The first song I remember hearing
Frankie by Sister Sledge at a school disco or a birthday party, then forming a little band in the playground and making everybody sing it. I still love it today.
The first single I bought
I begged my mum to buy me Material Girl by Madonna when I was four or five, from Woolworths in Neath. I just remember how glamorous she looked in the video; I loved her.
The best song to play at a party
We Are Family – another Sister Sledge – is the Jenkins anthem. When I won my first Brit, my whole family came up on a bus, and when they played it at the afterparty it was a call to all the Jenkins clan to meet on the dancefloor.
The song I do at karaoke
Everybody expects that I can sing anything on karaoke but, in all honesty, I’m absolutely dreadful. I murder anything I attempt. I have tried Whitney, Céline and Adele, and it’s a disaster. I’m just not trained as a pop singer. My husband always says: “You shouldn’t do that in public.” So I go for something unexpected, like Empire State of Mind. I can do the Jay-Z rap and the Alicia Keys singing parts.
The song I stream the most
My phone gets used by the kids, so at the moment it’s We Don’t Talk About Bruno from Encanto, the Disney movie. But when I want a bit of calm, I’ll listen to some piano music, like Stephan Moccio.
The song I secretly like but tell everyone I hate
Even when something’s really cheesy – like Reach by S Club 7 – I’ll own it and say I like it. I’m not a music snob. I’ll tell you if I like it!
The song I can no longer listen to
Baby Shark is just so annoying. My kids would ask Alexa to play it so I didn’t even have to put it on for them. It just went round and round on repeat. So, no, please: I never want to hear that again.
The song I wish I had written
Jealous of the Angels by the American country singer Jenn Bostic – which I cover on my album Guiding Light – is always one of my most requested songs. Jenn lost her father to cancer in a similar way to how I lost my father. When I first heard the lyrics I thought: “I could have written that.”
My favourite song in Welsh
Calon Lân, a hymn sung by pretty much everybody in Wales. The translation is: “singing with a pure heart”. I just love that sentiment.
Katherine Jenkins plays Henley festival, 10 July.
