Nikki Webster Interview (Brink Vault)

A special 'vault' interview from 2010 today as we chat with the star of the Sydney 2000 Opening Ceremony Nikki Webster. In a fun, wide ranging interview, Nikki goes over the experiences from Sydney 2000 as well as everything else that happened since!

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.

BEN WATERWORTH: As we continue our vault interview special, going through some classic interviews that myself did personally on my former radio show The Brink. And a bit of a fun one here for you, because obviously we're bringing you Olympic athletes and people connected to the Olympics in terms of what's going on with these interviews. But I wanted to bring this one to you. I think this is connected to the Olympics enough, even though there might not be a whole lot talked about the Olympics here. 2010, I got the chance to speak to Nikki Webster. Now, for those not in the know, you're thinking, who the hell is Nikki Webster? She was. If you go back and ever see any footage of the Sydney 2000 opening ceremony, or you've got it, or you watch it, whatever you do, you'll see a young girl, a young redheaded girl, being taken through a journey across Australia, you know, the history of our country and everything along those lines. And that was Nikki Webster. She became a celebrity after the Olympics because of her performance in the Sydney 2000 opening ceremony. You know, released a hit single, Strawberry Kisses, pretty much all that happened, and she kind of faded into obscurity. But she still pops up every now and then, and apparently, I believe, recent news on Nikki is actually getting ready to re-release Strawberry Kisses, believe it or not. So I think this interview was fun. Again, as I kind of pre-warn people listening to this in terms of questions asked, there are Brink staple questions we asked the famous five that you'll hear at the end. And again, this was from 2010, so if you are perhaps listening to this or skipping past this intro, wondering what's going on, there are references that might be a bit dated. But again, this was seven years ago. So here it is, Nikki Webster from The Brink.

BEN WATERWORTH: We are very excited to have our next guest here on The Brink. She rose international stardom as the star of the Sydney 2000 Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and has since gone on to be one of the most recognisable faces and voices in Australia. In 2001, she released one of the highest selling singles of the year with Strawberry Kisses, and has since gone on to release three hugely successful albums, and in between has gone on to star in everything from The Wizard of Oz to Dancing With The Stars. So please welcome to The Brink for the first time, Nikki Webster. Nikki, it is fantastic to finally have you here on the show. It's all right. I can just, I really do want to say though, in the five years that I have been doing this show, I don't think I have been more excited to finally land a guest. We've been trying to chase you up since the start. Yes.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Don't I feel important?

BEN WATERWORTH: You should, you should. And the listener...

NIKKI WEBSTER: I'm glad you finally got me.

BEN WATERWORTH: The listener reaction has just been superb too, so I know everybody listening to this right now is excited to have you finally on the show, Nikki. Now, of course, many people first got to know you as the face of the Sydney Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, as I just mentioned in the introduction, but you have been around a lot longer than that, appearing in everything from home and away. Do you remember anything from your role on Home and Away?

NIKKI WEBSTER: I do, actually. It was just a guest spot. I believe my brother was in it also, and we were basically just in a house, and we were playing brothers and sisters, and someone came to the door. I don't actually remember what characters it was, but I remember the filming day. It was quite fun, quite a lot of fun, and obviously being on screen with your brother and playing a brother and sister, you get to have a fight, and it's all good fun.

BEN WATERWORTH: No acting, it's just, you know...

NIKKI WEBSTER: No, no, no acting.

BEN WATERWORTH: Now, something that many of our listeners may not actually be aware is that you have performed with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that?

NIKKI WEBSTER: Yeah, I mean, I was when he was in Sydney for his history tour, and a whole group of us got to meet him, and then he asked us to sing on stage with him, and we sang Heal The World, and we were walking around in a big circle, and he picked me out of the circle to sing out the front with him. So, you know, just an incredible moment, you know, standing next to Michael Jackson, singing to a packed audience. It was absolutely insane, and, you know, it's something I'm going to hold on to the rest of my life, and unfortunately, he's not around anymore, but I've definitely got a very fond memory of it.

BEN WATERWORTH: Were you a massive Michael fan, or was it just something you did?

