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O...M...G!

Celtic Woman is running a competition where one lucky person gets to sing with them at the 3Arena in Dublin on September 2, 2017!
https://www.facebook.com/RTEentertainment/videos/1369296059785758/

Presumably the winner would be singing as part of the choir.

If you're an interested singer or know someone who is, here's the site to register:
https://celticwoman.myauditionstage.com/#/

You have to be a resident of Ireland (for competition #1) or UK (for competitions #2 and #3).

AND....

They're recording it for PBS (and presumably DVD) !!!!
https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2017/0703/887332-celtic-women/

I started a new thread for the DVD to keep the competition and the DVD discussions separate:
http://www.celticwomanforum.com/index.php?topic=21529.0

Looks like there's in fact 3 separate competitions!


1) Competition to sing backing vocals during the 3Arena show (VoA PBS special / DVD) in Dublin on Sept 2:

One winner
https://www.celticwoman.com/irish-competition-/


2) Competition to sing at one of the UK tour shows

7 lucky Angels will be chosen to perform alongside Celtic Woman at one of their UK tour dates, singing to thousands of people in some of the UK's biggest venues.
https://www.celticwoman.com/uk-competition/


3) One of the winners of competition #2 gets to, well, I'll let you read and interpret...

One ultimate Celtic Angel will then be chosen to travel to the USA on an all-expenses paid trip to star alongside Celtic Woman at one of their iconic 2018 shows.

https://www.celticwoman.com/uk-competition/

Yay for Them
Bummer for us.
I understand for UK, or Ireland.
They could add a US resident for at least a show in the US for thanking America its root to success we are as much fans of the songs!

Anyway fun to witness who is the special passionate can I get the back tracks to sing to on my own to share. :D

I get that they would prefer Irish singers because it's an Irish group.

I get that they would prefer a UK singer for the UK tour because the audiences there would probably prefer to cheer on a local singer.

Paying someone's expenses to travel all over the US for 90+ shows is far more expensive than paying for a UK singer to do a few UK shows.

But as rfcw mentioned, America is their biggest audience and CW would not be where they are today without the loyal and super-passionate American fans.

I doubt it will go anywhere, but I commented on one of Méav's posts about the competition to see if I could plant a seed as far as an American competition goes. Can't really hurt to ask.

If they do an American competition, I will ABSOLUTELY audition! It's always been a HUGE dream of mine to sing with Celtic Woman. I used to hope to be a member of the group, but I gave up on that ridiculous dream a long time ago, because I mean, I'm not Irish. But if I could perform with them as a guest, even just one song, I would be so happy! And for me, it's not about gaining fame or fortune or whatever. Celtic Woman has changed my life in so many ways, and I idolize them and respect them so much. If I could sing with them, even once, I would be able to die a happy woman. It would be an absolute dream come true!

Mairead and Eabha clarified some of the conditions of the Irish singer competition:
- Over the age of 14
- Male or female
- Background in any style of singing (classical, pop, jazz, anything goes)
- You don't have to use the 3 songs / backing tracks provided on the competition page, but you can if you wish

BTW I just had a thought.

Audience: Congratulations!

lol

But anyway, I think the reason they haven't announced a US competition is because they haven't put out the official US 2018 tour schedule. I think they want to finish that up, and make sure everything is squared away before they announce any competition. I know that's what I would do, and it is still very early.

What are the backing songs? Are they Voices Of Angels? Can anyone share just to play.  :D :D ;D

The links to download the backing tracks are on this site until the competition ends.

https://celticwoman.myauditionstage.com/#/guest/item/1

- Danny Boy
- My Heart Will Go On
- Time To Say Goodbye

CWazy Tom Your Brilliant! Thank You for Posting & F I N D I N G .....

I listened to Danny Boy & it was delightful to have the piano take ::) to the style of CW's VOA version!!

