NIKKI OPENS UP ABOUT RAISING HER TWO KIDS AND LIVING HER DREAMS

By April Glover

Nikki Webster certainly has a lot on her plate, with raising two children, juggling three dance studios and now a plum new hosting gig with Dance Mums Australia.

The darling of the 2000 Sydney Olympics – now all grown up as a mother of two and a savvy business owner – is not afraid to transform into a no-nonsense dance teacher on the new reality show.

Speaking with New Idea to promote the casting call for the show, the 32-year-old says her own child-star past has coloured both motherhood and her career.

“I’ll definitely be mentoring [the dancers], but I’ll also not be taking any crap! It’s going to be tough. To get to that elite level takes a lot of training and discipline,” Nikki explains.

“There will be drama and glitter! It’s also coming from the perspective of me as a child star. I’ll be helping them along the pressures I’ve been through. And being quite tough on them.”

Nikki was thrust into stardom at the age of 13, and she knows exactly how hard it can be to make it in the industry.

“It does make me allow my children just to enjoy being kids and enjoy every moment. I’m also very supportive of whatever path they choose. I was lucky enough to have parents who supported me through my dreams, no matter how crazy they were,” she says.

The past year has been a whirlwind for Nikki. She was back in the spotlight on The Masked Singer Australia while battling her own private heartache. The singer quietly split from her husband Matthew, the father of her children, Skylah, 5, and Malachi, 2, after seven years of marriage.

But with help from her kids and parents, Nikki is determined to march into 2020 with her head held high.

“[My parents] taught me how to be a good mum. I model how I’m a parent off my own parents, and it’s a matter of being there and supporting them, doing whatever I can to make sure they achieve their goals, if they’re going to work hard. I’m there to support them no matter what they choose. That’s kind of the mum I want to be,” she says.

Being a single mother is no easy feat, but neither is turning child-stardom into a successful career as an adult. Nikki says it’s a testament to working hard on and off the stage to give her and her children the best life possible.

“Even though I haven’t been in the spotlight, I’ve still been working behind the scenes, writing music and things like that. I feel like I’ve never left, but I’ve been lucky enough to get some great opportunities,” she says.

“I think I’m able to juggle it. I’ll make it work. It’ll be a busy time, but a really exciting time.” As it nears the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Olympics and her debut on the world stage, Nikki hints at something special in the works.

“There’s a few rumours of things – nothing’s locked in yet! It was such a proud moment, I think we should definitely celebrate it in some way. We did on the 10 years, so hopefully we do on the 20th!”

Source: New Idea
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After a heartbreaking year, the singer is making a HUGE return in 2020

After a turbulent year in her private life, Nikki Webster is smiling again – and it’s all thanks to her amazing new TV gig! The 32-year-old has excitingly revealed she’s been named the host of one of the biggest reality shows in the world – Dance Moms.

Nikki, who has run her own dance company, Dance @ Nikki Webster in NSW for more than a decade, made the announcement in a video where she called on budding professional dancers aged eight to 16 to audition for the show, which is set to air next year.

While many of the details are still under wraps, it’s said Nikki will serve as the dance matriarch – what Abby Lee Miller does in the US version – who will oversee an elite troupe as they battle it out in competitions around the nation.

Nikki has remained largely out of the limelight since her star-making turn in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but is said to be thrilled to get back in front of the camera and throw herself into work, especially in light of her personal struggles.

MARRIAGE BREAK-UP

In October, fans were shocked to hear that Nikki’s relationship with Matthew Mcmah had unravelled, when Woman’s Day revealed they had quietly called time on their seven-year marriage.

While Nikki remained quiet over the details, it was later revealed through court documents that Matthew had been convicted of common assault domestic violence after an altercation outside Nikki’s dance studio.

Police reports reveal that 39-year-old Matthew, who shares two children, daughter Skylah, five, and son, Malachi, two, with Nikki – caused her to fall to the ground in “immediate pain” after holding her forearms during an argument in the parking lot.

