It really has been an amazing year for Parkes girl Alison Stibbard, and it looks like it just keeps getting better.
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She and a very lucky friend of her choosing – Iesha Charlton – were invited to be VIP guests at an exclusive concert on Cockatoo Island in Sydney.
Alison, who just recently had the time of her life when she met Haillee Steinfeld of Pitch Perfect at the end of June, decided to take another friend, Iesha, to join her in seeing New Zealand singing sensation Lorde perform her new album “Melodrama” in an intimate first-time Down Under show.
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Universal Music Australia had sent Alison the VIP tickets, along with two copies of Lorde’s new CD. And unlike others who attended, the offer of free refreshments of their choosing all night made them the envy of many, so the girls said later.
Private ferries transported the guests from Darling Harbour to the world heritage listed Cockatoo Island. The concert was staged in the Nova ‘Red Room’ at the Turbine Shop for the many invited TV and music celebrities and other guests.
Indeed, Iesha was over the moon when she found herself with Channel 7 Sunrise presenter David “Kochie” Koch and managed to snare a photo opportunity with him, just to make the night that little more special.
“Mum is a big fan,” she said.
“I had to get a photo so that I could make her a bit jealous,” Iesha laughed
Other celebrities among the throng of guests were Karl Stefanovic, Angela Bishop, Paul Kelly, and Guy’s wife Jules Sebastian.
The Grammy Award-winning artist has made a major impact on the music scene, since she first began performing several years ago, and has been the winner of numerous international music awards. Not bad for someone who is only 20 years old.
What sets her apart from other performers is her rather unorthodox stage presence, when she dances wildly and freely while singing, and though she has often been rebuked for this, she delivers the consummate performance, and to her audience that is all that matters.
Lorde had the honour of performing a David Bowie Tribute at the 2016 Brit awards with his original band. She also won Best Pop Solo and Song of the Year at the 56th Grammy Awards, and the ultimate honour for this young Croatian-Irish singer was to have a wax figure of herself featured in Madame Tussaud’s in Hollywood in 2015.
Alison admitted that she had not heard many of Lorde’s songs prior to going to the concert.
“I had heard maybe one or two,” she said.
“But her appearance on stage was absolutely fantastic, and so full of energy. That’s not something a CD can reproduce.
“She was so natural and warm when she was talking to the audience, and there was nothing pretentious about her.
“She just enjoyed doing what she loved, and tried to convey that to the audience.”
A little known fact about Lorde is that she suffers from a rare neurological condition known as sound-to-colour synaesthesia, where specific colours appear when certain musical notes are played. While many would consider it strange, Lorde attributes this condition to making her music what it is – vibrant, edgy and unique – something which her fans world-wide appreciate.
For Alison and Iesha it was an experience well worth it, and one they can both put away in their memory box as a very special night.
“Even though we didn’t get to meet her in person it was still a fabulous night,” Alison said.