my Musing on Music

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Lured by Bandoneόn’s Intersection of Tango and Classical

Ástor Piazzolla with his bandoneón in 1971. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, the concerto has been held, and the CD has been released, but I hope that like music, this musician and his obra will remain...
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By ALLAN KOZINN

J.P. Jofre, the 29-year-old master of the bandoneόn, started out as a drummer. At the Escuela de Musica in San Juan, Argentina, he also studied the double bass, bassoon, vibraphone, voice and piano. But everything changed when he was 17 and an uncle played him a recording by Astor Piazzolla, the great Argentine bandoneόnist and composer.

“I said: ‘Whoa! This is amazing,’” said Mr. Jofre, who moved to New York from Argentina five years ago. “Piazzolla’s music was classical, and it was tango, and it had the power of heavy metal. It was a lot of things mixed together.”

Mr. Jofre, whose full name is Juan Pablo Jofre Romarion, has just released his first CD, “Hard Tango” (Round Star), which includes several of his own classical-tango hybrids, as well as a handful of arrangements, among them a quirky, sharp-edged arrangement of John Lennon’s “I am the Walrus.”

“He’s a very creative composer,” said the reed player Paquito D’ Rivera. “He’s trying to do something different by learning from musicians who play in different styles, and cross-pollinating those styles with tango.”

Though it looks and sounds like an accordion, the bandoneόn is actually in the concertina family. German immigrants brought it to Argentina, Mr. Jofre said.

He remembers being surprised by the bandoneόn’s complexity when he first tried to play one. The instrument has rows of buttons on each side of the bellows. Each set of buttons produces a distinct timbre; moreover, the buttons’ pitches differ depending on whether the instrument is being opened or closed.

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Musical worlds merge between a young composer’s fingers.
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“The first thing I did,” Mr. Jofre said, “was sit at the piano and figure out what note every button on the bandoneόn played. It took me a week, and then as soon as I was finished, I found a book that explained it all.”

A touring bandoneόnist whom Mr. Jofre approached for lessons arranged for an introduction to Daniel Binelli, who had played in Piazzolla’s sextet. Mr. Benelli encouraged him both as a bandoneόnist and as a composer.

Mr. Jofre has taken Mr. Binelli’s advice, creating versions of his works for different ensembles to ensure performances. His “Milongon” exists for his quintet, jazz band and string orchestra. His biggest work so far, a bandoneόn concerto, will have its premiere next March when he performs it with the Symphony Silicon Valley, in San Jose, California.

Like Piazzolla, he is interested in exploring tango as a classical form, a notion that still divides.

“My music theory teacher didn’t like tango at all, but my harmony and orchestration teacher used to say that tango was chamber music,” Mr. Jofre said. “For me, tango has to do with secrets, with beauty and mystery, and simplicity as well. But one of the main things is the bandoneόn. Yes, you can have a tango without it. But it’s the sound that gives the music its stamp.”

Taken from TODAY Saturday Edition, July 6, 2013

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

"Disco Science" music tops in cardiac massage

Posted: 03 November 2011

PARIS: A millennium dance-floor hit, "Disco Science", is better than "Achy Breaky Heart" for helping victims of heart attacks but neither meets the grade for inclusion in first-aid guidelines, according to an unusual study.

Rhythmic music has long been suggested as a tool for medical workers learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Healthcare workers in Britain were once advised to recall a quirky 1950s children's song, "Nellie the Elephant", in order to get the right rhythm of chest compression.

Rather more macabrely, their counterparts in the United States experimented at one point with the Bee Gees' 1970s pointy-finger disco hit, "Stayin' Alive".

The songs did inspire first-aiders to get the right rate of chest compressions.

But they failed to help them achieve the correct depth of compression, which is five to six centimetres (two to two-and-a-half inches).

Keen to explore the link between backbeat and heartbeat, researchers carried out an experiment on the sidelines of a conference of Australian paramedics.

Seventy-four volunteers delivered CPR to a dummy as they listened on headphones either to Billy Ray Cyrus' 1992 country hit "Achy Breaky Heart" or Mirwais' "Disco Science", or heard no music at all.

"Disco Science" came out tops in terms of meeting the compression rate.

