“I wasn’t expecting that,” Laura admits. “I’m very cynical when it comes to stuff like that; my attitude was, ‘It’ll only get in the Top 100!’ That’s the way I always play things. America’s so big, and we’re cracking it, but there are a lot of radio formats, and I’m still only on urban. So I haven’t crossed over yet, and there’s still a couple of million other people that you have to hit. That’s why I didn’t expect it to do so well – we’d only hit one format, and there was only one single. For the album to start off like that, it was a great boost to the record label, to myself, to everyone.”
Such has been Laura’s success, that of late she’s started to be recognised on the streets of New York.
“It’s very bizarre,” she reflects. “In Ireland, we’re a little bit shyer than that, we don’t really come up to people unless the situation is right. Whereas in the States, they come up to me all the time and start singing my songs. My nickname over there is Izzy, and I hear people calling it out, in airports especially. It’s very strange, I have to say.”
Laura has also found herself mixing with some bona fide musical legends. Last Christmas, for example, she supported Aretha Franklin at the Nokia Theater in New York.
“It was bananas,” she smiles. “It was a huge show, with lots of brass and strings, and Aretha had about three outfit changes. The concert was for US soldiers who’d been relieved, so she was wearing a little navy hat. It was amazing and surreal, to be on the same stage as her and use the same microphone. Earlier that day, I had to do a talk out in the middle of Times Square to welcome back some of the soldiers, and then her whole show was dedicated to them. So the audience was soldiers who had returned, and family members of those who were still out there.
“I wasn’t thinking too much about the occasion until I got there, and all of a sudden I was able to talk in front of these family members. I thought, ‘I’m Irish, what am I supposed to say?’ I was just honest, I said, ‘I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a brother or a father who’s going off. We don’t have that back home, and I’m very appreciative of that right now. It’s incredibly, amazingly brave what you do for your country.’ I dedicated my song ‘Mmm…’ to the families, and they all started humming and singing. It was a very, very special show.”
Other iconic figures with whom Laura has rubbed shoulders include Al Green and Stevie Wonder.
“Stevie Wonder has his own radio show in LA,” she explains. “He sang my song ‘From My Heart To Yours’ to me, ‘cos he plays it on the programme. Then he asked me to sing for him, and I had pictures and video taken with him. With Al Green, I supported him at Malahide Castle last year, when he played with Joe Cocker. He’s so eccentric and out-of-this-world, a lovely guy. He’s wired; he has so much energy and is so spiritual. You want to take a bit of whatever he’s taking. He’s just on the best buzz ever!”