single tribute

Madonna, Me and the kids

Madonna has adopted baby David Bhanda and when I had a gig at Meadowhall as a walkabout, I was wondering if I could get myself a kid as well.

Whereas Madonna has to go through a huge ordeal of proving that she will be a good mum, signing endless papers, getting criticized in the press and all the rest, I decided to go for the more direct route and just ask some parents if I could have their kids.

I must admit I was quite surprised at the amount of times the response was: yeah definitely you can have him/her.

I will be honest with you- I didn’t take any kids home. Honest. I left it at a quick cuddle and photo. I gave all the kids back. I promise I did.

One day I want kids of my own. Kids are great! Full of energy and wit, mischief and up for trouble.

Kids who will scooter with me and build kites and go bike riding and play with all the toys Hamleys have on display…

Who will throw cake dough back at me and put paint on the wall where it shouldn’t be. When Daddy comes home, we can all look oh so innocent all together now.

But first, I want to travel the world, performing and bringing the essence of confidence and cool to you…

DIVA EVE & THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT

Building a new website

I remember 1998 my dad said: why don’t you get a computer that you can record your music with? And I freaked inside. Life was confusing enough as it was- training and practising and trying to get sleep between long and strenuous uni hours. ( University for performing arts had us going from 9am to 10pm

It was only in 2001 that I decided I needed to learn how to use a computer properly because as a one woman band, I just needed to get on with it. At that time I had sooo much resistance to it, the mere thought of it made me feel queasy.
I had started teaching singing and funny enough a young man came to me who loved to have lessons and claimed he couldn’t pay for it.
I asked him what he did for living. Teaching computing and IT.
What a great coincidence ( If you believe in such things). We exchanged lessons. Singing for computing.
He was brilliant as he massaged my shoulders when I got tense- and before we got started. And it was necessary- just looking at a computer brought my breathing out of its well-trained rhythm.

With plenty of patience and some really cool thinking processes I learned to find my way around it.
I learned that he didn’t know all about how to deal with a computer or a program himself but he could find out in minutes.

That was fascinating. It was just the mindset of asking the right question I needed to learn which enabled me to figure out how things work in a playful way!

This mindset is powerful-it’s what we train in with NLP and coaching. Becoming curious is the basic for understanding. Being open and willing to explore brings the fun and the learning.

I love looking back like this because now lots of people ask me how to do stuff on the computer. In my jobs, if you don’t know how to get rid of a formatting or something’s gone funny in excel- just ask Evelyne.
How things change!!

I can figure things out quickly even if I have no clue when I start. And I love it!

I was heavily involved in building my website, so I could learn.
And that’s 5 years ago now and so much has changed!

My act has improved and I have changed and I started putting stuff on the site until it looked grotesque. Because to be honest, I haven’t spent that much time on learning website programming and designing. I still prefer the limelight….

So I have decided to get a new site.

And all my breathing exercises and stress management techniques really come back into play when it’s down to
Meta tags and texts and contact boxes and video uploads and photo sending
For now I know that tonight I will be naming endless pictures so that they can be found by the web spiders and I will be converting video formats to MPEG4. Just finding out about that was at least a day.

One year ago I didn’t even have videos! It’s last December that I produced the show in London, got it filmed…
I edited it- long live the apple mac! I learned to edit it. Necessity is the mother of all invention. Pay £500 or learn to do it yourself.

And here we are now. Funny I started out writing this thinking I could winge about the process but I feel strangely inspired to get on with it.
whoohoooo

Be yourself...you never know who you become

Madonna Impersonator Evelyne Brink about how coming into her own brought her to the Queen of Pop


I am passionate about personal development. I am so glad that there is an entire field devoted to helping you (or me for that matter) to become more of who I am, can be, want to be...

I always knew I was going to be famous one day- and to some people this may sound strange, but that won't change the facts. I was dealing with "how to deal with fame" from the age of 5. People around me said I was going to be an actress and for many years to come, this was going to be my path though after seeing Astrid Lindgren, the author of my favorite books such as pipi longstocking, ronja, momo, I thought of becoming an author one day. I admired book authors because to write a book, you must be incredibly intelligent and know so much.

As I got more into singing, I started reading many a pop star's biography, even Victoria Beckhams... and of found out that I really didn't want to be like them, ( I like Victoria's style of clothes though).I didn't want to put myself through the ordeals and pressures, I disliked what they wrote about the industry.

Growing up in a world of hopes and promises, it was tempting to spend more time in the "what could be" than the "what actually is". Well the "what is" was a constant "let's try again" and "what next?" and "will I ever pay my bills this way?" and " so when am I going to be famous and HOW?"

