Kelowna singer still in shock at being Foster's protege
Stuart Hunter, The Province
Published: Sunday, June 03, 2007
A star is born.
For a moment when she woke up in a Toronto hotel room yesterday morning, Andrea Greenway thought she was still dreaming.
That's understandable, considering the 26-year-old server's life has been a "whirlwind" since music legend David Foster spotted her singing at Vancouver's Il Giardino restaurant Thursday -- and has tabbed her as perhaps the next Josh Groban or Michael Buble.
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Font: ****Greenway, who has been singing opera since age 11 but had recently put her musical aspirations on hold, said "I had to pinch myself -- this is my dream come true. It's just been insane."
Foster was with several people,
including American Idol star Clay Aiken, dining at the upscale eatery when owner Umberto Menghi asked Greenway to sing for them, as she had occasionally in the past.
"I was nervous, but I remember thinking I'm never going to to get an opportunity to sing for David Foster, so what have I got to lose?" she said of her rendition of the Jewel Song aria from the French opera Faust. "Even before I sang, he kept saying: 'There is something about you -- you are going to be really successful at whatever you do.'
"After I sang, he just was like: 'I knew it. There is something about you,' and he asked me to come to Calgary immediately."
Foster told Greenway to have three changes of clothes and her passport ready, and his car picked her up at 8 a.m. the next morning.
She said it was "mindblowing" to sing at a David Foster Foundation fundraiser. Today, she flies to Las Vegas to record with Chinese pianist Lang Lang. Then it's off to Foster's studio in Malibu.
Not bad for the Calgary-born, Kelowna-raised vocalist who was turned down by the University of B.C. School of Music.
Greenway, who lists Canadian chanteuses Feist and Sarah McLachlan as two of her favourites, said she'll be somewhat nervous when she sits down to record with a legend like 14-time Grammy winner, Victoria-born Foster, adding she's been told she'll sing both opera and pop songs.
"I don't know if I'll be nervous -- I'm almost stunned still, it's like I'm still in shock," she said.
"[But] to have someone like David Foster say, 'This is for you and you can do this,' it's a huge thing to hear from somebody who obviously knows what they are talking about -- so it almost takes your nerves away a little bit."
shunter@png.canwest.com© The Vancouver Province 2007
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