Inside the bizarre life of reclusive singer Enya

Authored by pagesix.com and submitted by psycholepzy
image for Inside the bizarre life of reclusive singer Enya

Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

The multimillionaire singer Enya is a mysterious recluse who swore off love, lives in a castle with cats and sings in a make-believe language, a fascinating new profile of the star reveals.

The 54-year-old “Sail Away” singer — whose moody new-age tunes often throb through day spas and dental offices — was outed last week as the richest female in British and Irish history.

She boasts a $169 million fortune and has sold more than 75 million albums, beating out the chart-topping boy band One Direction, the UK Sun reports.

But nobody — including neighbors, relatives and paparazzi — knows much about the oddball artist, who’s been seen leaving her Dublin home only twice in the past decade, the British tabloid reports.

“She’s not exactly a barrel of laughs. You wouldn’t go for a few pints with her,” a friend told The Sun, adding she comes off “serious and precious.”

Her uncle Noel Duggan added, “We don’t see much of her. She lives like a queen. She is a recluse.”

Cats are her closest companions, in part because men find her “dark and difficult,” she once said, according to The Sun. At one point, she had a dozen of the furry friends.

Instead of socializing, she spends her time holed up in her sprawling Victorian mansion, toiling over her tunes.

To keep her creative juices pure, she refuses to listen to music made by any other artists. She won’t go on tour or respond to fan letters and spends nearly every waking moment with an elderly married couple with whom she makes her music, The Sun reports.

Enya spends months on every detail of her songs, some of which are overdubbed with vocals more than 500 times.

And she sometimes sings them in Sindarin and Quenya — made-up languages created by “Lord of the Rings” author JRR Tolkien.

Her financial success is tied to her 2001 single “Only Time,” which CNN used as a backdrop to 9/11 footage months after its release. She later gained fans after she released it as a charity single.

But none of her peers imagined her music would become so popular.

“Nobody at the record company thought she’d ever be this big. And it’s almost impossible for anyone to become so huge without touring or promotion, let alone singing ethereal tunes in a weirdo language,” one source told The Sun.

An industry source was baffled by her fame.

“Throughout the music business there’s no one else who is so successful about whom so little is known. She doesn’t socialize, she’s barely seen out of the house, there aren’t any clues in her lyrics about her life,” the source said.

“Even at her album launches, label bosses will hold a large event rather than ask her to do individual interviews, as they make her so uncomfortable. She’s a huge question mark,” the source said.

She may be quirky — but she has plenty of diehard fans.

“When she bought the castle there was a lot of work done and plenty of money put into security — cameras, gates and lights. People come looking for it from all over the world but you can’t see through the gates. You wouldn’t even know there was anyone there most of the time,” a local told The Sun.

The singer has previously admitted to choosing music over men.

“After a bad day in the studio I’m dark and difficult to be with, I want and need to be on my own. What sort of man would be able to adapt? Falling madly in love and getting married would be the most horrific thing that could happen. My affairs are with melody and words and beautiful sounds,” she said.

“I had partners. But I find long relationships, well, how can I say it without appearing strange? I’m too much devoted to my music. Some people think it sounds sad but believe me, I’m happy. I am my music,” she said.

The singer, who got her start in a Celtic family band at age 19, called music “my first love and my present love.”

AshingiiAshuaa on March 1st, 2020 at 03:25 UTC »

... was outed last week as the richest female in British and Irish history. She boasts a $169 million fortune ...

Doesn't this hack writer have an editor or proofreader? $169 million won't get your anywhere close to the richest women on the British isles.

Galaxine on March 1st, 2020 at 03:12 UTC »

The elderly couple are Nicky and Roma Ryan. Her publicist and lyricist. They are a big part of her career, Enya herself said without them and their talents she wouldn't be the musician that she is. Roma made a conlang, Loxian, and one of Enya's albums has songs in that too. She also sings in Gaelic, Latin, Japanese once or twice and several others. And, Enya herself is going on 60. They are only maybe 10 or 12 years older than she is. Enya has been active making music since the late 70s/early 80s. She was in Clannad with her siblings and uncle before teaming up with the Ryans. And the Ryan's daughters designed artwork for at least 1 album cover of hers. Her music is very much a group effort. She even said once that Enya is more a band than her as a solo artist because Nicky and Roma are such a part of the music making process for her.

Part of why she is so intensely private and leads a secluded lifestyle is because she has had a few stalkers. One guy stabbed himself at either her parent's or sibling's business. And she has had break ins at her home more than once. And one break in led to one of her assistants being assaulted. Crazy stuff.

I've loved her music for almost 30 years. If you haven't listened to some of her older albums, I recommend The Memory of Trees and Watermark. 2 of my favorite albums!

Edit- This article is a little bit tabloidy. Definitely trying to make her seem like a nutcase. She is definitely eccentric, but not a nutjob.

Edit 2- fixed a few typos. And also, she has a castle. She might have a mansion, but she lives in a castle. Tabloid, if you're going to sensationalize her, at least note that she bought a castle.

ITMORON on March 1st, 2020 at 02:53 UTC »

Have talent

Make money

Fuck off

Win.