Just before Christmas, most of us were hunkering down ready to try and make the best of a largely socially distant Christmas with the promise of more restrictions to follow. British soprano Mary-Jess, however, was getting ready for the biggest performance of her life.
Mary-Jess, winner of the Chinese X Factor and singer of the Downton Abbey theme song for the Official Soundtrack Albums, was preparing to sing to a crowd of over 100,000 people in Taiwan.
It was her biggest live audience yet, surpassing the 90,000 strong crowd at Wembley Stadium when she sang Abide with Me at the FA Cup Final.
But in a world ravaged by Covid-19, how was this even possible? We invited Mary-Jess for a chat to ask how and to find out more about her trip:
“Covid-19 just isn’t an issue in Taiwan,” Mary-Jess explains, “It’s so surreal; it honestly felt like I was living in a parallel universe where Covid never existed. How wonderful would that be?”
Since the SARS outbreak, Taiwan have had incredibly sophisticated track and trace systems in place, as well as rules and procedures that the public are all happy to follow. Mary-Jess elaborates further: “During the first wave they shut all the boarders, since then, restrictions on foreign travel had loosened but I was still only allowed in because the Taiwanese Government were inviting me to perform” says Mary-Jess.
Even though the Government had extended the invitation, it still wasn’t going to be easy; after all, this is a global pandemic, so I asked Mary-Jess about some of the procedures and processes that had to be followed.
“I was allowed to leave the UK because it was a business trip. The Taiwanese Government organized the visa, and the Covid rules were (reassuringly) strict. I had numerous Covid tests, a book of forms to fill in, ‘Fit to Fly’ certificates… When I arrived it took over two hours to go through all the procedures at the airport. I had to buy a Taiwanese SIM card and have my location on at all times, quarantine for two weeks in a quarantine facility upon arrival where the authorities would text and call me everyday to check on my health condition, I had to take my temperature and report the results three times a day… and so much more!” said Mary-Jess. “I obviously didn’t mind at all; all of these procedures made me feel safe and I want everyone else to be safe too, so I felt reassured by the amount of procedures and precautions.”
And how did you find two weeks of quarantine in the quarantine facility?
“I wasn’t sure how I would get on being locked in a hotel room for 14 days, and they are very strict about it. Apparently, one person stepped outside their quarantine room for eight seconds and they were fined the equivalent of £2400! I’m very thankful to say that they looked after me very well. Plus, I had so much to keep me busy, I had to launch and release my fourth album ‘Live in Concert’ whilst locked in a hotel room! It was a challenge and kept me very busy.”
Live in Concert? How did you manage to record a live in concert album with all the restrictions?
“Thankfully, it was all recorded at the end of 2019, so all before Covid! It felt wrong to be releasing a live in concert album when I couldn’t actually perform the songs live in concert! But at the same time, it also felt like the best timing; all across the globe we can’t perform or see concerts right now, so I’m thrilled to be able to bring that live performance experience and sound to people in the comfort and safely of their own homes.”
So after two weeks in quarantine and your album launch, what did freedom feel like?
“It felt amazing! Though to be honest, the most amazing thing was experiencing normal life again, how it used to be. It was like a Covid holiday! I just felt so lucky!”
Tell us about the concerts, how many concerts did you do, and what were the crowds like?
“I did four main concerts, but only three were to large crowds: 2000 people, 50,000 people, and 100,000 people, all televised to 2.3 million and live streamed on YouTube! I felt like I was playing Glastonbury! It was the most incredible feeling, I was sending the pictures back home to my friends and it was blowing their minds! To see so many people together and not needing to social distance!”
“I was incredibly nervous for the first concerts; my last concert before Taiwan was in February, that’s a huge nine-month gap. However, I was also starkly aware of how incredibly lucky I was to be standing there on that massive stage singing to the biggest live audience of my life. I have the same story as all the other musicians in the world, all my concerts and tours have been cancelled, and many have had to give up their dream of a full time career in music, so I was determined to enjoy it and to harness the immense gratitude I felt in that moment. I could never have imagined such an amazing opportunity, especially at the end of 2020. I just felt so overwhelmingly lucky.”
As well as your solo set, you also had a couple of duets to sing right?
“Yes. During two of the concerts, I was thrilled to be invited to duet with Martin Hurkens, winner of Holland’s Got Talent. We sang The Prayer together, as well as the song that changed my life, Time to Say Goodbye.”
That may seem like quite a strong statement to make about a song, but it’s perfectly justified when you hear Mary-Jess’ story. She auditioned for the Chinese X Factor with Time to Say Goodbye, and when she sang it in the final the 70 million people watching voted her the winner. So what was it like for her to sing this song that means so much to her, with Martin Hurkens?
“He’s got such a wonderful voice and is such a lovely person, so it was so much fun to sing with him and I think our voices blended really well together.”
So you said there were four concerts? Why was there not a big live audience for the fourth concert?
“Because it was a secret”, explains Mary-Jess. “It was incredibly special. I sang a traditional Chinese folk song called Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower), which is included on my Live in Concert album, in the Taiwanese equivalent of The House of Lords! I felt truly honored to be invited to perform there!”
Wow! What an honour! So now that we are looking forward to 2021, and hopefully a brighter year, what are your plans for the future?
“Well, I’ve decided to release Jasmine Flower as a single this Chinese New Year (February 12th) now, because they loved it so much at the secret concert in the Taiwanese House of Lords! And after that, I have mainly just planned digital releases, but being in Taiwan has given me so much hope for the future. It was incredible to see a glimpse of what could be possible for us in a post-covid future. Taiwan reminded me that it won’t be like this forever, and now I’m looking to the future with a renewed sense of optimism. For that, I’m so very grateful.”
Mary-Jess’ latest album, ‘Live in Concert’ is available from iTunes, Amazon, and from www.mary-jess.com where there are also free songs available.