who love what you do.
By DAVID N. DUNKLE,
The Patriot-News Harrisburg, PA
March 11, 2010, 7:12AM