NIKKI WEBSTER: Absolutely, massive. Massive Michael fan, still am, you know, and he's a genius at what he does, and getting to meet him and spend just a little bit of time just getting to know him was incredible, and I guess my one regret is probably not keeping in contact with him after I did the Olympics, because I'm sure it was probably something he would have liked to have known about. Yeah, that just, I mean, I teach all my kids at my dance studio Michael songs, and we love it, we have dance, we have a sing, and it's just infectious music, which is brilliant.

BEN WATERWORTH: Absolutely. And of course, obviously, tragic circumstances last year that happened. But unfortunately, I suppose his music will live on, and if you're teaching that to the students there, I mean, I suppose that works out very well. And with that, now that you do have this studio, your dance studio, is that something that's sort of bringing back the way you started when you were young? You're trying to get this now to other people coming along to this studio and being able to start what you did?

NIKKI WEBSTER: Yeah, absolutely. I guess, you know, I've always grown up in dance studios, but it's a more relaxed, in terms of we're very nurturing my brother and myself as business partners. And I guess I've been through a lot of ups and downs publicly with the media. And if I can nurture these young, up-and-coming stars, performers, and I guess steer them away from what I've been through or help them through the tough times, then, you know, that's what I'm going to do. That's what I'm really passionate about. And now having an agency also attached to the dance studio, I'm able to see kids take the steps that I took. So it's very exciting, and I love it. And it's such a rewarding thing to do.

BEN WATERWORTH: Well, that's obviously the main thing, too, with that. And you've actually sort of half answered a question I was going to ask. We've noticed here at the show, at The Brink, that whenever the media do talk about you, or they're interviewing you or anything along those lines, they always seem to refer to this public perception of you. It always turns out in a negative way. How much does this annoy you, Nikki? I mean, is there anything you would love to say or do to these media types? And do you just want something nice and positive out there for you for once?

NIKKI WEBSTER: That is true. I don't think there's enough time for me to tell you what I'd like to do to them. No. Look, I don't really read the good. I don't read the bad. I'm kind of at that point where, you know, it's not worth kind of reading into what they're saying. I always find it weird that they make it a public perception that's a negative thing when I'm out on the streets every day being myself. And it's actually the media's perception. It's not the public. The public are quite behind me. So, I guess I'm blessed in that sense. But, you know, it was tough going through puberty and going through, you know, the tall poppy syndrome. But I'm still going through it with the media. I don't think it's ever going to stop. So I've got to get on with it.

BEN WATERWORTH: And do you want to try and shake off? Obviously, the image is always you with this young girl from the opening ceremony at the Olympics. I've even mentioned it in my opening ceremony. So I'm being a hypocrite by saying this. But you obviously, you've done so much more than just, you know, being up on a wire at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

NIKKI WEBSTER: I guess, you know, that was such a proud moment for our country and as a whole, and, you know, I'm happy to be put in, you know, side by side with that. It's absolutely amazing. So it's something that is always going to be with me, and I'm happy for it to be mentioned all the time.

BEN WATERWORTH: I suppose, though, if you're happy for it to be mentioned. I mean, there are some people we've had on the show where they've got that one moment, and you sort of say to people, oh, yeah, we've got Jane Saville on the show. Who's that? Oh, she's the one who got disqualified just before she walked into the stadium. They know that moment. They know if you say who Nikki Webster is, they don't need to be knowing that you're the one from the opening ceremony. They know who you are, Nikki. It's okay. It's okay. Now, when you walked out into that stadium, you've got a couple of billion people around the world watching you at that moment. How are the nerves going? Are you absolutely crapping your dacks?

NIKKI WEBSTER: Well, not really. I think the main thing was the only time I got nervous was right at the beginning where I had to walk out and I had to hit centre mark right in the middle of the stadium. And, you know, there was no markings on the floor. So basically, it was done by feel and rehearsals of where I'd found centre. Because if I didn't hit the centre spot, I couldn't have flown because the cables couldn't come down. That was the only thing I was nervous about. Once I hit centre, I was like, this is easy. This is great. And I didn't even think about, you know, people watching. I think that was a great thing that David Atkins and Rick Burch did with me. They didn't really put the pressure on that so many people would be watching. They just said, you know, go out, make us proud. You know, there's everybody in the stadium. They forgot to tell me that it was being filmed for The World.

BEN WATERWORTH: Just that small little factor.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Yeah, they forgot. But probably in a good way.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I reckon. I'm sure you wouldn't want to walk out there, and they've gone, OK, Nikki, hit centre spot and just forget about the three billion people watching you.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Yeah. Yeah, if you don't hit centre spot, you're dead.