Eighty-two percent of those who listened to it got within the optimal range of 100 to 120 compressions per minute, compared to 64 percent for "Achy Breaky Heart" and 65 percent for no music at all.

Even so, regardless of the music, a third of compressions were still too shallow and more than 50 percent of the volunteers adopted the wrong hand positions.

Given the combined importance of correct depth and rate of compression, the researchers are unconvinced that music is the best guide for CPR, and suggest that a metronome or some other audio gadget may be better.

The study, headed by Malcolm Woollard, a professor of health and life sciences at Britain's Coventry University, appears on Thursday in the specialist publication Emergency Medicine Journal.

- AFP/al

Taken from ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
"Disco Science" music tops in cardiac massage

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Domingo sings farewell to Washington

08 May 2011

WASHINGTON : At 70 years old, he climbs ladders, rolls on the ground and his voice shakes the room - Placido Domingo is Oreste in "Iphigenie en Tauride," a performance-style farewell to the Washington National Opera, which the Spanish tenor has led for 15 years.

Visibly tired but delighted, Placido Domingo earned a long ovation on Friday night on the stage of the Washington National Opera (WNO). He steps down as general director on June 30.

To mark the occasion, the tenor gives eight performances in the role of Oreste in Christoph Willibald Gluck's opera that premiered in Paris in 1779. It's the same role he performed in Madrid on his 70th birthday in January, at the Teatro Real opera house.

Alternately, he leads Donizetti's opera "Don Pasquale", as conductor until May 27.

The role of Oreste was originally written for a baritone but adapted to the tenor voice of Domingo, who began his career as a baritone at the age of 18 in Mexico, before being told he in fact had the voice of a tenor.

In this production from Opera de Oviedo (Spain), Domingo's Oreste is Iphigenie's long-lost brother who is condemned to death. It's not an easy turn for a septuagenarian, who last year underwent surgery to remove a cancerous polyp from his colon.

Domingo as Oreste arrives on stage in chains, and guards throw him to the ground, before he is to be sacrificed to the gods by his sister, Iphigenie. But brother and sister find the courage to escape and triumph over their oppressors.

Though he is leaving as general director, Domingo doesn't plan to disappear.

"I am singing because I can," he told The Washington Post. "But why I am still able to sing, you know, this is a big mystery for me.

"I think that one day I will have the feeling that that's it and I will go out and I will say to the public 'Ladies and gentlemen, that was my last opera performance,'" he added.

The WNO last year appointed Philippe Auguin of France as music director but Domingo's replacement has not been named.

Born in Madrid, Domingo moved to Mexico as a child with his parents, who ran a company that performed zarzuela, the traditional Spanish operetta.

Domingo, well known to popular music audiences for his "Three Tenors" performances with Jose Carreras and the late Luciano Pavarotti, made his operatic debut in a leading role as Alfredo in Verdi's "La Traviata" in Monterrey, Mexico nearly five decades ago.

The Grammy-winner's repertoire encompasses 134 stage roles - a number unmatched by any other celebrated tenor in history.

Domingo was to be honored Saturday by the WNO's signature event, the Opera Ball, a lavish fundraiser being held in the chancery of the Chinese embassy in Washington.

On Tuesday, the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, presented Domingo with its "Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award" for his music and humanitarian accomplishments.

US Vice President Joe Biden attended the event on Tuesday and could not resist the opportunity to link Domingo to the big news the day before when US commandos killed Osama bin Laden.

"Placido Domingo is probably the only man who could appropriately sing their praises," Biden said of the commandos.

Domingo remains director of the Los Angeles Opera through 2013.

- AFP/al

Taken from ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
Spanish tenor Domingo sings farewell to Washington

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Construction completed!

Construction works at a prefabricated house

Image via WikipediaAnd after so many tries on changing templates, trying one after another, and without success, I finally decided to try and delete all the widgets first (which is a last recourse), to see if the format I selected will be displayed accordingly (correctly, to be precise).

I should say that worked. And it has to be the long and hard way of reconstructing the 'face' of my 'musing on music' blog.

Anyway, I have put back in all those missing items, and some other things that were not there before, and some other blogs and sites I am following, or want to keep as reference in the future...

