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Internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer, and actress who just last month released a holiday album that features a list of renowned collaborators with GRAMMY credentials. She has performed worldwide, from the Lincoln Center in New York all the way to Paris. Born and raised in Ireland, she has drawn praise from the New York Times, USA Today, the Huffington Post, and Billboard, among others. She also talks here about the destination recording studio she is a part of, plus, her interpretation of songbooks of varied artists ranging from Petula Clark to Barbra Streisand to U2.

Notable Guest Quotes

"One of the things that we really worked hard in planning this album was that it was themed and conceptual.  And it wasn't a mish-mash of songs.  Ya' know, in an age of streaming and listening to singles and EPs, there's very few constructed records anymore that take you on a journey from track one to the last track.  And that is what I set out to do, we set out to do, with this record, and I hope we've accomplished that."

"A lot of people, certainly major artists on labels that have deals to fulfill, a quick way to get a record out is to put out a Christmas record and it's all covers and it's a very typical song list.  And I was vehemently opposed to doing that because I wanted to create something different."

"There's a lot of lanes of expertise when it comes to a record.  One of my favorite quotes that we have on the wall at the studio here is from Bono, that says, 'Making records is much like making sausages; the end result is palatable, but you don't want to see the process'."

"I say this to my band or an orchestra or whoever I'm on stage with; I might be front and center at the microphone, but I sure as heck can't do it without you.  So, we're a team."

"A life in the arts seemed incredibly unrealistic and so I was very strongly discouraged, actually, to pursue the arts."

"I got to New York, I was like, 'Okay, well now I'm legitimately in a place where you can pursue the arts as a real life and a real career'."

"I've actually started writing a play and I'm looking back and I wouldn't change one bit of it because it brought me to exactly where I am today and I'm just grateful, immensely grateful, for all of it."

"If it's in you, if that desire and that light is inside you, I try to encourage anyone to pursue it.  You only have one shot.  You don't want to let it go by."

"I sing songs that I really can lean into the lyrics.  I'm a theatrical performer.  I'm an actor.  And so, I really need to go on a journey with these songs, and Bono's lyrics, ya' know, he's a poet.  He's, I think, one of the great contemporary lyricists and often if you strip away the sound, the amazing sound, of U2, but if you take it away and you read, just read, the lyrics of songs... they're chilling.  They're really incredible.  So, I was able to create something very magical.  It's an orchestral show, so it's a very different sound, but completely true to the songs and the songbook."

"Often I... create the show first and the album comes next after we've really worked out the journey that we're all going on."

Songs on this episode

"I Think of You"
"This Time of Year"