BEN WATERWORTH: I suppose that was before YouTube, though. But I mean, still, it would have been something that they would have put on there now, maybe.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Yeah, yeah, definitely.

BEN WATERWORTH: Do you watch other Olympic ceremonies now every four years? And you sort of think like, what are they doing? Me flying up above the, you know, Stadium Australia was so much better than a little boy in Greece on a boat.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Ah, I do watch them. And I think, you know, the thing I find amazing is how much technology has come on since the 2000 Olympics. You know, we could only fly up, down and across. Now they can fly in zigzags. They can play anyway they want. So there's obviously a lot more creative licence and ways through technology that, you know, enhance the opening ceremony. But I think overall, our storyline, our what we portrayed, the, you know, everything put together was just exceptional. And all the directors that were a part of the opening ceremony were absolutely incredible. And, you know, I think we're the best and I think we're always going to be the best.

BEN WATERWORTH: But I'm not biased. No, not at all. You can be biased. Share with the greatest Olympics ever and no one's ever said anything else.

NIKKI WEBSTER: He did, he did. Absolutely. And he told me that as well, too. So I'm going to take that and run.

BEN WATERWORTH: You've got that from the man himself. So you can use that personally. And I think there's been a bit of a trend since Sydney 2000, every opening ceremony, whether it be a winter or summer, I swear there's been using like a young child telling a story. And, you know, Nikki, you've started this.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Oh, I feel flattered. It was kind of David Atkins and Rick Burch, but hey, I'll take that. They want to recreate it, I'd say go for it.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, exactly. I mean, no one remembers them, you know? I mean, when you say Strawberry Kisses, people don't care who wrote it, Nikki. You sang it. Come on. Now, of course, with Strawberry Kisses, Australia's gone Nikki Webster crazy after the Summer Olympics in 2000. What was this period like? I mean, could you walk out of your house? What were the fan reaction like to that?

NIKKI WEBSTER: It was quite intense, and it was quite weird for me being 13, thinking, OK, I've done the opening ceremony. I'm just going to go back to school when we resumed at school. And I remember pulling up, and I had 60 minutes following me at that point. And obviously, it was some kind of exclusive thing. And there were seven, nine, ten, and every other news channel under the sun parked outside my school. And I had to duck down in the car, and I'm going, what is this? This is just crazy. It was fun. It was scary. It was hard at the same time, eating in a food court like I normally would, and people coming up with my mouth, I'm shoving food into my mouth, all that kind of stuff. But I guess the great thing about it was everybody's spirit and how positive they were about being proud to be an Australian. And that was the main thing that was really, really touching.

BEN WATERWORTH: You should have rang up Michael Jackson and maybe got some advice. How do I deal with this Michael? What do I do?

NIKKI WEBSTER: I should have closed down the shopping centre, so I could have gone shopping by myself.

BEN WATERWORTH: Walk with a face mask on with your hand waving and some kids with some face on their faces. Maybe not that far. Maybe not that far. Now, of course, in the years that followed, you did release a few more albums that I have mentioned, of course, in the introduction. But I suppose a lot of people then remember you from 2005 when Dancing With The Stars happened. Now, how was this experience for you with a lot of stuff that happened during that filming there?

NIKKI WEBSTER: It was great. I mean, Dancing With The Stars is such a whirlwind. It's, you know, you're thrown into dancing with this person that you've never met before, and you're trained, you know, seven, eight hours a day. And then you go when you dance, and you're totally out of your comfort zone. Yes, I'd had dancing training, but nothing to do with Latin dancing or anything like that. And I'd always sung and danced. I'd never just danced. And it was completely freaky. It was scary. And I remember the first episode, all of us standing backstage going, why did we sign up to do this? What are we doing to ourselves? You know, why are we putting ourselves out of our comfort zones? But it was great. I made some wonderful friends, and it was a wonderful time.

BEN WATERWORTH: I think you've got some dogs in the background, some fans there.

NIKKI WEBSTER: That's my little dog, Sunshine. She wants to start. She wants the limelight, I think.

BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, we can ask her some questions.

NIKKI WEBSTER: She's saying hello to everybody.

