Whatever happened to Enya?

In the 90s she was among the few artists who made Celtic music known all over the world. We are talking about Enya, the Irish New Age singer. Where has she gone?

In Irish Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (in English Enya Patricia O' Brennan), was born Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore in English) in Ireland on May 17, 1961.

In 1988, her second studio album, 'Watermark,' began an incredible rise to the top of the charts. Since then, Enya has sold more than 80 million records.

The single 'Orinoco Flow' is one of those timeless 80s tracks that many people will have heard in one place or another. Enya was nominated for a 'New Age Performance' and 'Best Video' Grammy for this iconic song.

Image: still from the Enya music video 'Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)'

The music performed and composed by Enya remains somewhere between Celtic folk and New Age, with an ethereal, sometimes dreamlike sound.

Enya's style was so different and innovative as to bring a rebirth of New Age to the music industry. The typical sounds of her culture paved the way to unprecedented success.

From the start of her career in the mid-80s, her music has been chosen for the soundtracks of several big films or commercials. An example was the film 'My life (1993) or the Volvo commercial with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Over time, Enya has managed to accumulate so many successes that she has become one of the richest artists in her country.

According to the website Celebritynetworth, Enya accumulated a fortune corresponding to approximately 150 million dollars. She became one of the richest women in the music industry.

By 2000, with little more than a decade in the business, Enya had already sold more than 40 million records worldwide. And in the new millennium, her fame continued.

In 2000, Enya's fifth studio album, 'A Day Without Rain', was released. The first single from the famous album is 'Only Time'. The song is still very popular today. In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack, it was chosen as the soundtrack for Steve Golding's presentation in memory of its victims.

She was initially against the fact that her song had been attributed to that tragedy, but then, Enya then decided to release a new version of the same song to raise funds for the families of the 9/11 victims.

Thanks to the special version of 'Only Time,' Enya managed to reach the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 with unprecedented sales results: the album containing this track sold more than 15 million copies.

She'd been asked to compose and perform on the soundtrack to 'Titanic' in the 1990s, but Enya refused. In the 2000s, she changed her attitude towards film, though, and agreed to record for the soundtrack to Peter Jackson's film 'The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring.'

'May It Be', the soundtrack song of the first 'Lord of the Rings' movie, received an Oscar nomination in 2002 for best song.

There are also songs that we may think are hers and, in reality, they are not. For example, more than twenty years after the release of the film 'Gladiator', many still believe that the epic closing song of the film, 'Now we are free,' was composed and performed by Enya. However, it was actually composed by Hans Zimmer and sung by Lisa Gerrard.

Enya has recorded a total of eight studio albums and two collections throughout her musical career. The latest album is 'Dark Sky Island' which was launched in 2015.

The Irish singer has received numerous accolades and awards throughout her career, including four Grammy Awards, seven World Music Awards, two Japanese Grand Prix Awards, two IRMA Awards, an Echo Award, and two honorary degrees.

But why is Enya such a mysterious person, despite the fame she's achieved over the years? What happened to the famous and wealthy Celtic singer?

For many years now, Enya has lived in her castle in the town of Killiney. As reported on The List in 2015, Enya once said people considered her a hermitress: "The media put tags on people. With Oprah Winfrey, it’s the weight issue. What is the spin they have on me? 'Oh, she’s a recluse.'"

"My private lifestyle bothers a lot of people," she told The Guardian in 2000. "It's not a hanging offense not wanting to go to nightclubs. What happened to choice? My choice is that after a certain amount of promotion, I feel it gets very false, and then I'm not interested."

Her need for privacy may also have to do with the threats she received from stalkers over the years, as media from The Sun to The Independent have reported.

As reported by The Independent, in 1996 a man who had her photo slung around his neck stabbed himself with a dagger after visiting the pub of the singer's parents.

In 2005, despite the security arrangements at her castle, certain individuals managed to break in by assaulting and tying up a housekeeper. The criminals stole several items after spending about two hours searching for Enya, who, in the meantime, had hidden in a panic room.

Enya never married. The singer has often stressed in her interviews that her dedication to music and her desire for independence has often been an obstacle in this regard.

As for her passion (and work), which is music, Enya told Literary Hub, "I am a very slow composer." Could this be why she still hasn't launched a new album since 2015? We can't help but look forward to it!