Voice of a Angel

 There’s been no stopping singer Mandy Pickering since she won the Stars in Their Eyes grand final in 2009. This self-taught musician went on to release her own album and has been in strong demand at various earthquake fundraising gigs and other events. Now residing with her family in Woodend, we welcome Mandy to North Canterbury.

Words: Kim Newth                Photos: supplied

When Mandy Pickering performed Sara McLachlan’s beautiful song Angel at Stars in Their Eyes in 2009, it was hard to believe that this diva had never sung professionally.

Her gorgeous voice wowed the nation at that night’s grand final and her performance was incredibly polished. According to Mandy, she was very nervous but it didn’t show on camera.

She accompanied herself on piano and did so very well.  It seems this skill is largely self-taught; Mandy mostly plays by ear and struggles to read music.

“It probably helped that everyone was able to run through their song twice! The truth is I went into that final feeling the complete underdog and didn’t expect to win at all. I knew I loved to sing but I wasn’t sure if I was any good. To put myself out there was probably the scariest thing I’d ever done. Everyone has a fear of failure. One of the biggest things for me was to be able to overcome that fear and push outside my comfort zone.”

“Since that time, I’ve had so many amazing experiences: recording my own album, making a music video, performing and singing at fundraisers for Christchurch.”

Mandy recorded her album at York Street Recording Studio with award winning engineer Andrew Buckton. It includes her debut single No Heart, penned by singer/songwriter James Reid of The Feelers.

James had been so impressed by Mandy that he got in touch with her directly and offered to contribute material to her album. This happened around the same time an Auckland label phoned her asking if she’d thought about recording an album. “I’ve been exceptionally lucky with the support I’ve had and working with a band like Dukes from Christchurch,” she says.

Luck may have something to do with it, but equally, Mandy’s natural poise and confidence is such that it’s easy to see why she attracts attention. At age 30, for example, her decision “to try something new” led to a series of productive modeling contracts. She had approached Portfolio, who snapped her up and soon had her booked doing TV commercials and catalogue work.

“The nice part of it is we’ve been able to do a few things as a family, for example, doing a TV commercial as a family,” says Mandy, whose two boys Levi, 7 and Isaac, 9 also share her love of singing.

Mandy and her husband Jason lost their Avonside home in the February earthquake and then spent six months “living out of suitcases” at the Rangiora home of their close friends Brad and Amanda Banks. Guitarist Brad (of Dukes) produced Mandy’s album.

They recently found a new home in Woodend and now feel very happy with their North Canterbury lifestyle. Mandy’s busy with local projects, including singing at a fundraiser for Loburn School on October 7, (see p23 for more details) and an Ashgrove School Board of Trustees social night on October 29 (Rangiora Bowling Club, tickets $25 at the school office).

“We’re loving it here. My husband Jason and I see our family and our children as our first priority. We wanted to make sure they were settled and comfortable and that’s what we’ve been able to achieve here.”

Music has to fit in with family commitments, but Mandy has managed to keep her busy schedule on track. Highlights have included singing at a Pike River Mine Relief dinner and auction, judging and performing at the Hersheys Classic Star Contest and being involved with fundraisers like Rev It Up for Christchurch, (which raised more than $210,000).

Another major fundraiser at which she will perform with Jason, who is also a musician, is the HeartStrings Guitar Project Gala Auction on November 24 (at the Geo Dome, Hagley Park Events Centre).

Following the September earthquake, Jason and his father Bruce designed Guitar Series 7.1, a group of seven guitars made from wood rescued from many of the historic and iconic buildings of Christchurch.

These unique guitars are on exhibition at Chambers@124 Gallery from October 25-29 and will be followed by the November auction. All money raised will be donated to Creative NZ for distribution to Christchurch artists and musicians, via Earthquake Emergency Assistance Grants.

To support Heartstrings, Fly My Pretties will also be adopting “The Epicentre Guitar” at their Christchurch shows on Oct 30 and 31.

More info at www.heartstringsnz.co.nz

Mandy is also involved with an Auckland fundraiser to raise money for Donna Mannings’ two children. Donna was one of the people who lost her life in the CTV building in the February earthquake.

It is a privilege, says Mandy, to be able to use her voice to make a contribution to the recovery of this quake-affected region and its people. We’re sure we’ll be hearing a lot more of Mandy in coming months in North Canterbury.