BEN WATERWORTH: Hi, Sunshine. I'm sure Hobart is loving you right now. Now, you did love when dancing with the stars. You did knock off a couple of Olympic gold medalists and Stephen Bradbury and Shane Gould, though. So, I mean, you've got this Olympic reputation and you've beaten some Olympic gold medalists, Nikki. So, you can always put that in your resume, too.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Yeah, I never thought about it that way.

BEN WATERWORTH: Well, we had Stephen Bradbury on the show and we mentioned that to him. You got beaten by Nikki Webster. And he was like, oh, well, what are you to do? Now, of course, also, I was mentioning, though, how the media perceive you as saying that, you're always that young girl from the Olympics. But of course, in the last five years, you've attempted to bring out this more mature image with some photo shoots for the men's magazines. And of course, Devilish has been released last year. And is this hard for you, given that you're putting so much effort into this and that Australia don't seem to want to accept a grown up Nikki?

NIKKI WEBSTER: Well, yeah, I don't think I'm putting so much effort into it. I just think it's a natural progression, really. I mean, I think they'd do the same thing if I was still dressed up in, you know, a pink plastic outfit, you know, like a Warren Strong example. I think they'd be saying, she needs to grow up. I guess I can't win. So I'm just going to do what feels comfortable with me. And, you know, don't worry about the media. It's more about getting my music across and performing. That's what I do. And I have a right, just as everybody else has a right, to make a career out of things and to give it a go. And I guess I'm lucky enough to have some doors open, but I'm going to keep dashing down a few more.

BEN WATERWORTH: I suppose the media never seemed to make up their mind, do they? I mean, with Michael Jackson, he never seemed to grow up. They bagged him out. Britney Spears grew up too quickly, and they bagged her out too. You can't win, can you, Nikki?

NIKKI WEBSTER: You can't. You can't win. So, that's why you got to kind of take it with a pinch of salt, and just make sure you're not getting pushed around personally, and you're happy with what you're doing.

BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly. Screw the media. You don't need them, you know. Who needs us? This interview, who needs it? Now, I'm sure you're well aware, Nikki, we're trying to campaign to get the Olympics here in 2020 in Hobart, and we have massive plans for it, of course, but we do think that no Olympic Games in Australia would be complete without Nikki Webster being the star attraction of both opening and closing ceremonies. Can we book you in right now to be the star attraction for you guys?

NIKKI WEBSTER: I would love to do that, and I feel honoured that you say that, so thank you.

BEN WATERWORTH: We will have you walking out, centre spot, raising you up, and you were talking about zigzagging and all this sort of stuff. You won't even have string. You'll be flying on your own by 2020.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Mind you, how old will I be in 2010?

BEN WATERWORTH: Well, what's that? You're going to be, what, 10 years' time? So 32?

NIKKI WEBSTER: 10 years, 32.

BEN WATERWORTH: Oh! You'll still be young, Nikki, come on.

NIKKI WEBSTER: That's a little scary.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, just don't think about the age factor, you know, you've got... You've got a long time to get ready for it. But I know you've got an Olympic experience, Nikki, so I mean, can you suggest anything else that we can make our games even better than Sydney?

NIKKI WEBSTER: Oh, that's a tough one. I think it's, you know, the more people you get involved, the better. I think that's a great thing about the Olympics is the community spirit and everybody, the volunteers and everything like that. I don't know. I think it could be interesting. I mean, 2020 is so far away, but I don't know. I guess I'll leave it up to the creative directors. But I'm happy to be a part of it.

BEN WATERWORTH: Well, you can be a creative director. As I said, you've got the experience. So, you know, bugger Rick Gurch. We've got Nikki Webster on board.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Oh, I think you need someone like Rick or David.

BEN WATERWORTH: We'll get you to pass on their phone numbers, and you know, we'll get some insight. But we can get your full support, then, for the Olympics, Nikki, in Hobart for 2020.

NIKKI WEBSTER: It sounds fantastic.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, what about next interview? You know, you're on A Current Affair next time. You're sort of mentioning it. You could just be like, you know, hey, Tracy Grimshaw, bugger me, Nikki Webster, what about the 2020 Olympics? Come on. Yes. Look, I'll tell you one thing. We're excited to have that, definitely. Now, Nikki, we're nearly going to be at the end of this interview. But just before we get to a set of questions, we'd like to ask all our guests. I just want to mention, though, you are 22, as we mentioned a few minutes ago. You've achieved more than most people do in their entire lives. What do you hope to achieve in the future? And speaking of 10 years' time in 2020, where would you like to see yourself?

