Nikki Webster Press Archive

R. Atkin of Wellesley, Mass., asks ‘Whatever happened to…?’

Olympic singer Nikki Webster

The spritely 13-year-old who floated 80 feet above Sydney’s Olympic Stadium in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics a year ago is now an Australian superstar.

Winsome Nikki Webster thrilled crowds with her poise and charm. An estimated 3.5 billion viewers worldwide watched her sing and soar. Not since Olivia Newton-John and Kylie Minogue has an Australian girl garnered so much attention.

Since the Olympics, Webster has been generating a buzz. She has her own website, a part in a movie (“Vanilla Gorilla”) that will be shot in South Africa, and, most recently, the lead role of Dorothy in a traveling theatrical production of “The Wizard of Oz.”

Her single “Strawberry Kisses” (released in June) hit No. 2 on the Australian music charts. Her new album “Depend on Me” was released in September.

While fame is nothing new to her (she has appeared in TV commercials and theater productions for 10 years), fame of this magnitude is.

Webster’s mother, who works at a child-care center, and her father, an electrician, make sure Nikki keeps a proper perspective.

“She’s never wanted money,” her mother, Tina, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Whatever she needs comes out of Mum’s purse…. We don’t even take one cent out of her account….”

Do you suddenly wonder, hey – ‘Whatever happened to… ?’

Wonder no more! Write and tell us who or what you’d like to catch up with. Send ideas to: One Norway St., Boston, MA 02115 or e-mail: whatever@csmonitor.com

By Lane Hartill

Source: The Christian Science Monitor (www.CSMonitor.com).

Australia’s teen queen Nikki Webster is a young woman on the move yet still finds time to make Christmas special, Danielle Teutsch reports.

NIKKI Webster is one of the few people who could be forgiven for doing their Christmas shopping at the last minute.

The young star of last year’s Olympic Opening Ceremony has released a top-selling album, toured shopping centres, won awards and become the face of a cosmetics range.

She is also filming a movie, Vanilla Gorilla, and starring in The Wizard Of Oz at the Lyric Theatre. Somewhere in this highly packed schedule, the 14-year-old has to squeeze in some school work.

But Nikki makes sure she can find the time to choose gifts for family and friends carefully – even if she does blow the budget occasionally.

“I always try to find some time to do it every year,” she said. “I choose with my heart. I like catching up with people at Christmas and giving presents to them.”
Continue reading Shopping with Nikki W

From The Eye’s ROSS BRUNDRETT and PETA HELLARD

WE may not have heard of Nikki Webster 14 months ago, but the singer, who became famous after the Olympics opening ceremony, has been ranked in the top 10 of the most powerful people in Australian entertainment.

The teenager was ranked above such luminaries as The Wiggles, Russell Crowe, Baz Luhrmann, Eddie McGuire, Heath Ledger, Bryce Courtenay, Cate Blanchett and Ray Martin in the annual Power List in Who Weekly. So who were the movers and shakers that beat the pint-sized pop star from top spot?

Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, Network Ten exec John McAlpine, Southern Star head honcho Neil Balnaves, ABC television boss Sandra Levy, Village bosses John Kirby and Graham Burke, Seven drama big man John Holmes, Festival Mushroom Records boss Michael Parisi and Nine drama supremo Kris Noble.

And if you’re wondering how Webster got such a high ranking, we’re told it had a lot to do with the fact that The Wizard of Oz production would not have been staged if the teen had rejected the offer to play the lead role.

Source: The Sunday Times

She stole our hearts flying above the crowd at the Olympics opening ceremony. Now Nikki Webster is trying life as a poppet pop star. By Claire Halliday.

Sunday. 1.15pm. At Highpoint Shopping Centre in the midst of Melbourne’s suburban sprawl, I’m due to meet Nikki Webster for an interview in the middle of her publicity tour. But she’s proving hard to pin down. “Nikki’s just backstage getting ready,” says Nicole Hart, the publicity manager from Nikki’s record company. She’s going to ask Nikki if I can come back and say hello. She disappears.

Pre-pubescent girls line the cattle-pen-like barricades designed to keep them in orderly control. A security guard says they’ve been here since before 11am. Little girls with freckles, floppy fringes, pink polar fleece and Spice Girls T-shirts.

Ross Dicesare and Sophie Gatward from radio station Fox-FM take the stage to hype the throng into a pre-Nikki giggle-fest.