Then I clicked on Time to Say Goodbye expecting maybe the same

 :o :o OMG!!  THE REAL INSTRUMENTAL

OH MY
 My Heart Will GO ON!! It's LIKE THE TOUR PERFECT! ;D

 :'( This is BEYOND A-m-a-z-i-n-g *

   DITTO  !    ;D

 :D

If anyone needs the sheet music for the voice parts, here they are:

Danny Boy
https://www.celticwoman.com/index.cfm?page=danny-boy&udipreview=1

My Heart Will Go On
https://www.celticwoman.com/index.cfm?page=my-heart-will-go-on-sheet-music&udipreview=1

Time To Say Goodbye
https://www.celticwoman.com/index.cfm?page=time-to-say-goodbye&udipreview=1

They might disappear after the contest is over, so if you might want them for later, I'd recommend grabbing them now.

Personally, if I were going to sing to these, I do it by ear instead of by sheet music. But then again, I can't sing.  :D

I know these were only put out during the competition but it is SO NICE to have more karaoke tracks of Celtic Woman songs!

Unbelievable if Amazing Grace was added my Dream would be come true! Yet it has! ;D

Has anyone here heard Our Lark Meav on the radio stream? I was searching to see if there were a link to it  ;)

I'd love that! And walk Beside Me!!!

The Voices of Angels singer competition for the 3Arena DVD recording is down to 3 finalists!

You can learn about the finalists at the link below and vote for one of them.

https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2017/0818/898355-final-three-revealed-for-celtic-woman-voices-of-angels/

This is our chance to make someone's dream come true!

Here are our three contenders!

Megan Pottinger
18
From Co. Meath
- You Raise Me Up was pretty, though straightforward
- Nella Fantasia was really impressive! When she hits those high notes, it reminded me of a young Chloë. The touch of vibrato was nice but not overdone
- Her a cappella song was pretty as well
- Perhaps the most developed classical voice of the three

Zena Donnelly
14
From Dublin
- She has some delightful and delicate ornamentations
- I like the artistic twists she put on the arrangements instead of justing singing them straight forward
- Doesn't she look a bit like teenage-Chloë?
- I really like her artistic flare
- As her voice continues to develop, I think she might be one to watch out for.

Anabel Sweeney
16
From Co. Wicklow
- I wasn't meaning to bring Chloë into each of these, but she really does look like Chloë
- She has a nice voice and potentially a powerful one as well
- I think she'd have the best initial stage presence of the three

- She sang My Land <3

P.S. I think we can tell from the YouTube likes it's a 2-person race (and potentially an interesting one), although I think people are being a little harsh with one of the singers.

They've all got potential and I'm pretty sure Méav, the girls, and anyone else the winner has the fortune to work with can help them start fulfilling that potential quickly.

I think they're all promising singer and all have different strengths.

I do know a few amazing singers from the US that have strong and well-developed voices and are only getting better with time. I think they would have done very well had the field not been limited to Irish residents. I have my fingers crossed they do a competition in North America.

Very fun to read thanks for all the tidbits :)

Don't forget to vote!

https://www.celticwoman.com/vote-here/

6656 Votes in 3 days!

Vote closes at midnight on August 23 (presumably midnight in Ireland).

Last day to vote!

Let their voices (and your voices, in a manner of speaking) be heard!

Congrats to Anabel Sweeney, who was announced as the winner of the competition to sing with Celtic Woman at the 3Arena show in Dublin on September 2.

It was apparently a tight vote.

Here's what Anabel had to say:

I’m deeply grateful to everyone for all acts of kindness in taking time out to vote for me! I cannot believe that I made it! You have made my dreams come true! Cannot wait to perform in the Voices of Angels show in the 3Arena with Celtic Woman.

<3 <3 <3

Here's some excellent covers by competition winner Anabel Sweeney.

All of them are covers of Brendan Graham songs.  ;)

My Land:
https://youtu.be/TsoZV9-sL64

Orphan Girl:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsoZV9-sL64
... here's another version of her performing it live. I didn't see it live, but it has a special connection for me ;) https://youtu.be/iTrTYTzYDqQ

Here's an older, from when she was only 14.
When I Grow Up:
https://youtu.be/XED06ybc0mc


You can also try to spot her in this music video, although it's not the best available video to appreciate her musical talents.