NIKKI WEBSTER: I guess just moving along and achieving some of the same goals I've done with music and taking it overseas. I'd love to take my music overseas and see how it goes. My dance studio, my talent agency, to keep on growing and hopefully create some incredible performers that take on Australia and the world as well. Just doing what I love doing and always being happy. Hopefully I have a family by that point, and maybe some little Nickies running around.

BEN WATERWORTH: Instead of the Jackson Five, we could have the Webster Five going on. You'd get your brother involved, and you know, hubby and the kids.

NIKKI WEBSTER: I'm going to find a hubby first.

BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, come on. Put it right now. Listen, there's a Hobart around the world. Nikki Webster wants a husband. How's that? All right. Come on. We'll get people to send in emails. It can be like the Brink Dating Agency. Our first attraction is Nikki Webster. It will work well. You could set up shop down here, Nikki, for the Olympics. You'd be here already. Now, look, we'll wrap it up with our set of questions we like to ask our guests. These are very easy. Don't get too nervous. They'll be fine, Nikki. So if you're ready, we'll get straight into them. What is your favourite type of cheese?

NIKKI WEBSTER: Like tasty cheese.

BEN WATERWORTH: Tasty cheese. One of the most favourite ones.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Like strong vintage, yeah.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. It's good bitey cheese. Good for the stomach. Question two. Are you a folder or a scruncher?

NIKKI WEBSTER: I don't know what I am.

BEN WATERWORTH: You don't?

NIKKI WEBSTER: Is that weird to say that?

BEN WATERWORTH: No, not really. We've had a few who don't know. They sort of say, like, I'll tell you next time, but that's weird.

NIKKI WEBSTER: I guess I don't think about it too much.

BEN WATERWORTH: No, you're not there and going, I'm a folder, bugger me, and then you just go off. Next interview with Tracy Grimshaw, you know, Tracy, I'm a folder. Question number three, are we alone in this universe?

NIKKI WEBSTER: Are we alone?

BEN WATERWORTH: No, good, yes.

NIKKI WEBSTER: I hope not.

BEN WATERWORTH: We've only ever had two people said, yes, we are alone. It's kind of scary when they say that. It's sad to think that. And the final question we have for you, Nikki, is what event would you like to see at the 2020 Olympics? Now, this can be anything. Let your mind run free. It doesn't have to be a sport, even. It can be up to you.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Oh, I'd like to see the gymnastics, because I missed out on the semi-Olympics.

BEN WATERWORTH: Ah, yes. So sort of would you like to compete in the gymnastics?

NIKKI WEBSTER: Oh, absolutely.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah.

NIKKI WEBSTER: I think I could win a gold.

BEN WATERWORTH: Not. We'll guarantee you gold. We'll rig the competition.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Yay! Everyone else would have to hurt themselves or something.

BEN WATERWORTH: We'll pay the judges off. We'll give them some Tasmanian cheese, some bitey, tasty cheese. That would work very well. Well, Nikki Webster, thank you so much for your time here on The Brink. Absolutely honoured to finally have you here on the show. And good luck with the dance studio and everything else that comes your way. And we look forward to seeing you in 2020 here in Hobart.

NIKKI WEBSTER: Okay, bye-bye.

BEN WATERWORTH: It's fun, it's a lot of fun. We used to take credit a lot on the brink for getting a guest on the show, and then they would go on to bigger and better things. We joke about Nikki in that interview, I think getting a boyfriend, getting married. She went on to get married, I believe she's had children since. You're welcome, Nikki, you are welcome. So there you go, just a fun one for you on Off The Podium. We got more of them to come though. We've got some great athletes and great people related to the Olympics still coming your way. Facebook Off The Podium Podcast, of course, like us on this out to date, rate us, and leave us feedback on iTunes and subscribe. The easiest way to get these episodes, and you can go back through our archives, listen to other interviews, listen to all our episodes that we did throughout the Rio 2016 Games, and more episodes to come, of course, as well. So we appreciate your company and your support of the show. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks, Nikki, and we'll be back next time, speaking to you wherever you're listening here on Off The Podium.