Andrea Ross and ' Moon River ' - A Review.

It happens in the movies, it happens in dreams, but it never happens in real life. Teenage girls simply don't sing a couple of songs over a tinny karaoke tape, get plucked from the slush pile and get signed up by the most successful composer of musicals alive. ... Unless, you're Andrea Ross ...

" A Star Is Born ! " - The Daily Express.

Pictured above is the CD cover image of Andrea Ross's new debut album " Moon River " ( UK Import Edition, 2007 ).

The Track-Listing for the album is as follows :

.1. Moon River.
.2. No Matter What.
.3. Songbird.
.4. White Horses.
.5. Heart Like A Wheel.
.6. The Prayer.
.7. All The Love I Have.
.8. What The World Needs Now.
.9. You Raise Me Up.
10. Popular.
11. Learn To Be Lonely.
12. Start Of Something New.
13. Whistle Down The Wind.
14. One World.

Andrea Ross ( Not to be confused with with the also so-beautiful Andrea Corr from Ireland ); Andrea Ross is a new, pretty, young American singer/actress from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She was originally discovered ( at the young age of 13 ) by the famous and successful English composer of musical theatre, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, who, after hearing her voice in singing, decided to champion her career, launch her as his protegee, signed her up, and produced her very first debut album of 2007 called " Moon River ". Andrea is now 15.;

Andrea Ross's debut album " Moon River " was recorded in London and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber during 2006, and was released for sale to the general public by the company 'Universal Classics and Jazz' on March 5th, 2007.

I 'accidentally' discovered Andrea while one day I was browsing the internet for a place to purchase Hayley Westenra's new album " Treasure " - the UK Import Edition ( 2007 ). Andrea Ross's debut album " Moon River " was listed as a recommendation at the tail end of the product-description/listing for Hayley Westenra's " Treasure ". Like I mentioned in an earlier post, it was the album-cover image of Andrea Ross's debut album " Moon River " that caught my attention initially. It was just enough to have me curious enough to look up information on Andrea Ross's " Moon River " and go in search of streamable audio samples of her music to listen to and see what she's like. Soon enough, I came across Andrea's Official Web site and her music page at Bebo, where she has some short audio sample clips of the tracks from her debut album. I listened to them and sure enough, she has a very pretty and nice-sounding voice.; After some tossing and turning, and juggling of decision, I was eventually convinced to purchase the album.; Today, I'd have to say that I'm glad I did, and that I haven't looked back since.

While Andrea is currently only at the early beginnings of her career, is already interesting-sounding and shows much promise and potential to becoming something much greater in the years to come.

Andrea Ross has been participating in stage plays and stage-musicals since she was 8 years old. She has the voice for it. You'd hear it in her voice if you were to listen to her sing. No wonder she got the attention of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the maestro of broadway and stage musicals and plays. Whilst she's great as a traditional vocal musician in her own right, her pretty singing voice is quite reminiscent of Disney feature female cartoon characters like 'Princess Jasmine' from 'Aladdin', and 'Belle' from 'Beauty and the Beast'. In fact, on her debut album " Moon River ", there's a song called " Popular " in which she sounds very-much like those two animated characters.; Andrew Lloyd Webber once commented that even at a relatively young age, Andrea has the kind of maturity in the sound of her voice to sing love songs, but she is probably a bit young to be singing love songs at this point in time.

" Moon River " is really good for a debut album. It shows Andrea expressing her voice and testing the waters in various ways as a vocal artist. This album is really easy to listen to, and is definitely 'music to the ears' in a very comfortable kind of way. It could almost double as an easy-listening product, but the melodies are a bit dynamic for it to be as such. It's relatively soft, and very comfortable to the ears. Her style is quite unique. A UK BBC reviewer describes Andrea as having a beautiful voice and that the collection of songs on 'Moon River' are relaxing, calm and cosy.; The album 'Moon River' is quite the musical journey, with a hint of classical-ness, and almost fairy-tale like. It comprises a range from soft ballads, to easy melodies, and a few almost pop-like covers including tracks like " No Matter What " ( previously sung by Boyzone ), " The Prayer " ( recently covered by Australian Idol Anthony Callea ), and " You Raise Me Up " ( recently covered by Westlife ). In any case, Andrea performs her versions beautifully and splendidly. Some of her songs are accompanied by a harmonious support choir in the background which fits in with Andrea's vocals in a very appropriate and unobstrusive way.
There are a couple of relatively uplifting tracks on this album - " You Raise Me Up " and " One World ". ' One World ' is the last track on the album, and the sound of the song fits quite appropriately as the closing track of the album, as it does sound a little bit like a ceremonial closing track, a great way to 'wrap-up' the album.

Quotes from other external sources :

" Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, the creator of epoch defining musicals like Evita and Phantom of the Opera certainly knows how to pick great female singers from nowhere but Andrea may eclipse them all. She's a superb natural actress with a commanding, vivid, stage presence and a pure, powerful soprano voice. When she sings she inhabits the soul of the song, articulating emotions she has no right to understand and throughout it all she smiles. Her debut album ' Moon River ' features Eva Cassidy's Songbird, a delightful modern take on Moon River, stunning versions of Popular, Heart Like A Wheel and The Prayer as well as some lesser known gems from the Lloyd Webber catalogue. " - Amazon.co.uk

" She's still only 15 and it is going to be great to see her develop, she has enormous potential to become a very big artist. " - Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.