I do hope that what I did is fine, and that it is going to help the readers have a pleasant and enjoyable experience from blog-reading.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Facelift-ing... now

Image via WikipediaI am trying to correct the template that has been used for my musing on music blog, which, my apologies to all readers, has been uncorrected for so long a time that I can remember.

I should say, this blog is "Under Construction".

The articles are still readable, and it is basically the layout that will be changed. Yes, that is correct, the articles, even at the start of the change, should be readable already.

Hope to see you all again soon.

Till then!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Phil Collins out of music

Image via WikipediaI missed this one, and it is over a month ago, but here it is anyway...
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Sat., Mar. 5, 2011 5:31 PM PST by Brandi Fowler

Against all odds, Phil Collins is ditching his music career.

Not without good reason, however.

RELATED: Phil Collins: I've Considered Suicide

The famed Genesis drummer and vocalist (and successful solo artist) cited medical issues as the reason for his retirement, saying years of drumming resulted in a variety of health issues, including hearing loss, a dislocated vertebrae and nerve damage in his hands.

Despite his seven Grammy wins, an Oscar, 13 hit singles and more than 150 million albums sold as a solo artist, Collins has seen his share of criticism, with critics panning much of his work over the years years.

"You don't have to be great to be successful. Look at Phil Collins," Oasis member Noel Gallagher famously said, for example.

Collins seemed resigned to the abuse, telling FHM (via Time), "I'm sorry that it was all so successful. I honestly didn't mean it to happen like that. It's hardly surprising that people grew to hate me."

And this isn't exactly Collins' first attempt to exit the music industry. He moved to Switzerland to do just that, and now lives in a remote town in the country with his two sons.

In 2009, Collins hinted at his impending retirement on the Genesis website, after he dislocated a vertebrae in his neck that prevented him from playing the drums or piano.

"I was going to stop drumming anyway," Collins said. "I had stopped. I don't miss it."

What do you think about Collins' official retirement? Let us hear it in the comments.

Taken from EOnline.com; source article is below:
In the Air Tonight: Phil Collins Quits the Music Biz

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Trust His Heart - by Babbie Mason

Image via WikipediaI just would like to have a copy of the lyrics of this song. When I have the chance, then I know where to find the lyrics easily...

Trust His Heart
by Babbie Mason

All things work for our good
Though sometimes we don't see how they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth
Our Father knows what best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just don't see Him
Remember you're never alone

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
Trust His heart

He sees the master plan
And He holds our future in His hand
So don't live as those who have no hope
All our hope is found in Him
We see the present clearly
But He sees the first and the last
And like a tapestry
He's weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
Trust His heart

He alone is faithful and true
He alone knows what is best for you

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
Trust His heart

When you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
Trust His heart

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Music Aids Learning

THIS SHOULD BE SWEET MUSIC TO A MUSICIAN'S EARS

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LONDON - Learning to play a musical instrument could help to improve children's reading and their ability to listen in noisy classrooms, according to new research.

Neuroscientists have found that musicians benefit from heightened brain activity that allows them to process information from their eyes and ears more efficiently than non-musicians.

They found that the part of the brain that interprets sound, known as the auditory cortex, responds faster in people with musical training and is better primed to pick out subtle patterns from the huge volumes of information that flood into the brain from our senses.

Professor Nina Kraus, a neuroscientist and amateur musician at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, has also found that this part of the brain plays a crucial role in reading.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego on Saturday, she called for music to become a more important part of school syllabuses to help children develop better reading and language skills.

She explained: "There is a strong argument for more musical education, especially in schools. Our eyes and ears take in millions of bits of information every second and it is not possible for the brain to process all of that, so the sensory systems in our brains are primed to tune into regularities or patterns in the signals it receives."

She added: "People who are musically trained are better at picking up these patterns because they learn to recognise notes and pitches within melodies and harmonies.The better you are at picking up these patterns in music, the better reader you are. This makes sense as letters and words on a page are really just patterns."

Professor Kraus and her team have used a method known as electroencephalography, which measures electrical activity in the brain, to examine how musicians and non-musicians brains respond to different stimulus.

She found that people who are better at picking out harmonies and timing in sounds are also better at reading.

