Christchurch soprano tops UK sales

Hayley Westenra‘s breakthrough album has been named the UK’s biggest-selling classical record of the 21st-century to date. Pure (2003), the Christchurch singer’s international debut, went gold in its first week of release in the UK, making her Britain’s fastest selling debut classical artist of all time. Pure has since reached twelve-time platinum status in NZ, triple platinum in the UK, and platinum in Australia and Japan. It beats albums by British stars Russell Watson and Katherine Jenkins in a survey of 2000-2007 sales by the Official UK Charts Company for Classic FM. Westenra was 15 when Pure was released and is now 20.