Despite her heartbreak, Nikki’s professional life has been given a boost after the enormous success of her appearance on Ten’s The Masked Singer earlier this year. And friends say Nikki is determined to put her dark times behind her and keep looking to the future.

Source: Woman’s Day
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By Valentina Todoroska

Nikki Webster grew up in front of our eyes but now at 32-years-old, she has two young children of her own.

And becoming a parent to daughter, Skylah, and son, Malachi, as well as running her own dance school hasn’t been without its challenges.

“It’s hard work, it’s a full time job doing both,” Nikki said of being a parent as well as running Dance @ Nikki Webster. “I guess the best thing is I’m in a environment where I can bring my kids to work.”

Nikki said both of her children love to sing and dance and often take classes at her dance school.

“Everybody talks to me about them and loves them and support them just as much as me,” she told 10 daily. “They love what I do and where I work is their second home.”

Nikki said the ease with which her children fit in with her work has been a blessing and that she loves getting to share what she does for a living with them.

“They’re there with me all the time. So that’s kind of how I manage it and I have great family support,” she said. “My parents are incredible and my brother supports me and help me through everything.”

Nikki said while she loves being a mum, the most unexpected thing about becoming a parent is just that, it’s unexpected.

“I think every journey in their life is so unexpected, their personalities and the way they develop,” she said.

Nikki was also surprised that her daughter Skylah in particular, is almost a clone of her, both in looks and personality.

“The fact that my daughter looks so much like me, and the fact that her personality is very similar to me, I’m like, you can’t make that happen,” she said. “It’s just in their genetic makeup.”

Nikki said the most fulfilling part of becoming a mum has been to watch her kids develop and grow.

“I just try to be there for their struggles and for the good days,” she said. “I just want to be really present mum and help them fulfill their dreams as I was lucky enough to do mine.”

Source: 10daily.com.au

By Helen Vnuk

The publicist makes it clear before my interview with Nikki Webster starts: “NO questions about The Masked Singer”.

Okay, got it. But if anyone would be perfect for the show – which is all about getting audiences to hear your vocal skills without knowing who you are – it would be Nikki Webster. She’s 32 years old, but most people still think of her as the little girl who flew at the Sydney Olympics, and then had a hit the following year with “Strawberry Kisses”. 

In fact, Webster tells Mamamia that when she meets new people, the conversation almost always starts the same way. 

“Most people sing ‘Strawberry Kisses’,” Webster says. “That’s the test – if I’m going to be offended, or if I’m going to laugh with them. Then if I’m laughing with them and singing along with them, it goes to a conversation.”

The song went to number two in the Australian charts, when Webster had just turned 14. So how does she feel, as a mum-of-two, running a string of dance studios, that people still remind her of “Strawberry Kisses” almost every day?  

“I love it,” she says. “I’m very proud of the song. It’s rewarding as an artist to know your song’s lived on for 18 years.”

There was even a recent dance remix, Strawberry Kisses 2017, which proved its catchiness holds up almost two decades later.

Like a lot of kids, Nikki dreamed of being a performer. But unlike a lot of kids, Nikki’s dreams came true. At the age of five she was cast in her first musical theatre production. Then, when she was 13, she scored one of the biggest gigs in the world: starring in the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Webster says during the ceremony, she “just forgot” that the eyes of the world were on her.

“I was enjoying it as much as people at home watching it.”

She still has the pink dress she wore that night.

“I’m never parting with that! And I’ve still got the little bag I walked out with, and some confetti that I threw.”

After the Olympics, opportunities came Webster’s way. She got to travel the world, to record albums, to design her own clothing range.

“Anything I dreamed of as a kid and wrote in my diary was coming true at a very young age,” she remembers. “I was going, ‘Oh my gosh, this is crazy!’”

Continue reading At 13, Nikki Webster performed at the Sydney Olympics. This is what her life looks like now.

