Enya, The #51 Female Artist of the Rock Era

Eithne Ni Bhraonain was born in Gweedore, Ireland into a musical family.  She appeared in many pantomimes onstage at a local theatre and sang with her siblings in her mother's choir at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Derrybeg.  Enya attended Loreto Community School in Milford, then moved away to attend college in pursuit of classical piano training.  

She began her career in 1980 when she joined her family group Clannad.  She played keyboard and sang backing vocals on the album Crann Ull in 1980, and she was on the cover of the group's 1981 album Fuaim.  Enya was also a member of Ragairne, but she began her solo career when Clannad producer and manager Nicky Ryan left the group.  Enya joined him and formed her own recording studio.

She recorded two instrumentals which were included on the album Touch Travel in 1984, and lent spoken vocals to Sinead O'Connor's debut album in 1987.

Enya gained publicity when her music was featured in the 1986 BBC series The Celts.  This music was featured on her self-titled debut album in 1987.  In 1988, she released the breakthrough album Watermark.  The lead single, "Orinoco Flow", which hit #1 in her native Ireland, the U.K., the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland and #24 in the United States.

But as with all her albums, you can't begin to appreciate her music by listening to the singles.  This is "Cursum Perficio".

We will feature three others from Watermark.  Here is "Longships".

 
  Here is Enya with the instrumental title track from Watermark.

 

 The higher we get in the Top 100 Female Artists* spectacular, the more songs we'll feature.  It makes sense that the more successful an artist is, the more quality songs they have.  This is "Exile".

Watermark went on to sell over 11 million albums worldwide. In 1991, Enya released what would become the best album of her career. Shepherd Moons hit #1 in the U.K. and #17 in the United States. It went on to sell 12 million copies and is her longest-charting album to date, spending 238 weeks on the Billboard 200.

"Caribbean Blue" was the lead single, peaking at #8 in Ireland and #13 in the U.K.

There aren't too many more beautiful songs than the track "How Can I Keep From Singing".

 "Book Of Days" is another outstanding track on Shepherd Moons and was featured in the movie Far and Away.

People had finally noticed this great talent.  "Ebudae" was featured in the Robin Williams movie Toys.

"Marble Halls" was yet another song to be plucked from Shepherd Moons and featured in a movie (The Age of Innocence).

We've given you five reasons why Shepherd Moons is so outstanding.  But there are four other tracks from this landmark album we want to feature.  One of the trademarks of Enya's music is the layering of her voice many times in her songs.  This is "Angeles", of which Enya says her voice was layered over 500 times.

Many Enya fans point to the instrumental "Lothlorian" as one of their all-time favorites.

Shepherd Moons won the Grammy for Best New Age Album.  "After Ventus" is yet another great track on the album.

"Smaointe..." is the amazing last track on Shepherd Moons.

In 1992, the Enya album was remastered and released as The Celts.  

In 1995, Enya released the album The Memory of Trees.  The single "Anywhere Is" reached #7 in the U.K. and Austria and #8 in Ireland.

  "On My Way Home" is another outstanding track from the album.

The Memory of Trees sold two million copies in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide.  "China Roses" is another great track on the album.

The Memory of Trees won Enya another Grammy for Best New Age Album.  "Boadicea" was featured prominently in the 1992 movie Sleepwalkers.

In 1997, Enya released her greatest hits collection, Paint the Sky with Stars:  The Best of Enya.  It included the title song.

 

After a five-year break, Enya returned in 2002 with the album A Day Without Rain, which peaked at #2 in the U.S. "Only Time" was featured in the movie Sweet November and was helped when NBC-TV began using the song in the series Friends.  That exposure sent it to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and it peaked at #1 in Germany, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland.






"Only Time" was used as background music in many media reports of the 9/11 murders.  A maxi single was issued, with proceeds donated to families of the victims.  "Fallen Embers" is another favorite.

Enya continued to dominate the Grammys as A Day Without Rain won the award for Best New Age Album.  The title song from the album is also great.

A Day Without Rain is approaching seven million in sales in the United States alone and is over 15 million copies worldwide.  "Wild Child" is another great track from the album that helped sell those 15 million copies.

 
 In 2001, Enya recorded "May It Be" for the movie The Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring.  It hit #1 in Germany and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

In 2002, Enya won World Music Awards for Best-Selling Female Artist and World's Best-Selling New Age Artist.  She also received a nomination from the American Music Awards for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist.

Enya released Amarantine in 2005, which became a Top 10 album in both the U.S. and the U.K. and #1 in Germany.  The album captured the Grammy for Enya for Best New Age Album.  Here is the title song, which reached #7 in Italy.

In 2007, Enya received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland, Galway.  Later in the year, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ulster.  In 2008, Enya released the album And Winter Came.  

Enya has performed in 10 languages.  She passed Van Morrison years ago as the top solo artist in Irish history.  Enya has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide, including 26.5 in the U.S.  She has won four Grammy Awards.

She still sings in her mother's choir every year at Christmas mass.