Preliminary findings, which are still to be published, have also shown that musicians are better at reading. She is currently conducting a major study of children in schools in Chicago to test whether musical training can improve their reading skills.

She has also shown that musicians are better at picking out speech in noisy environments such as restaurants and classrooms because their brains are primed to distinguish notes within melodies and harmonies.THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

From TODAY, Monday, 22-Feb-2010

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Friday, August 14, 2009

Les Paul, guitar revolutionary, dies at 94

Image via Wikipedia

I came across his name when I read some books on music, one by Joel Hirschhorn, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Songwriting, and another one on learning guitars.

Another one of the legends fall. Read the news story here:

Les Paul, guitar revolutionary, dies at 94

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

"Youtube Girl" is not my name

Image via Wikipedia

Marie Digby, is she “Youtube Girl”? Read the news article here.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Escala-tion of violins

A new group of musicians, ladies’ quartet. Interested? See the article here.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Price of 24 songs: $2.9m

Image via CrunchBase

How much is a song worth? See below for price details…

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05:55 AM Jun 20, 2009

MINNEAPOLIS (Minnesota) - A United States jury on Thursday ordered a 32-year-old woman to pay nearly US$2 million ($2.9 million) in damages for illegally downloading 24 songs over the Internet in a high-profile digital piracy case.

Ms Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a single mother of four from the Minnesota town of Brainerd, was found liable of violating music copyrights for using the Kazaa peer-to-peer file-sharing network to download the songs.

The jury ordered Ms Thomas-Rasset to pay US$1.92 million ($2.8 million) - or US$80,000 per song - to six record companies: Capitol Records, Sony BMG Music, Arista Records, Interscope Records, Warner Bros Records and UMG Recordings.

In his closing arguments, attorney Timothy Reynolds said Ms Thomas-Rasset had made copyrighted music available to "millions on the Internet" through Kazaa.

Ms Thomas-Rasset said that her former husband or her children may have downloaded the music but her arguments apparently did not sway the jury.

Ms Thomas-Rasset had been convicted previously, in October 2007, and ordered to pay US$220,000 in damages but the judge who presided over that trial threw out the verdict, calling it "wholly disproportionate" and "oppressive".

Describing the $1.92 million figure as "kind of ridiculous", Ms Thomas-Rasset said: "There's no way they're ever going to get that. I'm a mom, limited means, so I'm not going to worry about it now."

The case was filed by the Recording Industry Association of America, which has sued some 35,000 people for online music piracy since 2003. Most of those sued agreed to settlements of between US$3,000 and US$5,000. AGENCIES

From TODAY, World – Weekend, 20/21-Jun-2009; see the source article here.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Susan Boyle back on stage after missed gig

Posted: 16 June 2009 0705 hrs

A woman watches a YouTube clip of Susan Boyle's appearance on television programme 'Britain's Got Talent'.

LONDON: Scottish singing star Susan Boyle was met with rapturous applause as she took to the stage in Glasgow on Monday, defying new fears for her health sparked by her withdrawal from a show the previous night.

Boyle, a 48-year-old church volunteer whose frumpy appearance hides a soaring voice, sang her signature tune "I Dreamed A Dream" from musical Les Miserables as part of a tour of the talent show that made her famous.

There were doubts as to whether she would perform in the "Britain's Got Talent" live show in the Scottish city after she pulled out of an event in Manchester, northwestern England, on Sunday night.

Two weeks ago, Boyle was rushed to a London health clinic suffering from exhaustion. Her treatment followed her defeat in the talent show, despite a global following on video-sharing website YouTube.

However, her fans in Glasgow were not disappointed on Monday night, with one, 39-year-old Audrey Hinde, saying afterwards: "I thought she was fantastic. She brought tears to my eyes. She didn't seem under pressure at all."

A clip of Boyle singing "I Dreamed A Dream" is now reportedly one of the most watched ever on YouTube.

- AFP/so

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Backstreet Boys, Chaka Khan to perform during Singapore GP

By Ian De Cotta, TODAY | Posted: 12 June 2009 1028 hrs

The Backstreet Boys: (L-R) Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Howie Dorough

SINGAPORE: It did not take much to convince top-selling American boy-band group Backstreet Boys to perform again in Singapore.

