With regards to this article, Ira Losco has made some clarifications on the message board at her official website www.iralosco.com. Here goes: "... I'd like to make some things about the Antenna interview clear...cause I must've been misunderstood...things that happen and no biggie... but I feel silly having something published which might have been misinterpreted. I never sang a duet with katie Melua, but supported her and it is not an album which is coming out this November but a surprise which I cannot divulge! It is going to be something original which you will all like, but for obvious reasons I cannot disclose what it will be.
I admit I was a bit worried when I was going to interview Ira Losco. Until you meet a person for the first time, thoughts that go through your head are only hearsay and rumours you hear from diverse sources. To tell the truth one of the things I told her was that it was not at all true that she is proud, or a snob. On the contrary she is a lively young woman and knows how to make one feel at ease.
It was Saturday afternoon when Ira came to our offices for the appointment we had set for this interview. From the first instance she set foot in our offices she caught my attention for the fact that like a little child, her eyes roamed all over the place looking at every corner. I asked her what was the matter and she replied that she likes to observe the working environment because she never had the opportunity to work in an office and so, whenever the opportunity arises she tries to observe such an environment created by a number of employees who spend most of their life cooped together between four walls. Her only work has always been music. The art, which one can say fills up every space in her life.
In fact one of the things she told me was that she does not know how she managed to stay three years in the current relationship with her boyfriend, not because there is no love but because of her musical committments both locally and abroad which take up a lot of her time. She managed to find a person who understands her.
From the first instances of our converstaion I decided that with Ira I am going to avoid talking about the start of her career. After all these facts have been tackled in other interviews on other publications or other media. With her I tackled hopes for the future and how she is living the current experiences which are opening up huge opportunities abroad for her.
At present she is eagerly awaiting March. The month in which the first international album release is expected, the one which was locally released last November titled Accident Prone, in the German, Swiss and Austrian market. This will give her German fans the opportunity to obtain the whole album for their disposition.
As an exclusive we can also say that coming November Ira is expected to release her third album locally, work on which has already started. One only needs to say that any free time she has, which is very limited, Ira spends writing music and lyrics and in the studios together with her band recording new tracks.
But do not think that since Eurovision 2002 Ira did not do anything abroad. Thanks to her second placing in this festival, which we Maltese level with the general elections, Ira had the opportunity to experience the foreign music scene. As a matter of fact Germany, and its capital Berlin, are her second home. In the last few years thanks to Peter Rieger Promotions, Ira had the opportunity to open and be the supporting act to many international singers who were giving concerts in Germany. Mainly we can mention Ronan Keating, Katie Melua, Mel C and last but not least Elton John. It is good to mention that supporting acts are not acceptable for this English singer so it is a pleasure and an honour that Elton John accepted Ira to perform as his supporting act in his concert. Also, when she was perforiming at a Katie Melua concert the audience present enjoyed her act so much that she was asked to sing for them again. More than this, Ira and Katie sang together an acoustic track. This was a new experience for her which allowed her to show her excellent voice.
Since we are talking about duets Ira told me that her radio promoters who are taking care of the south of Germany and the north of Italy are trying to set up a meeting with the Italian singer Zucchero for her to release a track together.
Ira is very hopeful that this will happen, however she has a lot of questions with regards to the style of the song, since the genre of her songs is very diffenent from Zucchero's. We will wait and see!
However the appreciation for Ira's talent does not stop here. For the last two years she has been the resident singer in the mega concert that RTL organises in Germany titled Stars for Free. For this concert, which is attended by more than 80,000 spectators, diverse singers are invited who would be successful at present or who are in the music charts. From one year to the next these change, but, Ira was invited for the 2004 and the 2005 concerts, and till now this had never happened with other singers. "Seeing so many spectators enjoying and singing along to your songs is a huge emotion," insisted Ira.
As you may already know, a number of international artists prefer to perform playback during concerts in which they are singing a track or two in the sense that what the people would be hearing is not the real sound but a cd being played. However for the Maltese singer this is not acceptable. "While there are occasions where I have the band performing playback, my voice would be live. The fact that I sing live gives me great emotions and vigor which allows me to give a good show and to manage to involve all those present in front of me."
As we are only a few days away from the Malta Song for Europe I asked Ira if we are going to see her on the stage again, her reply is no... "While the style of my music has changed from when I sang in a lace outfit, today everything depends on my promoters. If they feel the time has come for me to participate they would certainly tell me, but for now it seems that it is not the case," Ira finished off.
© 2001-2006 Ilenia D'Ambrogio (unless otherwise stated)
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