I had a fair few health challenges- nothing dramatically major for the press (or myself for that matter) to make great stories about, just small and nagging, enough to keep me out of the game and to think that maybe this whole getting famous thing wasn't for me anyway because my body wouldn't keep up and it's not what you think it is anyway and and and.

To be happy with the everyday reality is the greatest achievement in my eyes. If you can be happy and fulfilled on a day to day basis, then whatever turns out to happen is a bonus and chances are you have a very happy and fulfilled life.

It took me a while to realize that happiness and wordly success are two different things. For years i have clung to the belief that success brings happiness. It brings excitement. and it brings a kick. Happiness is not the same. Kicks and excitement have addictive qualities especially for those who confuse them with happiness and hence grow to need them.

What kind of a life is it to run after the next fix of excitement, money, applause, or whatever else...?

I prefer a life that is happy and fulfilled, meaningful and balanced, where I am at the centre- and I am talking me as a person, not necessarily me as a product or brand.

I have engaged in many ways of nurturing myself understanding that to live the life of my dreams it was crucial to live my life first rather than wait for a dream to happen. Dreams are great for direction and inspiration. And you know what they say about them coming true...sometimes...just keep going. It's like a marathon runner can run for the goal or he can run (because he or she loves it) and let the goal come to him.

These days the NLP and coaching world is my preferred playground, social entrepreneurship fascinates me, the idea that we as entrepreneurs can create the change we long for in the world and end world poverty with our ideas and cashflow.
That stuff inspires me and I want to be part of that. so I am.

I started working as a Madonna tribute after auditioning for a new agency and they took me on, organized the first photoshoot and backing tracks for me.

From there I later created my website and put on a show and made a video that I sent out to other agents. It didn't work out at all- I spent soooo much on producting the demo but of course that was still the cheapest option available and the quality is atrocious. I would always recommend now to take your time with this and make sure you have the right venue, the right dancers, the right producers.

I felt I had to go with what I could get because I didn't have the money. But the fact is that you can only get the money if you have something to show for yourself.
And the bad video cost me, too!! Not only in cash but in anger, frustration, not getting further, time.

Anyway I have developed myself and I have developed my Madonna lookalike act, to me that went hand in hand.

For me it is very very important to be comfortable in my own skin. That's what I've got and that's what I live from. It's the foundation of anything else. The advantage is when you can be happy just as you are, the pressure subsides as to what you "should" be doing next and you tend to believe much less in all the fantastic advice of strangers, relatives and well meaning friends.

The more needy you are, the easier it is to be sold on a dream, on anything really because good sales people know how to get your pain out and that equals their profit.
It's great for consumerism to have people with plenty of needs and as our material needs are often covered, emotional needs do just as well.

The greatest investment I have made is the investment in myself. And that is through time, attention, courses, various therapeutic approaches.
And here we are now, I am happy in myself, I love working out for myself and I love my quiet times. I love showing off, I love doing Madonna shows and living the instant superstar experience.

I write my music. I believe my time is now.
Good to meet you. Have you listened to my songs yet?
check them out on www.myspace.com/divaevemusic

In Bed with Madonna-sort of

Me, Madonna and I

It wasn't my idea. I must admit. It started when I was 15- I was an exchange student in the US, my host family took me to Florida and the boys at the beach whistled: hey you look like Madonna.

I thought it was a joke.

When I moved to NY, people turned heads and said: oh my God, you look like Madonna! You know she lived here in this area.

(picture above is the real Madonna, all other pictures are me...)

I knew 1 person when I moved to the big apple. A friend of my mum's friend friend. I arrived in town with 2 suitcases and a key in my hand. I had gotten the keys 3 days before departure. My mum's friend has a friend who has a flat he didn't use at the time.
He happened to be in frankfurt at the time and I got his flat. It was a miracle.
His friend lived in the music building. That's where Madonna had her first management.


And that's where I went to get my duvets and pillows. My flat had 2 rooms. 1 with stuff piled form the floor to the ceiling. I am not kidding.
the other one empty with gates in front to the window.My feather boa made it look a little nicer.

I will tell my NY story another time. suffice it to say I learned that Madonna and I had a few things in common. I turned up in the same area as her, my attitude reminded people of her, my voice reminded of her and my looks.

Cool, I thought, maybe I can also have a similar success?



I was also in love with an english man, a personal trainer. Madonna has her first child, Lourdes with a personal trainer, then married English film director Guy Richie.
I promise you, it's independent of her. We have a very different taste in men ( sorry Guy)
Funny enough though, when I moved to London, the first manb I dated was a Guy named Richie...

Madonna means "mother of all spiritual"
Evelyne (little Eve) means: "mother of all material"



These are my accounts of the wacky life as a Madonna look and soundalike.

Be yourself, I say, you never know who you become