When they heard that their gig would be held at the Padang during the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix night race, they gave a resounding yes.

The best-selling boy band - with record sales of over 100 million records - and multi-Grammy Award winner Chaka Khan were two of the entertainment acts that race organisers revealed on Thursday as part of the entertainment package for the event from September 25 to 27.

"Both the Backstreet Boys and Chaka Khan normally perform at concerts... they see a sexy element to the night race and reckon they will have a blast," said Singapore GP director of operations Sarah Martin.

The third big name will be released next month but the group will appeal to all age groups, said Ms Martin. Among other events to be announced then will be two of the world's top 10 DJs.

"I can honestly say we have revolutionised the way people view entertainment at any Grand Prix," said Ms Martin. "Without a doubt, we will be giving the best experience that any Grand Prix has seen."

Although all ticket holders will be able to watch the Backstreet Boys on both weekend nights at Zone 4, only spectators at the grandstands facing the paddock at Zone 1 will have the privilege to watch Chaka Khan after the main race on Sunday.

Tickets there are priced at S$1,388 each.

"We felt that ticket holders who are paying a lot more... deserve some exclusivity and this is the best way to give it to them," said Ms Martin.

Other top performers include Senegalese legend Youssou N'Dour - listed in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People - and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Mavis Staples.

To cater to the large number of foreign visitors, two key theatre acts will be staged along the lines of the world famous Cirque du Soleil.

"About 40 per cent of the fans at the race will come from overseas and we want to bridge the language barriers," said Ms Martin.

The acts will be at the Padang and the floating platform. One of them has worked in partnership with Cirque du Soleil and is planning something special for the Grand Prix, she said.

- TODAY/yb

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Vienna Teng: From software designer to soulful singer

By TODAY | Posted: 04 June 2009 1314 hrs

Vienna Teng

Sarah McLachlan may have started the whole female singer-songwriter trend back in the late '80s, but she's more or less semi-retired and few have emerged who seem worthy enough to take over that mantle.

Well, Vienna Teng might just be the one. Don't worry if you've never heard of her. She isn't.

When we told that we hadn't heard of her first three albums and only managed to get her fourth, Inland Territory, she said chirpily: "It's okay. I'm glad that you actually heard (this one)!"

Yes, Vienna Teng is a stage name - her real name is Cynthia Yih Shih.

And, yes, she got her first name from the city in Austria, but, no, she didn't get her last name from Teresa Teng.

"That's just a rumour, although I like that story," said the Taiwanese-American over the phone from California where she was visiting family.

Since she started her music career, the 30-year-old has slowly been going from strength to strength.

She recently completed her headlining tour ("That was fun, one great adventure to another, because it started on a cruise ship in the Caribbean"); and she's also shared the stage with the likes of Shawn Colvin, Marc Cohn and Joan Baez ("I'm glad we performed first, because you really can't do anything after she's performed, really").

Yeah, but is Baez named after a European capital city? We think not.

Somebody called your album "good honest music". Agree?

Whenever I write songs, I'm always trying to tell an interesting story inevitably drawn from my own emotions and experience, but not exactly as they happen to me, because I don't think it's as interesting as trying to tell a story that will resonate with somebody else.

This album has a lot of very different styles. Was that deliberate?

That was a pretty deliberate decision that Alex (Wong, producer) and I made. We deliberately wanted to get an eclectic collection of songs, because that's the kind of album that we like. I think our favourite (albums) are the ones where you get to see the musical range of the songwriters and producers.

What's this about you ditching a computer keyboard for piano keys?

Actually, I started playing piano when I was five. My parents are both from Taiwan - and they pushed really hard in school. Actually, they always compared us to Singaporean kids. Like, "look how hard those children are studying, they're so smart!"

So I actually went to college for computer science, designing software. I still have a techie nerd personality. I enjoy locking myself up in a room and working on a problem and I have to remember to go out and talk to my friends and make new friends.

So you're a geek?

I think "nerd" is the word I'd use. I'm very excited about academic stuff. I think I've always enjoyed the brainier side of things.

How do your parents feel about this job then?

