What Makes an Artist Eligible?

Many artists are difficult to categorise. Ask one person where an artist belongs, they may put them in pop, ask another, and that person will be sure that they are rock. This is because nearly all artists material and style overlap into many different genres. Classical Crossover is a difficult one, because it merges two genres together. It creates confusion, and it can also cause heated debates.

There are probably some artists on this website you may not agree with. There are probably some you really want on here, but I might flat out refuse. In short, the artist must, on the whole, comply to my definition of classical crossover, which is stated here.

I forsee arguments over opera singers, celtic artists, symphonic metal bands, Charlotte Chuch, Enya, Josh Groban, ambient choirs (like Era, Gregorian). Any of these debatable artists can be taken over to the forum. But let me use these examples to convey some of my decision making and why some make it and some do not.

Opera singers: Luciano Pavarotti. Lesley Garrett. Reneé Flemming. Placido Domingo. Maria Callas. Kiri Te Kanawa. They and many others all helped towards classical crossover, but as I explained in the 'What is Classical Crossover?' article they are not part of the genre. I am aware that many of these opera stars have made "pop" albums, but that is never what they really concentrated on. They are real opera singers. Actually, in the case of Kiri Te Kanawa at least, they get pretty angry by being slotted in with crossover singers.

Celtic: Celtic artists belong in the celtic genre. Yes, I know, a lot of their material is similar to classical crossover, but they do not concentrate on classical or on pop, they concentrate on celtic, and mix it either with pop or classical. Classical crossover is the fusion of classical and pop.

Symphonic Metal Bands: Some of you may be surprised this needs clarifying, but no, many bands use classical in their music. Most notably with classical vocalists. Nightwish used soprano Tarja Turunen (stage name Tarja) which gave their music real operatic flair. Sharon Den Adel is often a popular name among crossover enthusiasts as her voice is similar to Hayley Westenra and Sissel. She fronts Within Temptation who's ballads are very reminscent of classical crossover (actually, Sarah Brightman's Symphony album, was partly inspired by them, their influence is most evident during her song 'Fleurs Du Mal'). Ultimately, as much as it pains me to leave them out, they really are not classical crossover. They cross classical with metal, which is a different type of crossver. It is worthy to note that Nightwish kicked Tarja out of their band, and Tarja's solo career has veered towards classical crossover. I still have not decided on where she belongs, as her first album was very classical crossover, but her second solo album, though still classical, had a significant amount of metal influence. It will take another album to decide, I think. Take it to the forum to debate. For now, Tarja has been included in my top ten artists.

Charlotte Church: like it or not, Church contributed a lot of classical crossover. She was the first major child star which paved the way for many others after her, including Hayley Westenra. Church has been given a profile, but she is treated as if she is deceased. There will be no acknowledgement of her time in pop or as a televsion presenter. Only for her classical albums.

Enya: She has been considered a new age artist since her conception. The material that she does share in common with classical crossover are actually celtic standards. She has had a great influence on crossover artists, but ultimately, she is not part of the scene.

Josh Groban: Pop, adult contemporary, easy listening, he can be slotted anywhere really. But actually, he does comply to many classical crossover "rules", he just so happens to be on the margin, and is probably the most pop of all crossover artists. His first albums include crossover standards, singing in different languages and using his classical training. His Awake album steers away from this, as most of it is original, uses a different vocal technique and the sound is very far from classical. Still, he does the whole Spanish and Italian thing, and it loosely follows the format of his earlier albums. A sign he is not completely abandoning classical.

Ambient/New Age/Electronica Choirs: If you like classical crossover, it is very likely that you also like choirs/groups like Era, Lesiem, Enigma and so on. They are closely connected with classical and other classical choirs but, sadly, they are part of their own movement and genre. Choirs will be included on the website, such as Libera and Cantamus, but not these electronica groups. I have not yet decided on Gregorian, as they have a different sound to the others. Technically, they do cross classical with pop by using Gregorian chant to cover pop songs. Open for debate.

Again, anything you disagree with or want to discuss further, go to our forums.