Rhydian Roberts first burst into our homes in a glittery blaze of glory as the showboating tabloid villain of X Factor in 2007. All white hair and white fur coats, sparkly seersucker and sailor suits… and a rich baritone voice that could sing everything from pop to showtunes to opera.
He went on to become the people’s favourite and sell over 500,000 copies of his debut album, Rhydian, released late last year
Two years later the hair remains the same, the extravagant style remains recession-proof, and Rhydian’s ambition to bring his music to the people remains undimmed.
If his debut album gave his newly-won TV fans exactly what they wanted, the classically-trained singer now reveals his true self on O Fortuna
It’s a collection of much-loved songs that pay homage to his Welsh heritage, with Rhydian joined by some of his country’s biggest names – Britain’s most successful living composer Karl Jenkins, opera superstar Bryn Terfel and harp virtuoso Catrin Finch – and backed by that most traditional of vocal groups, a male voice choir.
“I’m particularly proud that all the singers on this album are Welsh, except for one” says Rhydian. But what a ‘one’ that is –Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, who duets with Rhydian on Benedictus, taken from Karl Jenkins’s acclaimed “mass for peace” ‘The Armed Man’.
“I always wanted to sing with Kiri,” enthuses Rhydian. ‘She still sings magically. It’s just a joy to have her on the album and her presence beside me has made that song very special.”
Rhydian was equally thrilled to be joined by one of his greatest musical idols, fellow baritone Bryn Terfel, on a version of his favourite Welsh song, Myfanwy. “I grew up listening to Bryn. He’s the best there is in his field and has been for more than a decade,” he says.
“The reason I’m singing it is that it’s my favourite Welsh song, and also my dad’s favourite song. I first fell in love with Myfanwy when I heard Bryn sing it on one of his early albums so it’s a fairy tale really having one of my role models singing my favourite song with me.”
Such illustrious company demonstrates just how far Rhydian has come since we first encountered him on television during the 2007 series of X Factor.
At the time he had recently graduated from Birmingham City University’s Conservatoire, garlanded with prestigious awards, and had just won a place to study musical theatre at the Royal Academy of Music.
So he was gambling away his classical credibility when he decided to audition for X Factor – a show he had only watched once – in the face of suspicion and scorn from his more snooty music school contemporaries. But Rhydian never wanted to be on the stage at Covent Garden. “I never saw myself onstage at La Scala – my dream is to appear on Broadway one day in a role created for me. And I hope that one day that will come true.”
As soon as he arrived in the X Factor house, his flamboyant sense of style saw him splashed all over the tabloids as some sort of pantomime villain.
But he has never had a moment’s regret. “Some people from music school did look down their noses but I’ve never been snobbish about what I sing,” he says. “I always wanted to be a classical crossover singer. Opera, pop or musical theatre – if it’s good, it’s good.”
Not that he has abandoned his formal training; far from it. Rhydian still studies singing three hours a day, every day, and the results of his continued improvement are immediately evident on O Fortuna. There’s a richer tone, a deeper texture, a more – yes – operatic style to his baritone voice.
There’s a trio of much-loved pieces by Karl Jenkins (Benedictus, Cantilena, Ave Verum), all given surprising new arrangements, through some Welsh favourites (Land Of My Fathers, Myfanwy), hymns (How Great Thou Art), musical theatre favourites (Anthem from ‘Chess’), classical favourites (O Fortuna), pop classics (Annie’s Song and The Living Years) and a new song (I Won’t Let You Walk This Road Alone) written for him by Grammy-winning songwriter/producer Walter Afanasieff.
And of course he brings his unique style to all of them. Even when he sings classical music, Rhydian – who boasts of having bought 40 bespoke suits in the past 18 months – combines technical excellence with a sense of fun.
“My musical idols are people like (opera singer) Simon Keenlyside, who is definitely my singing idol, and people with great technique, whatever style of music they sing – so I admire Pavarotti as much as i love Christina Aguilera and Tina Turner, who can do amazing things with their voice.”
When it comes to songwriting, Rhydian’s idol is the lesser-known New York cabaret composer John Bucchino, and for tips on stagecraft he looks no further than Freddie Mercury, “who does with the voice what Nigel Kennedy does with the violin.” And he tips his hat to the Beatles and Radiohead.
Yet for all his diverse influences, his choice of material, and the arrangements he has chosen show that Rhydian is very much his own man. “I could spend my career trying to reinvent myself but ultimately this is the real me as a singer,” he declares. “This is very much where I envisaged being when I was at music school. I’m made up. It’s brilliant. And long may it continue.”
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