Parle's a singer

“Oh my god!” giggles 21-year-old country poppet Luan Parle. “I had the book!”

“No way!” I cry. “I had it on vinyl!”

It appears that Ms Parle and I have stumbled upon common ground, namely The Cult of Kylie – a phenomenon financed almost entirely by the 6 to 12 age bracket way back when in the early ‘90s.

“Kylie was my idol” she laughs. “I remember, I read in Smash Hits that her favourite food was chocolate spread on bread so I forced myself to like it too. It was horrible though!”

A sucker for the limelight since toddler-hood, Luan has been singing for as long as she can remember. Her CV includes performances on Kenny Live, The Late Late Toy Show, recording an album aged 12 and being offered a dream contract by two American reps when she was barely in her teens.

“They came over to Ireland to meet me and offered me a big recording contract in the US” explains Luan. “I was going to have a private tutor and tour for a minimum of six months… basically it was a huge deal. But I was only 13. My Mam and Dad sat me down and told me that I had to finish school and that if I did, they’d back my career 100%.”

Exams out of the way, a single recorded and demos posted out, it was none other than an article in hotpress that caught the attention of the A&R personage who subsequently signed the now 20-year-old Luan to a deal with Sony Worldwide.

Distinctly pop on record, Luan is a country girl at heart citing such influences as Faith Hill, Sheryl Crow, Shania Twain and Martina Mc Bride.

“My Dad was a big country fan and so I suppose he got me into it. He listened to mostly contemporary stuff though – a kind of rocky, poppy, crossover country. I still listened to a lot of pop though, I was always into the charts, but I had my country thing going on as well. Everybody seems to be comparing me to Leanne Rimes, but I don’t know. I wouldn’t like to compare myself to anybody else. I just want to be successful at what I do. My music is a bit different again – it’s country pop, but there’s a rocky edge to it and there isn’t really anyone in Ireland or the UK doing the kind of music I do. When I was a kid, country wasn’t known of so much but now with people like Shania Twain and Faith Hill in the charts, it’s become kind of cool to like it.”

Luan has been collaborating on songs for her new album with a vast array of writers and producers from all walks of musical styles. “I had always written by myself or with my dad, but it’s only in the past few months that I’ve been co-writing with other people. It’s brilliant. I’ve been working with Pete Cunnah from D:ream, Oscar Paul who did songs for S Club 7 and produced the latest Gareth and Will B sides, Rick Barklow, Charlotte Kelly from Soul II Soul and Tim Laws who wrote Dreams for Gabrielle. They are really lovely people. I do get a bit nervy sometimes when I leave the hotel to go and work with them but once you sit down and start writing, it all goes.”

Her debut single, the infinitely catchy ‘When I See You Smile’, was released on the April 19th.

“I’m heading off to town tomorrow and we’re going to scout around the shops to have a look at it on the shelves,” she enthuses. “Just to see it there is going to be such a thrill. I can’t wait.”