KEY POINTS:
Gin Wigmore, the whippet-thin bleached blonde with panda-eyes, cutesy hair-bow clips, and the raspy voice of an emphysema sufferer (but sexy), hit the big time in Hollywood last week when the self-styled Queen of Bitch, Perez Hilton, waxed lyrical about the young Kiwi on his hugely-read internet page. He gushed: "Her voice is quirky and intoxicating - her tunes fun and charming." Then he invited his many millions of readers to listen to Wigmore's Under My Skin single. It doesn't get much better than that for international endorsement.
Why then, are people in Wigmore's own country all too unfamiliar with her music? Hell, most are unfamiliar with her! I don't mean the music industry crowd, which is like preaching to the converted. I'm talking about the average Joe Public, who, if you ask them to recite the biggest Kiwi names on the international music scene bang off too predictably: Bic and Boh Runga, The Finns, The Flight of the Conchords, Savage, Brooke Fraser, Scribe and Hollie Smith who made a very large splash last year signing a multi-album record deal with the Blue Note Label, but appears to have done very little since.
Gin who? is invariably the response I've had after doing a whip-round of music novices. The irony is, it's that quiet under-the-radar quality that we as Kiwis pride ourselves on, that is Wigmore's star factor. Boh and Brooke may be holed up in the States trying to crack the lucrative American market, but it's Wigmore with her fun-loving, down-to-Earth Kiwi attitude that's actually opening doors and sitting at the boardroom table with the Yanks.
The 21-year-old has just signed to Universal Motown Records in the US that boasts such huge stars as Nelly, Ashanti, Lil Wayne, Erykah Badu and Akon amongst others. The lucrative deal is considered to be a huge achievement for a Kiwi artist and a NZ first, I believe. And that's not all. I understand Wigmore, who's currently in the States at the moment, is in meetings with Hollywood movie execs about her music. Big things are set to come.
For a pint-sized, willowy blonde who grew up in the quiet, leafy suburb of Devonport, it's a huge achievement and something we should be immensely proud of. It's a pity, then, she received such little recognition at last week's national music awards night, as in zilch. Still, Ms Wigmore will join our muso alumni who are carrying the Kiwi flag overseas and demonstrating just one of the things that's great about this country.
And when she becomes a big success offshore, will we then consider her a success here and happily claim her as our own? Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement know all too well how that feels. Claim her now, I say, and honour the fact that we don't need accolades and recognition in bigger international markets before we know how good we have it here.
Here's a gallery of some famous Kiwi names who have made it big overseas in the world of music:
Rachel Glucina
