Candice Night started her
singing/acting career at 4 years of age with local neighbourhood
playhouse theaters in New York. A year later she began her musical
training on piano. She began a modeling career that took her through her
teen years, and became very successful in print campaigns as well as
trade shows. But through it all, music has always been her passion.
When she met Ritchie Blackmore at a football match, she was working for
the biggest rock radio station on Long Island in New York. Ritchie
introduced her to the melodies and instruments of the medieval
/renaissance time periods, and she fell in love with the music. Candice
began writing her own lyrics with Ritchie and wrote several songs for
the last Rainbow CD “Stranger In Us All”. “Ariel” won accolades in
Europe and took chart position 2, and “Black Masquerade” became number 1
in Japan as well as being the official German soccer song. Candice was
the first woman ever who appeared on the front cover of Japanese “Cat
Diary” and “Burn” magazines. “Burn” magazine also voted “Black
Masquerade” as “best song of the year” (1995). This earned Candice her
first gold record, as well as featuring her in two calendar spreads.
After singing background for Rainbow and Deep Purple, their record label
in Japan decided it was time for a new movement of music in the lives of
Blackmore and Night and asked them to make their first CD together doing
the music that touched their heart and soul: In 1997 the first
Blackmore's Night CD “Shadow Of The Moon” was released, which
immediately achieved gold record status in Japan and went on to remain
high in the European charts for 16 weeks. Two years later, “Under A
Violet Moon” was released and won the “vocal album of the year award” in
USA. In 2003, “Fires at Midnight” won the NAV awards and went gold in
Europe and they also won video music awards. In 2003 “Ghost of a Rose”
was gold in Europe and won “vocal album of the Year” again in USA. Their
DVD “Castle and Dreams” was picked up by National Public Televisions in
the USA and was shown on TV stations throughout America. It spawned a
single that entered number #37 on AC Radio Billboard charts. In 2006,
“The Village Lanterne” entered the charts in Germany and Japan riding
high for several months.
Candice Night is not only the lyricist weaving together words of hopes,
dreams and legends that bear a distinctive parallel to her personal
life, but within Blackmore’s Night she is also the lead singer. She is
the only instrumentalist in the group proficient in the Renaissance
woodwinds including the chanters, penny whistle, shawm, cornamuse,
rauchpfife and recorder-adding a whole new dimension to the band.
In 2005, she was crowned as
“Princess of Magiquest”: a live interactive video game park in Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina. She is an animated character in the park that
comes to life to the delight of all who visit. With the wave of a magic
wand princess.
Candice sings for you. Another themed park opened in 2006 with Candice
Night as the princess and more are planned for openings in 2006 and
2007. This Magiquest theme park is expected to go international in the
next few years with the singing Princess Candice Night as a main
character.
In 2006 Candice was asked to reign as Queen of the USA Faerie Festivals
for Faerie Magazine. This will also continue through 2007.
2006 also found her as guest vocalist for Helloween on their newest CD
“Keeper of the 7 Keys” where she shares the spotlight on “Light The
Universe”. She has also been in duets with Tarja of Nightwish, with
Glenn Hughes in “The Story Of Aina” and in The Infinity Project. She has
been compared to a mysterious Stevie Nicks, Maggie Riley and Karen
Carpenter all rolled into one.
Her exhilarating personality enchants and delights listeners at their
live performances: often performed in castle courtyards throughout
Europe, the perfect backdrop for one combining both worlds. "In my music
I am able to absorb the Renaissance times, the romance and chivalry, the
mystery and fantasy." With her love of fantasy and weaving fairytales
into lyrics, her etheral voice and sparkling personality, she brings
delight to all who listen to her music. Candice and Ritchie have
supported charity benefits for humane societies and no kill animal
shelters including ASPCA, UNICEF, Red Cross, Best Friends etc. During
their summer European castle tour, a portion of their ticket fees were
donated to the World Wildlife Fund allowing the WWF to plant 6000 fruit
trees in Borneo, aiding the environment and helping to save the
endangered orang-utans of the region.
Candice has developed a small unique wildlife sanctuary at her home in
New York, where she and Ritchie can often be found in the gardens caring
for, feeding and serenading the birds and animals. This natural
inspiration feeds their creativity and brings even more beautiful songs
to life.
Candice Night started her
singing/acting career at 4 years of age with local neighbourhood
playhouse theaters in New York. A year later she began her musical
training on piano. She began a modeling career that took her through her
teen years, and became very successful in print campaigns as well as
trade shows. But through it all, music has always been her passion.