‘It still doesn’t feel like I beat Michael Jackson...’
With a new UK tour approaching Ditch star Caro Emerald talks about her new show, TV talent show judging and performing with Quincy Jones
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N June 27 2018, as part of a celebration of legendary producer Quincy Jones’ 85th Birthday, Dutch born singer Caro Emerald took to London’s O2 to perform Honey Suckle Rose and jazz standard Misty. Originally made famous by Sarah Vaughan back in 1964, it was a testament to the vocal abilities and prowess of Miss Emerald.
“It was such an amazing experience,” remembers the audibly excited singer over the phone on an early summer morning. “I’m trying to find words to describe it.
“I felt completely honoured to be part of such a high level event. Quincy is an amazing and fantastic guy and such a legend. The songs were really difficult and challenged me.
“It took me back to the roots of why I became a singer and sent me back to my studying days. When I returned home after the show in London I felt my blood course through my veins as I found this new inspiration.”
For Caro, those studying days were spent at the Amsterdam Jazz Conservatory, the largest music academy in the Netherlands.
But the jazz production of Quincy Jones or sultry vocals of Sarah Vaughan weren’t her earliest musical inspirations.
For Caro, it was the one and only Madonna.
“I was five or six years old when I got my first album on cassette and I would listen to it over and over again and practise in front of the mirror and dress up like her,” she recalled.
“I think every other girl did that in school but she really was a big influence on me.”
Little did a five-year-old Caro know that she would go on to top the Dutch charts herself with her debut album Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor. Not only smashing any record Madonna had set, the album broke the record for most weeks consecutively at number one (27 weeks to be precise) beating the previous record of 26 weeks set by Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Almost 10 years on, Caro is still as blown away by this fact as she was back then.
“I still feel the same,” she laughs. “There was so much happening, I came out of nowhere. I never had made music before and then I was on top of every
chart! I didn’t really know anything about numbers and statistics, I didn’t really know how to actually recognise my success!” Speaking of breaking Michael Jackson’s record, you can still hear the surprise in her voice. “This is when I realised how phenomenally big it was. It doesn’t make sense – it still doesn’t for me! It’s Michael Jackson. It shows what a big influence this has had on the Dutch music industry. But Michael Jackson is bigger than anyone on the planet, it doesn’t feel like I beat him.”
Here in the UK, Deleted Scenes… went to number four and her second album, The Shocking Miss Emerald, also topped the charts with her signature vintage-pop sound.
“I feel completely blessed to be one of those artists that can continue touring. I have a very loyal audience in the UK and I’m very happy of that. I think the way that we make the show is a full package that apparently my UK audience love.”
Can returning fans expect any surprises on this brand new tour? “Definitely as we are always adding some surprise and some new material and arrangements. I do this with my fantastic [musical] team. We all work together when we talk about visuals and creating the right and final set list. We really work as a collective.
“We keep sending each other ideas and talk about these ideas and possibilities which, in the end, creates a beautiful show of the highest quality. What fans can expect is a fresh new look. It’s definitely going to be a dreamy atmosphere,” she says excitably.
“We want to give a full experience to each person in the room, both visual and musical. Like you’re inside a movie and you get to dream away about stories that aren’t yours.”
When pressed about new music, she keeps her cards a little closer to her chest.
“There will be definitely some stuff people haven’t heard before, I don’t know if they’ll be covers or actual new music. The other thing I can say is we are working on new music…” she tails off. Will that be released this year? “I can’t say when that will be. I’m not trying to be a tease,” she laughs, “but I can say we will release the music when it’s ready!”
Caro has also recently announced she will be a judge on a new televised Dutch talent competition show The Talent Project. “It’s very exciting! I haven’t done much TV apart from promoting my own music. I’ve been asked to be on other celebrity typed shows and I always decline because I feel like it’s not where I want to go. But this really suits me.”
Before becoming a global music star, Caro worked as a singing teacher, and with her own experience is keen to “pass it on and work with new talent. It’s a new chapter in my life and career.”
■ Caro Emerald will perform at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall on October 8 and Nottingham Royal Concert Hall on October 29. Tickets are available now from gigsandtours.com.