A lot can happen in the space of a year – particularly if your name is Mark Vincent. Almost a year after the release of his smash debut album “My Dream – Mio Visione” comes the much-anticipated follow-up Compass - an album boasting 11 incredible performances, to add to his fast-growing list of achievements.
The last 12 months have been a massive adrenalin rush for the teenager, who’s still putting in the hours at school whilst juggling a blossoming music career. His debut album My Dream – Mio Visione was a critical and commercial hit in 2009. It peaked at #2 on the national ARIA chart and raced to Platinum sales in less than four weeks. Was it fate or just bad luck that he was kept from the #1 position by the late Michael Jackson? “If anyone was going to beat me in the charts, it had to be Michael Jackson,” Mark says, good-naturedly, of him being pipped to the #1 post by the late star.
The year only got better and better. After winning the 2009 debut series of AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT and scoring a recording contract he was invited to perform with both Whitney Houston and The Priests in front of thousands of people, performed several times on Channel 7’s “Sunrise”, and at major sporting events across the nation, before entering the studio to begin work on Compass.
“Singing in front of thousands of people, having my debut album go Platinum, it’s been incredible,” he says. “After I performed with The Priests, it sort of opened up my eyes to how the entertainment industry really is, what its like to be a true performer. I got off that stage and I just couldn’t believe it. [Sony Music Chairman and CEO] Denis Handlin came up to me backstage and said, ‘We’re definitely doing this album – and it’s got to get out fast.’ I never thought it would be so successful. Hopefully, this one will do even better.”
Feverishly jotting down song ideas and discussing them with his manager, Mark’s final song selection for Compass includes several of his most favourite and personal songs.
“I really wanted to do an album that has popular songs on it,” he explains. “Songs that people know and love, that have a strong meaning to them.”
“When I learn a new song, I like to sit down and read what it’s about,” he adds. “Every song has a meaning. It’s all about telling a story. When I get goose bumps when I’m singing that song, when I’m telling that story, that means I’m enjoying it. You watch Anthony Warlow or Pucelli -- any great entertainer – that’s how it is.”
He’s had plenty of A-grade encouragement for Compass too – not least from Ms Houston herself, as Mark recalls: “She put her hand on my throat and said, ‘Oh my god, you’ve got the most amazing voice, Mark Vincent. You’ve got a gift from God. She bowed to me! I couldn’t believe it.”
Whitney Houston’s songwriter Dianne Warren also quickly became a fan, having heard Mark rehearse in a side-room. So much so, that she gave him the title song for Compass to record .
“That’s the song that hopefully can take us to America,” he explains. “I’m getting emails all the time from America and Canada, asking me when I’m going to go over. That’s my goal. And Europe. And China. I really want to get my music out to as many people as possible.”
That shouldn’t be difficult, given that Compass embraces and builds on the towering standards that made “My Dream” such a joyous musical experience. For Mark, though, his growth as an artist and as a young man has taught him two key life lessons: always go the extra mile, and don’t waste any time.
“Life is precious. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. That’s my motto. Even if I’m performing in front of two people, I want to do a good job. I have this thing in my mind: I want it to be my very best. I don’t want to disappoint anyone. I don’t want to disappoint myself.”
With Compass Mark Vincent has excelled once again – and bettered, if that were possible, on his astonishing work on “My Dream”. Mark’s future looks very bright indeed – and the world will soon be at his feet.
Mark Vincent will be touring Australia and New Zealand in late 2010 as support act to Katherine Jenkins on her tour.
A lot can happen in the space of a year – particularly if your name is Mark Vincent. Almost a year after the release of his smash debut album “My Dream – Mio Visione” comes the much-anticipated follow-up Compass - an album boasting 11 incredible performances, to add to his fast-growing list of achievements.