The one and only

I recently embarked on the exiting journey at UK's ONE AND ONLY Madonna on BBC1.
after fabolous media coverage on Richard & Judy, Smooth Radio. the cover of Daily Mail magazine and BBC breakfast, I have now left the show....
Here is a little interview conducted by my imaginary reporter.


How does it feel to have left the competition? did you expect that?

I felt much calmer and cheerful than I expected. I cherished the time I have spent in this production and learned heaps. So I am not Britain's greatest tribute act- I think I can live with that. I have already won- I was chosen to be the one and only Madonna! In my never quite humble opinion that is outstanding!

Did you expect to go at such early stage?
No absolutely not. I saw myself going all the way. i visualized it and I gave it a real shot, training before the rehearsals, no drinking, early nights, the whole thing.

there were challenges from mic levels to family loss via etc. but I am not interested in excuses or reasons. The decision wasn't in my hands.

I got to face my darkest fear which is going out to do it and getting rejected/ loosing.
So many people dream of living their dream and yet we think but what if I go out and fail? and that's where it stops. I personally have a master degree in day dreaming.

I have done it now. and I realize: I am alive. maybe more alive than ever. It's amazing.

But it must have been hard to get voted out? or did you find it fair to go?
this competition isn't about being fair. It's about who gets the most votes. I didn't want to go and looking back at the performances I don't think I should be the one out but it's not my decision. so I am going from disappointed to accepting, from angry to sad to being fine and grateful and then reverse it. But please don't feel sorry for me, think about my boyfriend!!


What about the life changing opportunity to go to las vegas? Graham Norton calls it shattered for ever...
so the dream of going to las vegas is shattered now.
so that would be a good time to wake up then!
I got to be on the show, i worked hard which the team appreciated, I took real risks, I went way out of my comfort zone in my perfomance and I got to let go of the strange inhibition that holds most people down from even performing.


Do you think you've failed at being Madonna?
If you want to put it this way, I believe I have failed at becoming Britain's greatest tribute act. I have succeeded at getting myself to live my dream. My dream is to perform, shine and empower. make this world a happier place leading by good example. My dream is to be real.

You are said to be very competitive. How was it loosing against your fellow contestant?

Siam is very talented and deserves every great opportunity. I am happy for her to go through. I am a good looser. I have practised.
To me, it's not her or me, the lord works in mysterious ways. Siam keeps telling me " girl you're going places, you really are" I agree- and so is she.
I trust it happened at the right time for me- Staying means working on perfecting Madonna. Going home means getting cracking on being Evelyne.


How hard is it to be voted out by your fellow contestants?
we have bonded really well so it's excruciating for all of us- this is the worst part for us and it makes great TV. the votes are based on performance- in the studio, you can hardly hear the head set microphones- would you vote for a performance you didn't hear? I wouldn't. I don't blame them and plus I think Siam is wonderful! She deserves this, too!


How hard is it to be Madonna?
If you are Madonna possibly quite hard at times but very rewarding. For me, this was about acting and paying tribute to Madonna. She is a challenging person to perform as. I don't want to be her, I want to learn from her. It's been interesting to watch people confusing what's what, they say I was in character the whole time...well, I was in my character most of the time and added some extra Madge. But in this sort of programme the lines are becoming more fluid. It's good fun to develop the Madonna in me though.


Which part of the show did you enjoy the least?
I found it really hard to say things they wanted to hear like how are you feeling now? how exited are you? How important is this, what does this mean to you? I think a little differently in the way that I don't talk much in emotional words though I am very emotional and I feel a lot- I don't like describing feelings when I am not sure what they are yet. after a session, I often feel tired and grateful, satisfied. it's like being asked after dinner what do you think about food? I am happy just want to nap now thanks. we can talk about it over coffee sometime.

I don't like talking wishy washy yet I have learned that people get to know you better if you explain what you are going through emotionally. I am a bit of a get on with it type- moving on swiftly rather than indulging in the " this is what I am going through now" part. I hope it doesn't make me come across cold- it's simply a different approach. My feelings are very private to me and I like to share them after I have evaluated them. I need that extra bit of time.

What's next for you?
Someone said backstage that I was really good at doing Madonna but there was something about Evelyne he wished the world would get to see. that was my wake up call. It's time to unleash the Brink. I want to continue the work with the coaches on my own music and then let myself loose to spread some passion and empowerment. I would love if Madonna got behind me and support the lyrical pop I am creating.
Performing and public speaking opportunities are coming my way. Combining confidence building coaching and music is the big thing for me.
I like the cameras and the dressing up bit- how about some more lookalike/modelling/ film work? bring it on!

Are you going back to your office?
I believe in taking opportunities and creating your own luck. I am in a good position to move forward in my music and coaching career but there is a big difference between jumping out of a plane and jumping without a parachute.

Do you ever give simple yes and no answers?
only Mondays and Wednesdays between 9am and 11:30.


Do you think being German was an added challenge?
I am sure being German is a challenge- try it if you get a chance! If you mean regarding votes, it's up to the whoever has a challenge grow out of it.. a third generation survivor jew, I speak from personal experience.


Have you enjoyed the experience?
It's been an amazing and challenging time for me. I have had a crash course in media, performing, camera technique, great coaching and the best costumes and makeup.I made great new friends. I absolutely loved that. it's hard work- it's pressure, I am so grateful for this great start to the year.

a tribute to my Granddad

It never comes at the right time. Yet this was possibly the best time for my granddad die.

I had my profile filming last night and was going through pictures of times gone by, as my tears rolled down my cheeks. they asked me: why are you crying? I said, oh my granddad is 98 and I just don't know how much longer he will be here. I visited him on Christmas along with my mum, sister and my partner.
This morning I put on my black outfit- I don't wear a lot of black. today I did.
And at 11:22 I had a message. Papy ( that's how we called him) has just fallen asleep. kisses, Mum.

I screamed and cried. I loved my granddad. He was so special to me. He was the funniest and most serious man I know- he 's the man who paid for my piano lessons as a kid and got me to the theatre...( ok and he dragged me to way too many museums)

when we visted him, he asked Thomas about Greenland's dependance on Denmark and weather they had their own stamps.
He would lecture about the main industries of Malaysia, world history and of course the history of the church. He knew sooo much!
I still don't, because I keep thinking: how on earth does he keep all this information in his head?

He had a good time when we were there and my sisters invention of creme cointreau, a sweet desert tastefully disguising the protein powder was the last thing he insisted of eating.

Walter Oppenheim was a diplomat who was responsible for paying out compensation money to the Jewish people on behalf of the German government after world war 2. He was of Jewish origin, having survived working camps and imprisonment.

It must have taken some guts to work for the German government after the war. The way he saw it was that the real Germans weren't in the country when Hitler took over.
He set a good example of what it means to be German. He was very cultured, intelligent, curious and would get out of his own way to help others.

I think of him as an inspiration.

Tomorrow is my first live performance on THE ONE AND ONLY. I am dedicating it to my granddad.

Thank you for your support and good wishes.

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