{"id":45470,"date":"2025-09-27T01:22:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T01:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/45470\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T01:22:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T01:22:07","slug":"astrid-jorgensen-talks-memoir-pub-choir-nz-tour-and-life-after-americas-got-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/45470\/","title":{"rendered":"Astrid Jorgensen talks memoir, Pub Choir NZ tour and life after America\u2019s Got Talent"},"content":{"rendered":"

At her Pub Choir gigs, she takes a song and, in a single evening, teaches hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of people to sing it in three-part harmony.<\/p>\n

\u201cA song one-night stand,\u201d she recalls in her new memoir, Average at Best. <\/p>\n

\u201cFilm it, post it, then NEVER DO IT AGAIN.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2017, on that very first night at The Bearded Lady, 70 people harmonised to Dave Dobbyn\u2019s Slice of Heaven. <\/p>\n

Today, more than 100,000 people have been recorded singing Jorgensen\u2019s version of Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen). <\/p>\n

During Covid lockdowns she pivoted to Couch Choir, receiving 21,000 individual video submissions across 11 sessions. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, almost 20,000 have put their voices to her arrangement of Toto\u2019s Africa \u2013 including, in June this year, the live television audience for America\u2019s Got Talent.<\/p>\n

Jorgensen made it to the quarter-finals<\/a> of the wildly successful show and then quietly disappeared. What happened?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d she says, \u201cI guess I can give you the scoop . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

Long story short, filming clashed with a private booking from billionaire business magnate and Virgin Group co-founder Sir Richard Branson who wanted Jorgensen to conduct a Pub Choir at the launch of his new cruise ship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were sailing into New York harbour in front of the Statue of Liberty and a helicopter was filming from above and I was teaching and holding Sir Richard Branson\u2019s hand. I decided I would choose that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was all a very, very long way away from Gore.<\/p>\n

Jorgensen was born in NZ. She last lived here, aged 7, when her father took a job as a high school deputy principal in small town Southland.<\/p>\n

She remembers a pet lamb, pig and rabbit. <\/p>\n

She climbed trees, there was a sheep farm next door and, at her primary school assemblies, the entire student body sang the theme tune from Friends.<\/p>\n

She did extension learning via Correspondence School, with lessons delivered by post and radio broadcasts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had this really analogue time in Gore that I only have fond memories of. Now, as an adult, I hear my parents recalling that time and maybe they had a different experience …\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Pub Choir’s Astrid Jorgensen in 2022, leading an audience in Hobart, Australia.<\/p>\n

Gore, population 8340, is the hometown of former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley and broadcaster Barry Soper. <\/p>\n

It is famous for a country music festival, a giant fake brown trout and a defunct oatmeal porridge factory. (See also: Mikey Havoc, Jeremy \u201cNewsboy\u201d Wells and the incident nobody mentions anymore<\/a>). <\/p>\n

\u201cGore is wonderful,\u201d affirms Jorgensen. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if Pub Choir has enough reach to fill a room everywhere we go in NZ, but maybe I\u2019m building up to Gore?\u201d<\/p>\n

Next week, Jorgensen releases her memoir Average at Best ($42, Simon & Schuster Australia). <\/p>\n

It is funny and frank. That time, for example, when 16-year-old Jorgensen travelled solo to Zambia to become a nun. <\/p>\n

And the 18 months she spent pretending to be two people for the sole purpose of winning radio station merchandise. And, also, an absolutely unspeakable act involving an empty pack of potato chips, brand and flavour unspecified.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy publisher said to me, that is a brave thing to put out there. Do you understand that when you do this, probably for the rest of your life, people will come up to you and tell you the story of when they s*** themselves? <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I was like \u2018that sounds great. I\u2019m only hearing the positives\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

(I can\u2019t help myself: \u201cFlame Grilled Steak,\u201d she says, delivering this interview\u2019s second exclusive scoop. \u201cFrom the specials aisle at Aldi.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Jorgensen has rubbed musical shoulders with some very big names. <\/p>\n

Mick Jagger wore a kimono to sound check. Neil Finn<\/a> is \u201ca lovely man\u201d. <\/p>\n

She has crossed paths with everyone from Kate Bush to Radiohead to Sir Barry Gibb to Simon Cowell via that aforementioned global talent show. <\/p>\n

America\u2019s Got Talent before Gore?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat, I think, is the natural progression of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jorgensen is actually coming to NZ. Post-book release, she\u2019ll tour Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch (November 9, 10 and 12). <\/p>\n

