Welcome to the fourth "The Music Scene". Had enough of the scene yet? Hope not, because this woman can really sing. She transfers you into a realm of peacefulness, and can lull you to sleep by her soft, celtic, melodies. This lady is one of a kind, but I still bet you can't guess who it is! Maybe because she's not in your musical taste, or maybe because it's what your mom listens to. You should know her just the same.
Drum roll, anyone? Fine, I'll beat the table myself! It's . . .
Enya!
Enya has some great talent in those pipe's of hers. Whether or not you like ranges of celctic or light music at all, Enya will keep you spellbound. Jeez, do you want me to keep spitting out my opinions, or shall we move on?
Enya, over the years, has developed a style of her own. No one can sound quite like her. Yes, you can argue over this, but truly, Enya was one of the first to become very, very popular in this genre of music.
So, where did this celtic goddess come from? Enya was born in Gweedore Donegal, Ireland. She left her hometown in 1980 to join the Irish band Clannad, a group that already featured some of her siblings. She stayed with Clannad for about two years, until she left to check out the music scene elsewhere.
Soon she hooked up with producer Nicky Ryan and lyricist Roma Ryan. With these guys she recorded film and televison scores. These I do not know much about, because Enya, at that time, was not very famous. Enya then recorded Watermark, an album which really shows her unique singing style, and almost trancelike music. Watermark sold over 4 million copies world-wide. Orinoco Flow, Enya's first single, and most popular in Britain.
Enya spent the years following Watermark quietly. After a few years of waiting, the fans finally got what they wanted. Enya released Sherperd Moons, the follow-up album to Watermarks. Sherperd Moons had even more sucsess than Watermarks, eventually selling over 10 million copies worldwide. Sheperd Moons also stayed in the US billboard charts at number 17 for four years, and stayed in the top 200 for six.
Like Sheperd Moons, Enya was slow to release another album. Suspense was deep, since almost everyone had heard about Enya. It was almost four years before her 3rd album, Memory of Trees came out in December of 1995. This albulm sold two million copies in its first year alone. Pretty impressive. Memory of Trees went into the US charts at number nine.
In 1997 came Enya's greatest hits release, Paint the Sky With Stars: Best of Enya. This album featured two new songs, along with old favorites of hers. That album sold almost 11 million copies, and the numbers are still growing. Paint The Sky With Stars is Enya's most recognized album.
Finally, in late 2000, Day Without Rain came out of Enya's studios, and in 2002, Enya contributed a song to Peter Jackson's first "The Lord Of The Rings". This song is "May It Be", which, obviously, turned into one of her greatest singles. And last (as of the moment) but not least, is Amarantine, which was released in the fall of 2005. Hopefully Enya has many more albums coming.
In conclusion to this great woman's biography, I want to say that she is a favorite to many, and all of her albums show unique culture. Enya's smooth, celtic tones might not be what most pre-teens and teens listen to these days, but Enya should be appreciated all the same.
This is a list of Enya's top five songs. Enjoy!
1. Orinoco Flow
2. Carribein Blue
3. Watermark
4. Book Of Days
5. Storm In Africa
Remember: The holidays are coming up. Do you have a relative, like a grandmother, aunt, or your mother that likes some soft, calm music? Maybe you want to get him/her an Enya CD. Maybe you want to get yourself an Enya CD! (Most of you are saying "You're absolutely terrifying, Emmy!") If you want an organized list of her CD's, you can check it out at Launch.com, and other sites, or use my article.
Before you click off, here is an intresting fact about Enya: if you have ever listened to her songs, you hear a lot of background vocals. Well, guess what? Enya does those background vocals herself! Talk about self-sufficient!
Thanks for reading,
Glitsygrl
Author's Note: The hint for the fifth "The Music Scene", you say? This foursome has paved the way for many rock bands, probably the most well-known rock band in history. No, silly. It's not Green Day. Can you guess?
