Soundtrack Of My Life: Katherine Jenkins (Report)

The first song I can remember hearing

Sister Sledge – ‘Frankie’

“I was very young and I remember learning the words myself, and getting my girlfriends in my class at primary school to be in my little girlband. We’d sing it all of the time in the playground.”

The song that I can no longer listen to

Idina Menzel – ‘Let It Go’

“I’ve got a two-year-old daughter, and [Frozen is] such a ‘girl power’ film, and the song is awesome, but I’ve listened to it back to back! It would be nice to have a break from that.”

The song that made me want to perform

Whitney Houston – ‘I Will Always Love You’

“I was really inspired by strong, powerful voices, and Whitney Houston was one of those, and I loved her version of the Dolly Parton song ‘I Will Always Love You’. Never will anyone be able to sing it anywhere near close to Whitney’s vocal, but I always remember wanting to do a classical version of it. So I wrote to Dolly Parton and asked her if I could translate it into Italian and to have an orchestral accompaniment, and she granted me the permission to be the first person in the world to do it in a foreign language!”

The song I do at karaoke

Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys – ‘Empire State Of Mind’

“It’s not an obvious choice for me, but I really like to do the Jay-Z part because nobody ever guesses it, so it’s my trick to shock people!”

The song that makes me want to dance

Sister Sledge – ‘We Are Family’

“It’s like the Jenkins family anthem. When I won my first Classic BRIT Award we were all at the after-party – my mum had bought a coach with her from Wales so there were all the aunties and uncles there. We were all spread out and ‘We Are Family’ came on and suddenly there was a stampede of about 50 people because everybody knows it’s our calling to get on the dancefloor.”

The song that changed my life

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