\"BackstageBackstage with Pub Choir’s Astrid Jorgensen, who is about to release her memoir Average at Best.<\/p>\n

She won\u2019t reveal her chosen song in advance, except to say that for every show: \u201cI think about where I am going and who I will be singing with and what possibly would feel right for the moment … and as soon as I thought of it, I thought \u2018that\u2019ll feel good\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I hear people say \u2018I\u2019ve been rehearsing\u2019. What are you rehearsing? I haven\u2019t told anyone the arrangement yet. Free yourself. <\/p>\n

\u201cTake a load off. Try and relax … I\u2019ll tell you what to do. Your job is to follow the instructions to the best of your ability, but somebody near you will be cleverer and they\u2019ll figure it out and help. It\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, to take a literal leaf out of Jorgensen\u2019s new book, it\u2019s okay to be average (at best).<\/p>\n

\u201cSinging is so personal,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why a lot of us carry this shame or embarrassment around it, because if you sing anything out of tune, which is bound to happen at some point for everyone, then you are at fault \u2013 it\u2019s your body that made the noise wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it feels necessarily personal. But everyone has strange vocal moments. Our voice is a reflection of our health and how we feel that day and however many things that are happening for us in life. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to let that go. It\u2019s impossible to be the best at singing. It\u2019s impossible to sing in tune all the time. It\u2019s entirely unique and I think that\u2019s the reason to sing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope, through Pub Choir or reading the book or whatever, that I\u2019m starting to convince people that it\u2019s OK to sing averagely and still have a nice time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AstridAstrid Jorgensen and a 2023 Pub Choir show in Brisbane, Australia.<\/p>\n

There is a temptation to look at the photographs and video clips of Jorgensen and think this is all very easy for a person with her looks, talent and apparent confidence.<\/p>\n

At that point, she might, perhaps, draw your attention to her chapters on body dysmorphia, bulimia, sexism in the music touring industry and why she won\u2019t be getting Botox.<\/p>\n

\u201cI no longer want to hurt myself for the singular goal of changing how I look so other people think I\u2019m beautiful \u2018now\u2019,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n

And, on the phone to the Herald: \u201cI feel like it\u2019s radical just to exist in the packaging that you were given. I\u2019m starting to wonder if we are drifting further away from an egalitarian visual respect for each other? I do worry about that a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s kind of why I write about digging my heels in for myself … for me personally, I would like to hold on to my face as long as I can and be the wrinkly frowny lady on stage. <\/p>\n

\u201cI communicate with my face what I need from my audience and it\u2019s worked for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her book, she warns that it is impossible to have a favourite song. <\/p>\n

I wonder, does she have a favourite note? A musical building block that particularly resonates?<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore Pub Choir, I used to run community choir. Regular, rehearsed choir. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would often start by saying \u2018let\u2019s find the note in each of our bodies that feels the nicest today. And we\u2019ll take a really nice calm breath in and we\u2019ll hum this note. It\u2019s different for everyone, but it will be the easiest, most pleasant note you can imagine for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone would take a breath in. And then?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a horrible cacophony! And I\u2019m like \u2018this is what humanity sounds like\u2019. That\u2019s my favourite note. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know it\u2019s sort of ugly, but it\u2019s sort of cool at the same time. It\u2019s definitely not boring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Average at Best by Pub Choir’s Astrid Jorgensen (Simon & Schuster Australia, $42)<\/p>\n

Average At Best by Astrid Jorgensen (Simon & Schuster Australia, $42). Pub Choir New Zealand tour dates: November 9 (Auckland), November 10 (Wellington), November 12 (Christchurch).<\/p>\n

Kim Knight joined the New Zealand Herald in 2016 and is a senior journalist on its lifestyle desk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At her Pub Choir gigs, she takes a song and, in a single evening, teaches hundreds, and sometimes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[74,28174,95,40121,2108,12974,3028,24263,40126,40124,23778,156,17881,5620,40122,13635,424,13457,9462,111,139,69,40125,40123,14152,5970,8628,5824,301,40127,208,1065,437,6923,1533,102,80],"class_list":["post-45470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-after","tag-americas","tag-and","tag-astrid","tag-book","tag-change","tag-chip","tag-choir","tag-conducts","tag-creator","tag-empty","tag-entertainment","tag-got","tag-interview","tag-jorgensen","tag-knight","tag-life","tag-look","tag-memoir","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-packets","tag-pub","tag-quit","tag-really","tag-song","tag-talent","tag-talks","tag-tellall","tag-tour","tag-touring","tag-tv","tag-what","tag-will","tag-with","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}