WITHIN TEMPTATION Singer Talks About U.S. Audiences

Chris Kay of F.Y.E. recently conducted an interview with WITHIN TEMPTATION vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

F.Y.E.: Now that you are finally here, what do you think of the U.S. audiences and your first U.S. tour?

Sharon den Adel: Well, we've been comparing it a little bit to the Spanish audience and the southern countries in Europe. Because they are always very enthusiastic, even when you hit the first note until the last one everybody is like (she imitates the roar of an enthusiastic crowd here),they are with you the whole time right from the start to finish. Very enthusiastic, in a way they are almost in your face, so enthusiastic and that is really good, really good. Because in the more Northern countries in Europe, it's more waiting a little bit, they're more relaxed, then they clap after a few songs, they have to get warmed up first. We expected a little more of that, actually, not this southern hospitality that we have in southern Europe.

F.Y.E.: Is it difficult, or challenging to write lyrics in English when that is probably not your primary language?

Sharon den Adel: It's more interesting because it becomes more poetic for us. When you write in your own language it becomes too direct more or less. And for us, yeah, it's more interesting.

Robert Westerholt: And we are used to it, we have always written our songs in English. The only thing is sometimes you get insecure when it comes to the lyric writing stage sometimes you need a native speaker to check if it was written correctly and sometimes you can make a stupid mistake of course. And you won't have slang in your lyrics, of course, because you don't know any American or English slang. But, we also watch all our movies in English, our American movies.

F.Y.E.: When did you first discover you could sing and when did you become a professional, because I think you have been in bands since you were in your early teens?

Sharon den Adel: Yeah, I have. Well, I always loved singing. Not to entertain people but just for myself — I felt happy doing it. When I was fourteen, there was course in our home town it was a music school and you could learn "How to play in a band." (Laughs)

F.Y.E.: A course? It was a class?

Sharon den Adel: Yeah, a class and I didn't have any musical background, "oh, I want to make music so bad, but I can't do it on my own, you know, I want to do it with people and get to know people who like the same kind of thing." Then, they said OK, what do you want to do? Well, actually I wanted to sing because that makes me most happy of all but I was too shy to say it because a lot of times when people say they want to sing it's because they want to have the attention or be in the limelight, you know, and that wasn't it, so I said, "Yeah, I want to play keyboards," even though I couldn't breathe a note. (Laughs) Anyhow, I learned myself a little bit, I played keyboards a bit at the time, I was really pretty bad actually because I really wasn't motivated to play keyboards, I really wanted to sing. Yeah, then they said we still need somebody to sing. And then I said, "You know what, I'll do it and if you don't like it, then just tell me." So, I started singing and they really liked it. So, then they said, "You know what, forget the keyboards." But with those guys I later on started the blues rock cover band.

Read the entire interview at www.fye.com.