PLEASE EXPRESS SOME OPINIONS ABOUT CW'S ORIGINIAL GROUP OR THEIR NEW GROUP AND NEW SINGERS.PERSONAL, I ALWAYS LIKED THE ORIGINIAL LADIES,BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS WORKED GOOD TOGETHER AND WERE A CLASS ACT.PLEASE,WOULD SOMEONE LET ME KNOW WHO THE NEW SINGERS ARE.DON'T GET ME WRONG, JUST BECAUSE I HAVE NOT BEEN TO AN ISLE'S OF HOPE SHOW DOES NOT MEAN I DON'T LIKE THE NEW SINGERS.CHLOE IS MY #1,LISA K.IS MY #2 AND MAIREAD IS SO TALENTED AND INSPIRING,AND LOVELY TOO!I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAYLEY DO SOME SHOWS ON THE ISLE'S OF HOPE DVD WHEN IT IS DONE.MEAV,WAS ALWAYS GREAT TO WATCH AND SING.ORLA,I MISS HER LOVELY VOICE AND HER HARP.THEY ARE ALL VERY TALENTED LADIES.PLEASE REPLY TO THIS, MABY CELTIC WOMAN WILL READ OUR ADVISE WE WRITE ABOUT.THANKS!''BOBBY''

It's an interesting question. I was never a Hayley fan, but she was not with the group for very long. I liked Meav's voice quite a bit, second to Chloe's in fact (but Chloe is far out in front ). What I liked about Orla was the visual icon of having a harpist with the group, since the harp is such a folkloric Irish symbol.

I think the new girls, Lynn and Alex, are fine. I like Lynn's soprano voice, and Alex is a good performer. She's also very approachable and friendly in the Meet & Greets.

Actually, my biggest regret in the change in the group has less to do with the shifting of performers than the shifting of songs. It seems that Meav brought with her many songs that are echt-Celtic, like "Si Do Mhaimeo i," "She Moved Through the Fair," and so on, and when she departed, those songs sadly went with her. The same is probably true of Orla as well, although I generally preferred Meav's songs to Orla's.

I think it's at least possible that the unfortunate introduction of less Celtic, more pop songs has something to do with the personal musical choices of the new girls. And if that is the case, then that one specific fact makes me regret the changes in the group.

If Celtic Woman had the same mix of classical and celtic numbers as before, just now sung by the new performers, I wouldn't mind the change in soloists that much.

ADDENDUM: I keep forgetting Deirdre. I think it's because she came and went before I was aware of CW. In the one video that I've seen of her performing with CW, she seemed to fit in well enough.

To answer your question Bobby, though I loved the original lineup, I also love the current lineup. I think the songs that were chosen for each girl were exceptionally good choices to demonstrate the girls' individual talents. I must add that I am also a fan of the girls who have departed... I consider myself to be a solid Deirdre and Orlagh fan, and a major Hayley and Meav fan.

Like Celeste, I lament the loss of the Celtic and classical influences from the shows. This is not to say that I don't enjoy the current songs or show... I do love them very much. But I think the shows would be even BETTER if they had not changed the thematic basis of the show.

One change that no one else seems to have noticed, but that I think is a HUGE improvement on this tour, is the lack of switching off of girls, which was beyond ridiculous until this year. I know there wasn't much choice when Lisa was pregnant, and management did the only thing that they could do for that, but it's still refreshing to have the same lineup at each show for the entire tour and KNOW that it'll be that way all the way through.