This summer, Mallorca is going to be blown away by one of the most powerful modern voices of dance pop and blue-eyed soul when Anastacia takes to the stage in Palma.
Currently on the German leg of a world tour as special guest artist with Peter Maffay & Band on the We Love Rock ‘n’ Roll - Farewell Tour 2024, Anastacia, at only 5’3” tall and dubbed ‘the little lady with the big voice’ and been compared to Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin, she told the Bulletin that she can’t wait to come to Mallorca. “I’ve performed many a time in Spain but never in Mallorca so I can’t wait to meet, see and perform for my fans there,” she said.
Musical parents
Musically inspired by her Scandinavian father, who the Chicago-born singer, dancer, producer and cancer awareness campaigner described as “a crooner, he performed in the clubs singing Tom Jones and Frank Sinatra,” and her half-Irish, half-English mother who was a Broadway actress, Anastacia says that music was always in her blood.
“But I didn’t really think that it was something that I would go into as a profession. My father thought that I would eventually be an archaeologist or a doctor simply because I loved looking at things through a telescope.
Didn’t fit the market
“And my mother, being very classical, was always lecturing me about the importance of clear pronunciation; she didn’t dig the soul, groove black disco vibe I was into. I never had singing lessons. I guess singing and music just came to me, it was a vocation, but I was a late starter.
“A lot of producers came to me, but at the time they didn’t like my voice, or didn’t see where I would fit in the market. But I’m a fighter, I stuck to my guns. I was not going to be formed into the singer I didn’t want to be or feel uncomfortable as. So, yes, getting that big professional break was a struggle, while I had a wave of health issues to battle and overcome too. They also had a profound influence on me and some, not all, of my songs,” she said.
Anastacia, who has to date sold over 52 million records, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when she was thirteen. In January 2003, she discovered she had breast cancer and immediately had surgery and radiotherapy. And then in February, 2013, Anastacia was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. “Yea, I’ve had my share of hard knocks. But hey, I’m still recording, performing and touring which I love.
“When I’m on the road, I do my best to take care of myself. Just a common cold can affect the voice. But on the whole I try to stay away from crowded noisy bars and late night clubs. For me touring is all about singing and performing so I have my routine. There could be times I’m performing three times a day, so I need to replenish myself, look after my body. I tend to keep within a small circle when I’m travelling. I’m 55 years old and I can still hit the same high notes and hold them. But like I said, at first the labels didn’t go for me. I would be continuously told that my sound just didn’t quite fit into any category,” she said.
Unemployed claiming benefit
But Anastacia attracted the interest of record labels after appearing on The Cut hosted by rapper Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes. Even though she didn’t win, she had impressed Elton John and Michael Jackson as well as the show’s judges, David Foster and Faith Evans. She signed a contract with Daylight Records, a custom label of Sony Music Entertainment’s Epic Records, in March 1999 - aged 30. “It couldn’t have come at a better time. I was unemployed claiming benefit cheques. my life was a bit of a mess, then out of the blue it all changed like ‘bam’. And I’m so grateful to have been able to not only have enjoyed the success I did and still am but to have sung with some of the best musicians and female voices like Annie Lennox, Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Shakira, Cher, Mary J. Blige, Dixie Chicks and Stevie Nicks plus U2, Pavarotti and Lulu all over the world.” She also shot to TV fame as a judge on leading talent shows. So, apart from starting late, I’ve had a few stops and starts, which to a certain extent meant that early I was not touring as much as I would have liked. However, I’ve discovered there’s a flip side to that and it’s great.
Melody first then write the song
“What it means is that since I have started touring the world, 80 percent of my fans who have never seen me live, have had and still have the chance to do so, and the response to the concerts is amazing. It’s been one sell-out tour after another and I’m, blessed and grateful that so many people still want to see and hear me live. My music is timeless, perhaps nostalgic to some and for the most part it’s music to enjoy, to dance to, to groove ...
“Obviously, personal events and experiences, such as cancer, have influenced some of my songs but I have a different approach to writing. I tend to go for the melody first and then write my songs. I don’t start with apples and pears. I start with the rhythm and, ironically, the vast majority of my songs are very positive and upbeat - spiritual yes but also inspiring and fun. Life’s a struggle and I go with what’s inside. During my recovery from my double mastectomy, I wrote the album Resurrection, inspired by that period in my life. But overall, my fans will know where I’m coming from and that I share that joy, the freedom with them when I’m on stage, and that is what the audience can expect in Mallorca.
Greatest hits
“I’ll be performing my greatest hits and throw in a few new tracks from my latest album and a few jokes. I’m very a self-deprecating human and we all make mistakes. I love to have a laugh, but the band and I will be rocking it out with some authentic dance sounds in Palma, that I can guarantee,” said Anastacia, who in 2013, due to her decade-long charitable efforts in breast cancer awareness, became only the second woman to be presented with the Humanitarian Award at the GQ Men of the Year.
And her latest album, she admits, really took her out of her comfort zone and on a whole new journey, but she is extremely pleased with the result and the response. “It’s called OUR SONGS and, to be honest, at first I was seriously worried that it was going to be the ruin of my career because it took me on a whole new journey which was to translate and remaster some of the greatest German hits and tracks over the past 40 years.
Love to try new things
“Trouble was I don’t speak German nor have I ever translated before, so I had to teach myself a way round that. But I love a challenge and trying new things. Yes, it was a bit of a struggle reworking songs by The Scorpions or Tokyo Hotel, for example, but they are fabulous songs. Unfortunately, modern German music doesn’t seem to have travelled that well. “So, while people weren’t listening to these great songs on the dance floors of Ibiza and clubs around the world, they are now. People love the album, I’ve put my rhythm, my touch to the tracks and it’s worked, which is great,” she said.
“So maybe I’ll throw some of those numbers in on the night in Palma! Can’t wait,” added Anastacia, who has received countless accolades, including more than 225 awards in 31 countries and number one hits in 19 countries. Anastacia will close the Palma Concert Series, which also includes James Blunt, Tom Jones and Simple Minds, at Trui Son Fusteret on August 6.