I think they find it a very insecure profession and I think they still worry about what I'm going to do when I'm 50 - what career options I'll have! But I think they know this is very important to me, so they're pretty supportive, which is impressive, considering their background!

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Susan Boyle ‘not suffering from mental issues’

Ms Boyle is concerned about her future after failing to win the top prize in Britain's Got Talent. AFP

LONDON — Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle appears to be recovering from nervous exhaustion after she was admitted to a London mental health clinic on Sunday, according to her brother.

Ms Boyle, 48, had finished second behind a male dance group in the show's finals, despite being the favourite.

Mr Gerry Boyle told reporters in an interview that his sister "seems to be coming back to her old ways".

"She's fine. She's anxious to come home, and she's starting to be a bit more like herself, I'm pleased to say — eager to come home to Scotland from London."

Ms Boyle became an overnight singing sensation when she auditioned for the reality show. The video of her singing I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables was viewed online by millions around the world.

But after failing to win the top prize, she is concerned her career may be over almost before it's started.

"Her biggest worry, after Saturday night, is ... will people still want to hear her sing?" Mr Boyle said.

One of the show's judges, Ms Amanda Holden, said Ms Boyle's breakdown is not the result of "underlying mental issues" but purely down to fatigue. AGENCIES

From TODAYonline.com; see the source article here.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Susan Boyle's dream collapses as she loses British talent show

Posted: 31 May 2009 0505 hrs

Susan Boyle

LONDON - Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle was dealt an unexpected blow Saturday when she lost out to a group of young street dancers in the final of the British talent show that made her a global star.

The 48-year-old looked surprised when the result was announced but graciously accepted the runners-up place saying the "best people won" and wishing the group "all the best."

Boyle enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame over the past two months after video footage of her audition piece for the show, "I Dreamed A Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables," was posted on video-sharing website YouTube.

It has had around 100 million hits, brought her celebrity fans including actress Demi Moore and rock star Jon Bon Jovi and seen her feted in the media from the US to China, Japan and Australia.

The bookmakers made her the favourite to win, although after an unconvincing performance in the semi-final there were fears that the pressure for the church volunteer, who lives alone with her cat outside Edinburgh, was becoming too much.

But in a live performance in the "Britain's Got Talent" final on Saturday, Boyle proved the critics wrong and repeated her audition piece with gusto.

Judge Piers Morgan said it was the "greatest performance I've seen on the history of Britain's Got Talent -- you should win the competition, I loved it."

Boyle was up against nine other acts to win the competition, which brings with it a cheque for 100,000 pounds (115,000 euros, 160,000 dollars) and the chance to perform for Queen Elizabeth II.

All the acts performed before a public vote, in which millions of people called in to cast their ballots. Boyle lost out to the group of ten dancers, named Diversity, while saxophonist Julian Smith came in third place.

After singing earlier in the evening, Boyle, wearing a grey-blue, long sequined dress, thanked all her fans.

"I want to thank people for all the support they've given me," she said.

Asked if it was worth all the media pressure, she replied emphatically: "Well worth it!... I really feel at home on stage, I'm among friends."

Boyle put in a shaky performance of "Memory" in the show's semi-finals last weekend, singing occasionally out of tune and out of time, and some fans on YouTube had questioned whether she could handle the weight of expectations on her.

The British media had also reported some erratic behaviour over the past week, including how she had lost her temper in the foyer of the London hotel where she was staying prompting police to intervene.

Morgan said that such was the pressure that she even considered quitting, describing her in his blog as a "frightened rabbit in headlights."

But his fellow judge Amanda Holden said after Saturday's performance: "I have never heard such powerful confident vocals."

In a Daily Mail interview Saturday, Boyle said she had used singing as a way of "boosting my confidence" and insisted she was still enjoying the experience.

"I've found the whole thing quite amazing and overwhelming. The attention's odd and it takes some getting used to, but it's nice," she said.

Hoards of fans had gathered in her hometown of Blackburn near Edinburgh to watch the final and support Boyle, on what she described in a television interview as "the most important night of my life."

After the result was announced, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond praised the singer, saying that despite her defeat she had given some "outstanding performances" and could "hold her head up high."

- AFP /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Related news from CNN.com, see here and here.

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