By way of proving Nikki’s apparently meteoric rise, the Fox crew tell the gathering about the recent Jeans for Genes fundraising day (for the Children’s Medical Research Foundation) where a pair of her jeans, painted by artist David Boyd, sold for $22,500. In company with Jennifer Aniston and Kylie Minogue, Nikki’s pants fetched the highest bid. The fans scream out that they know purple is her favourite colour and that water is her favourite drink. Some seem disappointed by the announcement that Nikki will only be signing album covers and that the posters they’re clutching in Chupa Chup sticky palms (Nikki’s favourite flavours are cherry and pineapple) may not get a look-in.
Continue reading Flying High

She captured the hearts of millions at the Sydney Olympics, she’s become Australia’s hottest new popette with her huge hit “Strawberry Kisses” and now Nikki Webster writes exclusively for big hit to let you know what she’s been up to…

“STRAWBERRY KISSES” VIDEO
I had so much fun making the “Strawberry Kisses” film clip, not only on the day but in preparation for the clip, designing the costumes for me and my dancers who are all my friends and rehearsing the dance sequences. One thing that was really different was having the little character DJ in the film clip. Wow! How amazing seeing DJ in a 3D image. It was quite different making the video because he wasn’t really there, I sort of had to just pretend. Then to see the finished product with all the animation complete I thought to myself how lucky I am.

ON THE ROAD
I’ve been on tour to promote my CD all around Australia and getting to meet all my fans and being able to perform “Strawberry Kisses” for them. I’ve been to Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. I did lots of radio and TV shows, and instores in Sydney and Melbourne. The one in Melbourne was just amazing. It was at Highpoint Shopping Centre, which has lots of different levels, and all around the levels there were people watching. It was great! There were so many people, and they’re so supportive, it’s fantastic. It’s like, wow, you sort of worry if people are going to turn up, but when so many people do you’re like “I never knew I had so many fans!” It’s a lift-up definitely.

NO.2 DEBUT
I got the call at six o’clock in the morning to tell me that my first pop single debuted at No.2 on the chart! I was like, “Nah, you must be kidding!” And to debut, not even go from a lower number to a higher number, in the first week to go in at No.2 was pretty fantastic. We haven’t had a party to celebrate yet, we’re going to have one a bit later on, but I went over to my managers house and had dinner at my managers house, so it was good. We had soup and lasagne!

GOING PLATINUM
Then I found out that “Strawberry Kisses” had gone gold which means it had sold 35, 000 copies. Now it’s just gone platinum, which means 70, 000 people have bought it! I was so excited. Basically, I did this for my fans, I make music for children and their families, and to see that I’ve had such a great reaction to the song, is fantastic. I’m just so excited!

THE WIZARD OF OZ
Last but not least, announcing that I had been cast in the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz which I will perform at Star City in Sydney, later this year. Playing Dorothy is something that I’ve always wanted to do, it’s one of my all-time favourite musicals. I used to play Dorothy, and dress up as Dorothy and stuff like that! I’m really looking forward to it. Rehearsals start in October, and the Sydney season starts in November, then I travel around the country with it until February!

Source: big hit magazine

Since we last talked to Nikki, she’s raced to the top of the charts with Strawberry Kisses and been all over TV screens in a Movie World commercial. Does she never slow down? “I’m the sort of person that likes things that happen quickly,” smiles Nikki. “I don’t think I’ll ever look back and think that it’s been too much, too soon.”

But it has to be asked, if she’s that busy combining her singing career with appearances on TV and in magazine ads, when does Nikki find time for her homework? “On days when I’m doing interviews, I’ll have a tutor come along and we’ll do all the work in a lunch break,” she explains. “The school has been collecting all the work I’ve missed and I’ve been trying to catch up on the weekend when I haven’t got anything on.”

It’s good to see that despite fame and chart success, Nikki keeps up with her Maths and History. “It’s not that bad,” she says of having to go from performing one minute to algebra the next. “I want to get through school because it’s something to fall back on. It’s kind of exciting doing school this way – it’s a bit different.”

And if you’re thinking that those horrible music industry types must work poor Nikki into the late hours of the night, think again. There are strict regulations for teenage performers which control the amount of work someone like Ms Webster can do. “It has been hard with the welfare rules but you’ve always got to do the right thing,” she says. “In the studio they always make sure I’m alright, that I’ve got a drink in the studio and that I’m not tired. They were really wary about things like that.”

Nikki’s next single, Depend On Me, and her debut album, Follow Your Heart, are both released this month!

Source: Smash Hits