When Raphael was working at Northwestside ing schedule. Records, the label he founded with Christian The Priests will appear Dec. 19 on the Eter- Tattersfield, he signed the then -unknown Jay - nal Word Television Network's Christmas spe- Z "because we loved his work and we wanted to cial. EWTN claims to be the largest religious be cool. We weren't expecting him to become media network in the world, attracting a poten- the seminal artist he now is." tial audience of more than 180 million. The In April, Raphael signed three clergymen label has also placed ads in church bulletins from Northern Ireland- tenors Eugene O'Ha- and on Godtube, the religious video -sharing gan and his brother Martin, plus their childhood site, which says it has more than 3 million friend, bass- baritone David Delargy -in the be- unique visitors per month. The album is on sale lief he was facilitating a lifelong ambition of his in more than 300 Catholic bookstores across friend, producer Mike Hedges, to make a record- America, while a concert by the Priests at Ar- ing of a Latin Mass. magh Cathedral will air as part of the PBS De- But when the trio signed its [1 million ($1.5 cember pledge drive. million) deal on the steps of Westminster Cathe- In the United Kingdom, 60- second TV ads dral, the Jay -Z effect took hold. will run during prime -time shows. "This is a "The media suddenly went ballistic and we front -line project," Raphael says, "and there is realized they had the potential to be huge," a significant amount of money being spent on Raphael says. "Here are three men who are going advertising." to remain priests, who have fantastic voices and Martin O'Hagan, who says a significant pro- who sing with conviction." portion of the royalties earned will be poured The priests have been singing together since into a charitable foundation, is not about to give they were children and attended the Seminary up his day job. "It's all happened so fast, and we O father, where art thou? in Belfast and the Irish College in Rome. When are really spinning plates here," he says. "Two THE PRIESTS in Rome, the priests were invited personally by of us are the only priests in our parish, and it's the papal master of ceremonies, Monsignor not been easy. But music has always been part CLASSICAL BY HAZEL DAVIS Magee, to sing for the pope in the sacred liturgy. of our lives and it's great to be able to do some- "From a marketing perspective there are so thing like this with it." many angles," says Mark Flaherty, New York - The lives of recording artist and man of the based senior VP of marketing for RCA Victor, cloth may not seem compatible- "Our con- which handled the stateside release of "The tract makes it clear that pastoral duties will Father Figures Priests." "We have a built -in audience of more come first," O'Hagan says with a smile -but than 70 million Catholics in the U.S." Raphael maintains the project stands up on The Priests Balance Faith, ing the Priests. That audience is being targeted with an album musical merit. Fortune On Debut Album The comparison between a trio of parish that contains such classics as "Ave Maria," "Pie "You hear Marvin Gaye singing 'What's Going priests and one of the world's most influential Jesu" and "Panis Angelicus " -it was released On' and you believe every word," he says. "It's "They're just like Jay -Z," Epic Records U.K. man- hip -hop artists may not be an obvious one, but Nov. 18 in more than 30 countries (the U.K. fol- the same with 'Ave Maria' here. There is utter be- aging director Nick Raphael says of his new sign- Raphael insists there are parallels. lows Nov. 24) -and a busy promo and market- lief and passion, and that's very appealing."

Big gaps between albums don't seem to effect the singer's enduring popular- SIMPLE ity, however. Nielsen SoundScan has °áA^Ie-II!- ceNA 1 A logged 25.2 million total sales since it GIFT Despite never having toured, began tracking sales in 1991, while in the has been one of the most United Kingdom, the OCC has logged 6,904,025 ENYA Christmas Comes consistent hitmakers in pop more than 3 million units since 1994. million -odd records sold Early For Enya, music since her 1988 debut, "Seventy is pretty cool, Warners having sold more than 25 without doing any gigs 4,674,997 million total units in right?" Reid says with a laugh. "I can't Last year it was Josh Groban. This year, the United States, think of another act that parallels Enya Warner Music Group is pinning its ,456,664 according to in any way. It's a unique situation." hopes on ethereal Irish songstress Enya Nielsen Ryan, who with his lyricist wife to provide the festive season's big hit. SoundScan. Roma Ryan has guided Enya's career "And Winter Came," released Nov. since recruiting her to the band Clan - 1,344,593 nad in 1980, credits her enduring pop- 11 on Reprise in the United States and 11 73 a day earlier on Warner Bros. in the ularity to that low profile. "She's not 214,626 United Kingdom, is off to a strong always in your face. We're not always start, debuting at No. 6 on the Official "ENA" trying to sell you something," he says. "A DAY WITHOUT RAIN" "SHEPHERD MOONS" "WATERMARK" "PAINT THE SKY "THE MEMORY "AMARANTINE" "THE CELTS" "NB( SOUNDS Of THE SEASON:

Charts Co.'s (OCC) U.K. albums list WITH STARS OF TREES" THE ENYA (OILE(TION" "To me, success and fame are two with sales of 36,000 and at No. 8 on 11/21/2000 11/19/1991 01/10/1989 11/0/1991 12/05/1995 11/22/2005 01/05/1988 01/28/1995 08/29/2006 very different things," Enya adds, al- the Billboard 200 with sales of 92,000, though she and Ryan both say she according to Nielsen SoundScan. "'So we're happy to be in the game so finished product has only two traditional gizing" the project at the midway stage, may tour for the first time next year. And, while there's a long way to go strongly in the first week." songs, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" while Whalley hails Enya as "a rare, one - "We're definitely talking about it," before it can rival Groban's 3.9 mil- Reid is also confident that the and "Oiche Chiuin (Silent Night)," after of -a -kind artist" who "has touched mil- she says. "I'll be promoting until Feb- lion sales of "Noël" (Reprise), Warner album's winter, rather than purely Enya's early- career version of the latter lions of people all over the world." ruary and that's when we'll sit down execs are hoping that, with five shop- Christmas theme, means the label song proved perennially popular. Enya's last album, "Amarantine," and think, 'What's next ?' " ping weeks before Christmas, the won't be "stuck with a record that will "I'm a big fan of Christmas music," came out in 2005 and Warner has Even if the tour happens, don't ex- album can become as essential a part drop dead on Christmas Day." Enya says. "I wanted to take what I concentrated on TV appearances and pect much else to change. "For some of the holidays as roast turkey and ar- Enya's manager/producer Nicky love about traditional carols and bring online marketing to reconnect her artists, after 10 years of success, they guments over what to watch on TV. Ryan says the original plan was to use it into the 21st century." with fans. It embarked on a major finally get to make the album they've "Once an Enya record comes out, the six songs she recorded for a Christ- Ryan credits Tom Whalley, Los Ange- global campaign with Amazon and always wanted to do," Enya says. "But it does tend to build and build," says mas EP in 2006, alongside new record- les -based chairman /CEO of Warner targeted her active online fan base I was able to say that about my first John Reid, London -based president ings, for a covers -based project. But Bros. Records and executive producer via social networks including Face - album. I'm very aware that I break all of Warner Music, Continental Europe. things changed in the studio, and the of "And Winter Came," with "re -ener- book, YouTube and Orkut. the rules." -Mark Sutherland

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