The little bird on the wire is soaring higher, writes Bob Hart
SHOWBIZ careers are inclined to start at ground level and, if all goes swimmingly, soar to great heights: not Nikki Webster’s. She first hit our radar screens at altitude – dangling high above Stadium Australia at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Olympics. On that occasion, a stadium audience of 110,000 – and billions watching her on the telly – prayed silently to the god of strong wires.
In truth, however, Nikki’s career neither began nor ended with that heart-stopping display. The little bird on the wire, then 13, had been pounding stages since she was five. And, metaphorically, she is still up there – starring in stage shows, selling records by the truckload, making commercials, flogging make-up… even causing this ancient cyber-chump to register the 314,254th hit on her website.
She has survived Sydney and Melbourne seasons of The Wizard of Oz, in which she plays Dorothy, and now she is off to Brisbane, where the show will close just before Christmas. She also has a new single, a new album, and lots of ideas . . .
Q: When things get tough, I understand you call in some heavy showbiz reinforcements.
A: Yes. Bert and Patti Newton, who appear with me in The Wizard of Oz, are like my second mum and dad. I can talk to Patti like I talk to my own mum. She always asks me if I am eating enough, or if I am doing this, or doing that. I am very, very lucky.
Q: Speaking of lucky, isn’t there someone else who helps you out?
A: Yes. Kylie Minogue is very much my idol and my mentor. If ever I have a problem, or if there is something I need to think through, I e-mail her. She always responds with excellent advice. Kylie knows the industry better than anybody — she understands everything I’m going through.
Q: Do you know much about Judy Garland, the original movie’s Dorothy?
A:Oh, yes. I’m really interested in her because Wizard has always been my favourite movie. I have watched programs on her life and, obviously, she never seemed to be particularly happy. She was hugely talented, but had so little control.
Q: And you do?
A: Absolutely. I have control over everything I do. I look at the course her life took, and the reasons for it, and I find it hard to believe that it happened. Could a film studio ever have that much influence over another person’s life? It couldn’t happen now but, obviously, it could happen then.
Q: Are you influenced by Garland in other ways?
A: People have asked me if I feel as though I could ever fill her shoes, and that’s ridiculous. But whenever I sing Over the Rainbow — whenever anybody sings it — you know that Judy is up there somewhere.
Q: Speaking of tragic figures, you’ve also met Michael Jackson?
A: Yes. I was about seven or eight. He was touring Australia, and I sang with him. He is amazing. And who knows what is really happening with him — what is going on inside. He might be really happy with his life. I now know enough not to believe everything I read. When I met him he was a lovely person — friendly, down to earth. I couldn’t believe I was talking to him.
Q: Has being Australian helped you?
A: A lot. It’s very important to me. If ever I succeed overseas, Australia will remain my home. It is one of the things that keeps me grounded. That and my friends.
Q: You have time to have friends?
A: Of course. They’re the same friends I’ve always had, and they keep me in line. If they think I’m getting full of myself, they soon bring me back down to earth. And when I am in Sydney, I still go to school.
Q: But when you are touring, you have a tutor?
A: Yes. I’m in Year 10 which is pretty tough, but I think I get more done than my classmates because I’m not talking all the time, and I have fewer distractions. Being taught one-on-one is great. If you don’t understand something, you don’t have to think twice about putting up your hand.
Q: Does the constant rehearsing, performing, recording, promoting whirl mean you are missing out on things?
A: No, not really. I still go to the movies, still catch up with my friends, still go to dance classes, which I love.
Q: How do you relax?
A: By just being at home with my puppy-dogs. I’ve got two, both poodle-maltese crosses, and I’m hoping to get a third.
Q: You copped flak for that red, racy, shiny, bare-midriff outfit you wear in your new pop promotional material. Do you care?
A: No. Part of what I mean by having control is that I design all my own clothes. I don’t have people telling me to wear this, or not to wear that. If people criticise my clothes, then maybe they just don’t understand what a 15-year-old girl likes to wear. My clothes are changing because I’m getting older. There is no point in sticking with the clothes I wore when I was 12.
Q: Have you ever considered your own clothing range?
A: That’s a good idea. That’s a very good idea. I would love to do that and, yes, I’ve thought about it…
Q: Do people treat you like a grown-up yet?
A: Sometimes. I feel a lot more grown-up now than I did at the Olympics. I’ve met so many people since then. Also, I’m not sitting around at home. I’m out, learning stuff, seeing the world. I suppose every kid wants to be a part of grown-up conversations, and mostly, I am. But then, I’m 15. And that’s pretty grown up, isn’t it?
Nikki Webster’s latest single – 24/7 (Crazy ’bout Your Smile) – is from her second album, Bliss, which will be released on October 28.
Source: The Herald Sun