Country Girl

By Yvonne Kerr

With a prestigious Meteor award for "Best Irish Female Artist" under her belt, hanging out with music legends Elton John and Nancy Griffith is all in a day's work for rock and country singer Luan Parle. We meet the down-to-earth Wicklow girl.

Luan Parle looks younger in person than she appears on the cover of her award-winning FREE album (released last year) and her striking, pretty features are softer face to face. The rock and country singer/songwriter is tired, having just arrived home from a tour of Slovakia, but relaxed and smiling nonetheless.

National stardom came at a young age for Luan, and some might remember a pretty blonde-haired 11-year-old singing her heart out on The Late Late Show and Kenny Live some years ago.

All in a day's work

She's tight-lipped about what age she is now, but a Wicklow local reckons she's in her mid to late 20s. For such a young star, Luan is remarkably self-assured. Even playing three nights with Elton John didn't rattle her.

"I played a few shows with him," she says matter-of-factly. "He was very down-to-earth and very nice." At Elton John's Christmas party, Luan tells me, there were "a good few" celebrities floating around.

You must have been just a little star struck?

"Mmmmm...." She pauses to think, but it's obvious that Luan isn't overwhelmed by celebrities at all. She has recorded in the US with Bill Bottrell, legendary producer of artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson.

She's toured with country music icon Nancy Griffith and has been invited to play onstage with the legendary Merrill Osmond (lead singer of the Osmonds); hanging out with music legends is all in a day's work for her.

Down-to-earth

Luan's down-to-earth attitude might not have been so grounded if her parents hadn't stepped in at the age of 13, when she was offered her first recording contract by a Nashville scout.

The ambitious young teenager who was "all set to go to Nashville" had to refuse the offer, as her parents felt she was too young and wanted her to complete her education. Finish school and then, they promised, they would support her all the way.

"In hindsight, it was absolutely the right decision," she says.

"When I'm on tour, I'm in bed at a certain time. I don't like to stay out drinking late," she says sensibly. "I mean, I like to enjoy myself, but I would be very professional about it. I have to look after my voice on tour. The temptation is always there, but you have to train yourself. That's the way it's always been for me; music takes first priority."

Luan is down-to-earth, chatty and, well, normal. You won't see Luan in the tabloids falling out of nightclubs like notorious singers of a similar age, Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears.

Voted by the public as the "Best Irish Female Artist" at the Meteor awards, by Tatler magazine as "Music Woman of the Year" and featuring on the front page of the prestigious annual music bible, the Hot Press Yearbook, last year might have gone straight to other, more impressionable heads, but this Wicklow "home bird" hasn't changed one bit. She admits she still gets nervous before every performance: "You always want to be better than your last show."

The simple things

Luan uses the words "love" and "lucky" a lot, as she sips tea and chats in the Glenview Hotel, halfway between Dublin and Wicklow.

The petite blonde is passionate about the simple things in life, like long walks on Brittas Bay beach, reading old-fashioned "romantic books", drinking tea by a fire, nice biscuits, a late-night fry, Wicklow, her friends and her family. Oh, and shopping: "I'm a girly girl, I love clothes."

She believes in God, but doesn't go to Mass often. Given her choice of anywhere in the world for a weekend break, she chooses Galway.

Her dad pops into conversation a lot. He's also a musician and Luan's vocal trainer from a young age, when she sang at Sunday Mass. "I have a lot to thank him for," she says.

Luan is the second of three kids, and the only girl. She speaks fondly of her two brothers, and her supportive mother, whom she says was always the "more sensible" half of her parents. "Dad was always a little easier to get around," she laughs.

Ghost

Luan admits the fast and unexpected success of her single Ghost, since its release in February, has been "very special" for her. Ghost is one of the biggest-selling singles by an Irish artist this year, spending three months in the charts, where it peaked at number 10.

"A lot of people have said it's helped them to get over a heart break," she says of the hit.

As for romance in her life? "I'm not going to say anything," she says coyly.

Luan plans to release her next album later this year, and then she's open to offers for a new recording contract. She's just written the title track and film score for record-breaking mountaineer Ian McKeever's film Give me Shelter. Soon she's off to London to do some more writing. It's all go for our Luan.