Brisbane Times Interview - 'I was insecure'

[princeofpersia]

'I was insecure': Evanescence singer Amy Lee finds her voice ahead of Australian tour

By Broede Carmody
2 February 2018 — 3:11pm


In 2003 you'd be hard-pressed to find an Australian commercial radio station that wasn't blasting Evanescence's Bring Me To Life.

The band's frontwoman, Amy Lee, was transformed into a success story practically overnight. Her rock band sold hundreds of thousands of copies of its debut album with its first week alone. Fallen went on to sell more than 17 million copies worldwide, with one of its tracks featuring on the 2003 Daredevil film.

But behind the smokescreen of success, Lee was struggling to cope with fame.

"I was insecure and unsure," the now 36-year-old says. "I was just a kid when we started out. It was hard to belong. You can have classical training for years and still be a nervous performer."


Almost two decades later, with people coming and going from the band and a slew of hiatuses, Evanescence has finally released its fourth studio album. Synthesis features two new songs as well as new recordings of the rock band's most-loved tracks.

Lee has always had a classical music streak, with many of her past songs featuring piano or string accompaniments. However, this album deliberately puts the classic instruments front and centre. Bring Me To Life, too, is reimagined.

When the singer first recorded the track, music executives told her it needed a male voice in order to appeal to mainstream audiences. This time around, Paul McCoy's vocals are nowhere to be found.

"I don't want to make it sound like nothing was ever how I wanted it to be ... but I now have the beautiful catharsis of changing things that always bugged me about the recording," Lee says. "It's beautiful to return a lot of these songs to their true home."

Synthesis also makes Lee feel as though the band name she chose randomly all those years ago is finally a right fit.

"I was looking in the dictionary for cool words and we just wanted something that was unique," she says. "To dissipate, like vapour, is a cool image. After all this time, I realise the way I work with Evanescence is I disappear between our album cycles but then we regroup and keep coming back to it. So the name has earned its meaning over the years."
Amy Lee says she re-recorded her breakout track 'Bring Me To Life' to reflect what the song was always meant to sound like.

Lee says she's looking forward to revisiting Australia – a country she hasn't toured since 2012. Since then, she has given birth to a son and feels like she's "ripped songs to pieces" and started again.

"Coming to play with the symphony orchestra in the Sydney Opera House is huge," she said. "I'm bragging to all my relatives about it."

Evanescence's 'Synthesis Live' tour kicks off in Brisbane on Saturday, February 10, followed by performances at the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena. Tickets are available at evanescenceaustralia.com.


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[SparklingxGrey]

I love interviews such as this because it reminds me how down to earth and "normal" Amy is. Of course we look at her and hear her voice and think she's a goddess but even she has insecurities.