Katherine Jenkins Tickets

Mezzo-soprano, Katherine Jenkins, was born in Neath, Wales, in 1980, and joined the Royal School of Church Music Cathedral Singers at just 10 years old. During her time there, she won the St Cecilia Award, the highest accolade available to female choristers. Additional awards include the BBC Radio 2 Welsh Choirgirl of the Year and the BET Welsh Choirgirl of the Year. She joined the Royal Academy of Music in 1997, where she qualified as a music teacher, before trying modelling and becoming the Face of Wales 2000.

She joined Universal Classics for a six-album deal in 1998, on the back of a demo tape she had made, and her £1m advance made her the highest paid debut artist in UK classical recording history. Her first album, Premiere (2004), was followed by Second Nature (2004), the latter winning “Best Classical Album” at the BRITs, a feat she repeated a year later with her third album, Living A Dream (2005). Her fourth album, Serenade, came out in November 2006, and got to No.1 in the classical charts and No.5 in the mainstream charts. Her fifth album, Rejoice, contained more contemporary songs, including two collaborations with Gary Barlow. It got to No.3 in the mainstream albums, outselling Girls Aloud.

Jenkins released Sacred Arias in 2008, before signing to Warner Music later that year for a reputed $10m, the biggest classical recording deal in history. Believe was released in October 2009, which featured guest appearances from Andrea Bocelli, Andre Rieu and Chris Botti, and also that year her TV exposure increased, with guest slots on, amongst others, Piers Morgan's Life Stories, GMTV and Something For The Weekend. She is a regular at benefit concerts and Royal Variety Performances, and she often joins in charity catwalk shows and celebrity game shows. She published an autobiography, Time To Say Hello, in 2008, and in 2010 became engaged to fellow Welsh celebrity, Gethin Jones, although the relationship ended in December 2011.