There are a few reasons why Suzanne Prentice's latest album, I'll Do It All Over Again, means so much to the southern singer.
Its release late last month comes just two months after the death of her mother, Rose; it is her first album in more than 15 years; and, in a long career, it is the first release for which she holds the rights.
Described by New Zealand music veteran Gray Bartlett as "one of New Zealand's greatest-ever recording stars and vocalists", Prentice has been performing for close to four decades. In that time, she has enjoyed platinum-selling albums, a range of awards, sung for royalty and rubbed shoulders with industry giants.
She says she couldn't have done any of it without the support of her mum.
"When kids started coming along, Mum was the one who stepped in and kept the family together. Even when she wasn't travelling with me, she played a huge part. And in the last 10 years she was the one who was on my back to record again.
"Mum would have been thrilled with the album. She got to hear two of the songs. I had a friend in the studio who would hold up the phone for Mum to listen. That was important for me - that she enjoyed that process."
However, a combination of live concerts, charity work, body building, two best-selling books (she claims a third is in the offing) and a 2010 Invercargill mayoralty attempt has kept her out of the studio.
"I'd been concentrating on doing live work," the 53-year-old says. "I'm really fortunate that, in a country of this size, I've probably been busier in the last five years than at any time in my 40-year career. That is a thankyou to the New Zealand public, who have been very loyal.
"I've also been busy with other things such as a charity show called Kids for Kids; I do about 50 of those shows throughout the country each year. So when you combine that with my own shows, there isn't much time left."
As an example of constraints, Prentice had only just finished recording I'll Do It All Over Again when she took to the road with Ray Columbus and company for a 12-date national tour of That's Country, a reworking of the show which aired on New Zealand television from 1976 to 1983.
"That sort of sums up what my life has been like lately. Life is busy; my career is busy and that's the way I love it. It gives me a huge variety. I do corporate work, all sorts of things between here and Australia and even further afield.
"I also wanted to be sure of the direction to take on this album. It was very much a personal choice [of songs]. I'd been listening to and collecting songs for the past five years, with the thought of putting a new album out."
Keen to be involved in the entire recording process, Prentice made plenty of trips to producer Mike McCarthy's studio at Orewa, north of Auckland.
"I was in the studio for every instrument and track that was put down. It has taken a lot of time but I'm very happy with the result."
I'll Do It All Over Again offers plenty of variety, from a steel guitar-infused version of British singer Adele's hit Rolling In The Deep, to the Corrs' Runaway to the country soul of Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa, one of two Burt Bacharach-penned tunes, the other being That's What Friends Are For.
"It was really important for me to take that 40-year fan-base with me into 2012 so I needed an album that was far-reaching," Prentice explains.
"Also, personally, as much as my roots were in country music when I started off, when I do live shows I do all sorts of styles of music. I wanted to reflect that within this album. Because you are known for one particular style, that's not necessarily all you do."
At a glance
• Suzanne Prentice was just a youngster when she first took to the stage in Invercargill, where an auditorium packed with country music fans watched a 12-year-old girl strum a guitar and sing I'm Little But I'm Loud. Two years later, she released her first album and followed up with an Australasian Gold Guitar Award (not to be confused with the Gore-based event) at the age of 14.
• Prentice's first gospel album, One Day At A Time, went on to achieve triple platinum status, while When I Dream achieved platinum status within 10 days of being released.
• Named New Zealand Entertainer of the Year in 1984, Prentice has recorded television specials in New Zealand and Australia, performed before the Queen at a Royal Variety Performance in Auckland, and appeared at Wembley Stadium in The International Festival of Country Music.
• The 53-year-old has also been a special guest at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, including Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Roy Orbison and Emmylou Harris.
• Prentice's repertoire is wider than the country genre in which she has made her name. She has done cabaret work, recently took the lead role in a musical tribute to Patsy Cline, and in 2009 won the New Zealand Variety Artists Award (top female vocalist), beating Hayley Westenra and Tina Cross.
Hear it
Suzanne Prentice's I'll Do It All Over Again is out now.
