FEATURING DUETS WITH SARAH ALLAIN, ALBERT URSO AND FELLOW WELSH STAR LUKE EVANS
SHARES NEW NEW SINGLE, "I’LL NEVER LOVE AGAIN"
25 FEBRUARY 2020 (TORONTO, ON) - The UK’s biggest selling classical artist of the century, Katherine Jenkins OBE, today announces the release of her 14th studio album, Cinema Paradiso - available on Friday 17th April via Decca Records/Universal Music Canada, the country's leading music company.
The release is accompanied by the announcement of the Katherine Jenkins 2021 UK tour, tickets on sale from Friday 28th February at 10:00AM. Pre-order Katherine’s new album via the Decca Records store from 10:00AM on Tuesday 25th February until 3:00PM on Wednesday 26th February to gain pre-sale access to the 2021 tour.
Comprised of 15 iconic tracks, Cinema Paradiso is a collection of unforgettable songs from some of the world’s best loved movie moments including; "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Pinocchio’s "When You Wish Upon A Star", "Tonight" from West Side Story, featuring fellow Welsh star, Luke Evans, as well as themes from Schindler’s List, Lord of the Rings and Dances with Wolves.
Katherine says - “I've always loved movie soundtracks. I wanted to create an iconic movie moment with this record - all the best film musical themes that we know and love, all together on one album. The last few albums I’ve made have been inspired by what's happening in my own world. This one in particular was inspired by the things that were going on around me. Having played my first movie role last year, it felt like a natural transition for me.”
Recent exciting endeavours in the world of film have been a huge inspiration in the making of the new album - one of which is Katherine’s role in the upcoming film Minamata, directed by her husband Andrew Levitas.
This film not only sees Katherine star in her first movie role, but she also co-wrote the title track with Eminem’s right hand woman Skylar Grey, and performed on the film score written by Sakamoto, the Academy Award winner, singer, songwriter, record producer, activist, and actor. Minamata is yet another example of why Katherine is one of the world’s most prolific artists - a true example of her multifaceted talents. She stars alongside Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy in Minamata which is set for release later on this year. Katherine has recently returned from the Berlin International Film Festival where Minamata received its world premiere and glowing reviews from the film industry and fans alike.
Katherine says, “West Side Story has always been up there for me in terms of musical films. "Somewhere" has been specially recorded for this album (minus the Octopus mask!) and I’m thrilled to have Luke Evans join me on the duet "Tonight". I loved seeing some of his TV performances last year and it was great fun to create an all-Welsh version of the duet!.”
Alongside the announcement of Cinema Paradiso, Katherine has also released the new single, "I’ll Never Love Again" from the film A Star Is Born, which went straight to the top of the iTunes Classical Chart when released. Having recently been revealed as "The Octopus" from the UK’s new hit ITV series The Masked Singer, this song also kick started her journey on the show.
Katherine adds, “The hope with this album is that each song conjures up an iconic image from Cinema. A Star is Born is quite a recent film, but the scene where Lady Gaga sings "I’ll Never Love Again" is so touching and memorable that it felt completely right to include it as one of my favourite movie musical moments. In a bid to disguise my voice on The Masked Singer, I chose songs that weren’t the norm for me - and so this track is a happy experiment for me and after Ken said it was the performance of the season, I felt it deserved a place on the album!”
On doing The Masked Singer, Katherine says - “My job can be quite serious at times, but I have a four year old daughter who absolutely loves Blue Planet, so I created "The Octopus" character for her. Her favourite colours are pink and purple with sparkles and I thought it would be something to allow her to understand more about what mummy does. I can’t think of a better reason to do the show."
Cherished as one of Britain’s all-time favourite singers, in 2017 Katherine was officially crowned The No.1 selling Classical Music Artist of the Last 25 Years by Classic FM, and made chart history when her last album Guiding Light, became her 13th UK Classical No.1 album, further cementing Katherine's position as the world’s most prolific artist in UK Classical chart history.
As one of the UK’s greatest musical exports, multi-award winning Katherine has performed all over the world, for the Pope, for Presidents and is a favourite of the Royal Family, having been invited to sing "God Save The Queen" at Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, perform at Her Majesty's Coronation Concerts at Buckingham Palace and by special request at Her Majesty's 90th birthday celebrations at Windsor Castle. She has embarked upon numerous sold out tours and duetted with such names as Andrea Bocelli, José Carreras, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Bryn Terfel, Rolando Villazon, and Il Divo, amongst others. Katherine was awarded an OBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours List for her services to music and charity and wowed audiences and critics alike with her stellar performance as Julie Jordan in Lonny Price’s semi-staged production of Carousel at the London Coliseum in 2017.
Cinema Paradiso: Track Listing
- When You Wish Upon A Star from ‘Pinocchio’
- Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Somewhere Far Away) from ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’
- Cinema Paradiso featuring Alberto Urso from ‘Cinema Paradiso’
- Never Love Again from ‘A Star Is Born’
- Moon River from ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’
- Singin’ In The Rain from ‘Singin’ In The Rain’
- West Side Story – Somewhere/Tonight featuring Luke Evans from ‘West Side Story’
- O Danny Boy from ‘Memphis Belle’
- Schindler’s List from ‘Schindler’s List’
- The Rose from ‘The Rose’
- May It Be from ‘Lord Of The Rings’
- Here’s To The Heroes from ‘Dances With Wolves’
BONUS TRACKS
- The Rose featuring Shaun Escoffery
- Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Somewhere Far Away) featuring Sarah Alainn
- Cinema Paradiso