Bressie - Show Me Love:
https://youtu.be/LktPForDE5c



For those that don't know, it looks like Anabel is also an actress known for Calvary (2014), The Legend of Longwood (2014) and Nelly & Nora (2015):
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5364078/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t20

... and this appears to be her interviewing Saoirse Ronan :O

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO_NWCsYfWk

   I thought  she  might  win  it.  I  was  kind  of  pulling  for  Megan, but  they  were  all  good.   8)

She is AMAZING! I'm SO happy for her!!!

I voted for her.  I'm glad she won.  I hope this means they will do My Land again.

I feel like the other two finalists deserve some love too.

Here's some videos of contest finalist Zena Donnelly.

She has been in the spotlight since she was young. She may not hit every single note (yet), but she has an incredibly strong voice! With that much power, I really think she's going to go places.
Side-note: She looks a bit like Lindsay Lohan. Let's hope stardom has a bit less of a destructive effect on her.  ::)


Hope you enjoy!


Listen:
https://youtu.be/cH_b_1erdDE
https://youtu.be/KE_kOQS4N6Y

Mama Knows Best:
https://youtu.be/MOfJUe95rdo

Bríce ar Bhríce:
https://youtu.be/QQv08myY68c
https://youtu.be/UUcfftMZL-8

We Can Shine (from "A Christmas Star")
https://youtu.be/aQjG2CaOmiI

And here she is as a youngling, singing on stage live with Whitney Houston  ;)
https://youtu.be/uNhHZxHCWdY

Here's a bit more information:
- The final 12 contestants were auditioned
- As we know, the fans voted on the final 3 contestants and Anabel won a tight vote
- Anabel is from Keatingstown, Wicklow
- As mentioned, she's also an actress

Source:
http://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklowpeople/news/girl-looking-for-votes-36058633.html

There's a different local competition winner performing at each show on their UK tour.

Here's a clip from their shown in Londin, with Zoe Mace performing The Prayer:

https://www.facebook.com/celticwoman/videos/10155836633582838/

She has quite a voice and the piano arrangement is really good!

OMG she is AWESOME!!!!!

Anastasia Zaponidou was the Liverpool winner.

I haven't found a video yet, but I'll post one if I come across one.

Gemma McMeel was the winner who performed at The Sage Gateshead.

Here she is performing a solo of Fields of Gold:
https://www.facebook.com/celticwoman/videos/10155842552542838/

Her voice is soft, soothing, and incredibly gorgeous! This girl has a really bright future ahead of her!

Wow she's amazing!!!!!

She is!

So are you  :)

On Halloween, contest winner Hannah Gallimore performed a solo during the Celtic Woman show.

Here's a clip!

https://www.facebook.com/celticwoman/videos/10155848223057838/

Here's Abbi Rose, who was the contest winner who performed on stage at The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall for the last show of the UK VoA tour:

https://www.facebook.com/CelticWomanFanPage/posts/1774838525861556

I'm not sure why I was having trouble finding these clips when the competition was actually happening, but here's a video that features Megan Pottinger (finalist for the Homecoming DVD contest) as the lead singer:

Red Is the Rose
https://youtu.be/nQfq6giMp00


... and as a bonus, here's a slightly older video (from 2011):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqDUSJzJRLw

Celtic Woman #SingWithAngels finalist Zena Donnely was one of the winners of The Soloist in 2016 http://thesoloist.ie/previous_winners/  :o

Look who was a semi-finalist in the prior year, 2015:
http://thesoloist.ie/author/admin/

Tara McNeill – Sandyford, Dublin – Voice / Violin / Harp (Celtic Classic Crossover)

 :o :o :o :o :o

For those in the NY area on June 1st, this may be of interest to you.

Anabel Sweeney is apparently one of the International Shining Stars Winners performing at Carnegie Hall on June 1, 2018 (the same day as The Way of the Rain in Chicago, in case anyone has the budget for either).

Sources:
http://www.juliejordanpresents.com/
https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2018/06/01/NEW-YORK-CONCERTI-SINFONIETTA-0730PM


(http://www.juliejordanpresents.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/NYCS-Carnegie-June-1-2018-7-30pm-768x994.jpg)