By Mickey D

It’s been 19 years since Nikki Webster performed ‘Under the Southern Skies’ at the Sydney Olympics. Now she’s back in the spotlight, but did she ever leave?

Most Australian’s are familiar with Nikki for her spectacular performance at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Following that she earned a record contract with BMG and debuted her single ‘Strawberry Kisses’ which reached number 2 on the Australian singles charts in 2001 holding the position for 7 weeks. This was the song that earned her the title of “one hit wonder”, but was she really?

Nikki Webster is not really a one hit wonder. Her debut album Follow Your Heart also went platinum with second single “Depend on Me” going top 20 and third single “The Best Days”/”Over the Rainbow” reaching number 21. Webster’s 2002 BLISS album also went gold with a cover of American girl group P.Y.T.’s “Something More Beautiful” reaching No. 13 and going gold, while the second single “24/7 (Crazy ’bout Your Smile)” also reached the top 20.

Continue reading Nikki Webster was never really a one hit wonder

”I’m still missing your strawberry kisses…”

By Anita Lyons

Nikki Webster’s song Strawberry Kisses was by far one of the best and most popular songs to come out of 2001 (don’t @ me).

And while all of Australia fell in love with the bubblegum hit at the time, in more recent years, the song has a brand new fan – Nikki’s daughter, Skylah.

In an interview with Now to Love, Nikki revealed that her daughter not only dances to the song in the living room, but is well aware about who her very famous mum is.

“She loves that everybody knows what I do and I think it’s great that she does,” she said. “I’m sure there will be a time that when kids of parents who are in the spotlight go, ‘oh, that’s so not cool’ but when they’re young I think they do like it and she knows the song Strawberry Kisses and she sings it to me and it makes me really proud.

“She’ll also say: ‘I think you’re famous mum! Does that mean I’m famous too?” So cute!

“To me, I’m still cool. I may not be in the public, but at the moment I’m still cool mum, which is cool!” Nikki added.

Nikki also admitted that she “hasn’t found the time” to watch the Sydney Olympics Opening Ceremony with her children (which also includes son, Malachi, 23 months), however, they have seen snippets.

“She’ll probably tell me to be quiet because I’ll be like: ‘then I had to do this and then I had to do that and then I was put there’. And she’ll just tell me, ‘mum, I just want to watch it!’

“She’s certainly watched the flying and she’s learnt about a lot about the Aboriginal cultures at school and I spoke about my experiences. Hopefully it makes her proud and it’s something that she realises that this is my life.”

When it comes to Strawberry Kisses, Nikki reveals why she thinks the song was, and is, so popular.

“It’s a bit of fun,” she said. “It’s not serious. And I think that whether you were like a young boy singing it to make fun of your friends – you’ll remember it now or whether you were a young girl who really loved it and thought it was a really cool song.

“It just had an appeal. And I even see now running the dance studios, when we go to eisteddfods, kids and troupes are performing my song and they don’t even know I’m going to be there.”

The record catapulted Nikki into the realm of “tween pop star” – something which this country hasn’t had since.

Overseas, there’s the likes of JoJo Siwa and before her, Hilary Duff as Lizzie McGuire – but here, parents are turning back to Nikki for wholesome entertainment.

“It’s age appropriate, has a fun message and really positive, so that’s why the song lives on,” she said.

Ahead of One Hit Wonder Day, Nikki Webster has partnered with Deliveroo to launch her first ever foray into food, a strawberry and chocolate dessert called (of course) “Strawberry Kisses”. The sweet treat from Australia’s sweetheart will be available from Max Brenner, exclusively via the Deliveroo app.

Nikki Webster’s limited edition Strawberry Kisses will be available via Max Brenner on Deliveroo from 11:11am on Monday 23rd September for $1 whilst stocks last.

Source: nowtolove.com.au

Almost 20 years on, Nikki Webster has opened up about the behind the scenes dramas from the Sydney Olympics Opening Ceremony.

By Luke Dennehy