Reported on by Kate Taylor, with photography by Leah Victoria.
When a star of this magnitude comes to town you have to drop everything to clap eyes on them. A phenom of the silver screen and no stranger to treading the boards and belting out a tune – the absolutely incomparable Mr. Hugh Jackman joined a contingent of New Zealand media at The University of Auckland Manukau campus this morning to announce his impending World Tour featuring Keala Settle; where he’ll delight us with renditions of songs from Les Misérables, The Boy from Oz and of course hits from the record smashing world favourite musical – The Greatest Showman.
Ambient Light were thrilled to be invited to meet and chat to Hugh Jackman and ask an important question…
AL: Welcome to both of you, thank you for being here today. I’m Kate representing Ambient Light, it’s quite a fun question for you as it’s a music publication that I’m representing today. While you were doing your physical training for the role of Wolverine, I heard that you were listening to a lot of Metallica while you were doing your physical training, if there’s a Metallica song that you’d include in in The Man, The Music, The Show at Spark Arena [Hugh laughs] in September, what Metallica song would it be that you would take on?
Hugh Jackman: I, you know the truth is yes, I used to listen to AC/DC, Metallica, Godsmack, lots of stuff that would kind of slap me around a little bit…
Keala Settle: Make him run…[laughs]
HJ: [to Keala] Don’t get me into trouble! Umm…I’m trying…there is a little bit of a surprise in the show and I’m going to be honest it’s not Metallica, but there maybe something, a little in that ah, world, entering into the show, but I want that to be a surprise for the people who come; and I actually saw Metallica four times in concert because I worked at the entertainment centre in Perth, and I can’t tell you the name of one of their songs, like I actually don’t, I just put in Metallica and listen to it, I couldn’t…I could recognise it but I can’t tell you one name.
AL: Would you like to sing a little now?
[Everybody laughs]
HJ: If you start it…
[Everyone laughs HARDER]
AL: Ummm…
Here’s the part where your ever-faithful Ambient Light reporter is put on the spot. The Jackman put the ball squarely back in my court! When Hugh Jackman asks you to start off a Metallica sing along, you bet your sweet butt that Ambient Light is going to back that request up! Although I flubbed the first lyric due to staring directly into the handsomeness that is Hugh Jackman, we still gave it a go…
HJ: This would be the oddest moment at a press conference I’ve ever had! Acapella Metallica!
[Everyone laughs]
AL: ♬ ♫ ♪ … Enter light, Enter Night, [Hugh starts singing along] …Take my hand…
As Hugh rises and gets in a Rock God stance…
HJ & AL: WE’RE OFF TO NEVERNEVERLAND!
[Everyone laughs and claps]
HJ: Something like that, is it Neverneverland? DAH DAH DAH [Hugh grabs his throat] aww how do that do that?
Keala Settle: Don’t do it, that’d be the way…
Everyone laughs, Hugh gives us a big thumbs up.
AL: Thank you so much. And thank you Keala, “This Is Me” is a very important song for me personally. I love it. Thank you for your rapturous performance of it.
KS: Thank you, thank you very much.
And with that, our moment with the incredible Hugh Jackman was over. As Hugh slapped his knee in appreciation for the interaction and thanked me for the question, I knew immediately that I’d need to get my tickets to as many of the performances of Hugh’s September tour as possible. It was an incredible morning where the love, respect and mana flowed between all in the room.
Hugh was here in Auckland today specifically because he was moved to tears by the viral video from 2018 of the AUT ‘Oceanian Voices Choir’ performing This Is Me – it’s in fact why he knew he needed to launch the tour announcement with these incredible singers; and as Hugh and Keala were each presented with a koha they lovingly delivered a gift right back to these impassioned youth, as after the cameras stopped snapping and the media left the space, the strains of a piano could be heard backstage where Hugh and Keala embraced members of the choir and they belted out ‘From Now On’ from The Greatest Showman…truly goose bump moments.
If the pure authenticity and goodness that radiates from Hugh’s very being was a mere demonstration at this press conference, well…the real deal in September at Spark Arena for Hugh Jackman: The Man, The Music, The Show will be stratospheric. Stand by for those ticket sales and snap them up!
TEG Dainty presents:
HUGH JACKMAN: THE MAN, THE MUSIC, THE SHOW
With special guest Keala Settle
Friday 6th September | Spark Arena | Auckland
Saturday 7th September | Spark Arena | Auckland
Tickets on sale 12pm, Thursday 7th March from Ticketmaster.
Photos from the press conference:
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