www.farmersjournal.ie/2008/1004/ruralliving/countrylife -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 1/1/2008
Last Visited: 10/3/2008
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.
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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.
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At Elton John's Christmas party, Luan tells me, there were "a good few" celebrities floating around.
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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.
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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.