" As well as being the creator of epoch-defining musicals like Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Starlight Express and The Woman in White, Lloyd Webber certainly knows how to pick great female singers from nowhere. Think of Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman, Julie Covington and the delightful Connie Fisher who is currently starring as Maria in The Sound of Music. Andrea Ross may eclipse them all. She has the necessary gifts in abundance. she's a superb natural actress with a commanding, vivid stage presence and a pure, powerful soprano voice. But she's also got that spine-tingling something, call it the 'X-factor' if you must, that lifts the 'special' out from the merely excellent. Watch her sing and she inhabits the soul of the song, articulating emotions she has no right to understand, and throughout it all, she smiles. She's happy to sing, and the rest of us are happy to listen. " - BroadwayWorld.com

ALL the songs on this album are great ! There just simply isn't anything or any bit of this album that deserves to be skipped or overlooked. This album is so good you just simply put the CD in your CD-Player, Press Play, and appreciate everything you hear from the very beginning to the very end, and without any interruption.

* This album is not available locally anywhere in Australia ( at least not by my current knowledge... ) and can only be obtained via overseas import.

Verdict : It's not every day you discover such a unique and wonderful artist like Andrea. As many who have noticed her will say, she has a beautiful voice. She's only at the beginning of a journey, and she has a long way to go, and a positive one at that. Even at such an early stage, shes' already showing much promise and potential to becoming something much greater in the years to come. There's certainly not many in the world like Andrea, who has this gift that very few are born with. ' Moon River ' is an easy, beautiful musical journey that grows on you with every listen. This album is an appetizer, a small taste of the wonderful things to come. Andrea will be doing great things in future years to come. I Love this album ! ' Moon River ' is an album definitely worth getting. If you haven't heard it yet, then you don't know what you're missing out on. Once you've heard everything on this album, you won't look back.
' Moon River ' is currently one of my favourite albums. And I think I will be watching Andrea's career with quite some interest.

Andrea Ross / Moon River are just simply Extraordinary ! I can't wait for her next studio record !

Best New Artist of the year ( 2007 ) !

I've been listening to the album while I was writing this review.
My Score : 9 out of 10.
( Score Revised Sat. 14/07/2007; Up by 0.5 from 8.5 to 9.0 )

* My Ratings :

Andrea Ross : Moon River ( UK Import Edition )

Since the day I had this album in my possession, I've had all the songs from the album on my video iPod.; I've recently found a short video clip on Amazon.co.uk introducing the ' Moon River ' album, which I downloaded onto my computer, converted it into ipod-video format and transferred the converted file onto my ipod. The video clip itself is pretty cool, and features both Andrea singing and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber introducing her. Andrea makes a brief announcement about her meeting with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and her debut album ' Moon River '.

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Andrea Ross on ' Over the Rainbow '.
[ This Sub-Topic Added : Saturday 9th June, 2007. ]

Andrea Ross recently participated in a UK Charity program, from which a CD Album Recording was made, called " Over the Rainbow " ( pictured Left ). ' Over the Rainbow ' was recorded in conjunction with a UK television show called " Challenge Anneka ", and was put together by Welsh television presenter ' Anneka Rice '. ' Over the Rainbow ' is a charity album produced to raise money for Childrens Hospices around the UK. The album was released on 4th June, 2007, and the television program was broadcast on 6th June, 2007, 9:00 PM, on UK television station 'ITV1'.

Quoting from Andrea Ross's ' Over the Rainbow ' News Article :

{ " Anneka and her team were given the task of producing and recording an album of songs from musicals by a host of different artists.
In addition to recording, Anneka also had to throw a Gala concert attended by the great and the good, in order to launch the album. Other artists appearing on the record are stars such as Duncan James, Cerys Matthews, Lesley Garrett, Curtis Stigers, Jermaine Jackson and Bonnie Tyler.
The proceeds from this event will go to children's hospices across the country ( the UK ). Children's hospices are unsung heroes who provide vital care for terminally ill children and the families and siblings who care for them. " }

Andrea's song on this album is ' No Matter What ', which is also on her debut album ' Moon River '.; I have listened to a digital audio sample of it on Amazon.co.uk, and though it sounds just about the same, I am not 100% certain whether it is 'exactly' the same version as the one on Moon River. The ' Over the Rainbow ' album is available for purchase on Amazon.co.uk.; No, I haven't bought it yet, and I haven't as yet made a decision as to whether I will or not, though I Don't think I will, as the song 'isn't' one that's not already on her own album.

Watch the Andrea Ross Moon River Trailer Video :

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I have recently joined the Andrea Ross Official Forum. | View my First Post.

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Check out some of Andrea's sample audio clips. Click on Andrea Ross's Bebo Page Link below, and on her page, scroll down to the ' Songs ' section. There you will find a list of short sample audio clips from her debut album that you can select to play and listen to.

* Andrea Ross's Official Web Site | * Andrea Ross's Bebo Page.

* Some Background Information on Andrea Ross & ' Moon River '.

* The Andrea Ross Page at BroadwayWorld.com.

Andrea Ross : " Moon River " - The New Debut Album ( 2007 ). .Buy This Product On-Line at DVD.co.uk

* Next Related Article :

* Andrea Ross to Make an Appearance at the " Concert for Diana ".