14-year-old Andrea Shenella Perera , a budding young artiste, has shown that she could continue a long journey forward , with her latest single ‘Kodu Kara Hitha ’. The song was released recently.
Currently residing in K.S.A (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Andrea is a student of Saud international school, K.S.A. She showed promising talent in singing from a very young age, where she inspired herself by listening to a lot of music every day and singing a great deal. By the time she fell in love with music, she had such a passion for it, that there was not a single day which went off without listening to music, singing a song or playing the guitar. All this was in an environment where music and entertainment was not much encouraged, due to the cultural restrictions of the country. However, after the lapse of 60 years, music, theater, and art will now be included in the curriculum of public and private schools in Saudi Arabia, according to the Ministry of Culture in K.S.A.
Andrea was mostly familiar with English, but she has started singing in Sinhala with her latest release, ‘Kodukara Hitha’. The lyrics were written by Rasika D Duminda while the music direction was done by Sandaruwan Jayasinghe. Andrea also participated at the World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) held in 2019, where she showed superb talent by winning four medals in four different categories. These included one gold as Grand Finalist, one Silver for modelling, one bronze for vocal original composition and self-accompaniment (Ukulele), and one bronze for acting. She also performed live on stage at the i Dance KSA Philippines Final Showdown, on October 4. Apart from these, she participated at the American Protégé International Competition at Carnegie Hall, New York City, U.S.A 2018, becoming the second place winner in Broadway Music Competition and Traditional Music Competition, participating at the World Championship of Performing Arts Virtual 2020 (VWCOPA 2020). Likewise, she has had her share of experience in participating at the world’s most prominent music events.
Q: Tell us about your progress in music these days.
It has been pretty decent these days. I’ve been doing quite an amount of online shows, writing songs, and playing music.
Q: How do you feel about your first Sinhala single?
A lot of people put me down since I was born somewhere else other than Sri Lanka and they downsized me saying I don’t speak Sinhala so much, and it pulled me away from my own traditions and culture for a while. But now I keep up with it and I try my best and I make sure to know where my roots are from. This song is about a girl who experienced her first ever love, and that’s a lot of feelings girls my age and older feel nowadays because its life and it’s a song that everyone can relate to and vibe too and just relax to. I am still so excited about this music video because I got to prove those haters that I can do what I want to do and there’s nothing there to stop me from reaching my dreams and my goals and my plans for the future.
Q: What, or who inspired you to follow music?
To be honest I didn’t really have an inspirational character for music other than watching lots of music videos like Lizzo, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and many more. I listen to a lot of music 24/7 and I sing, and play instruments. That just has inspired me not only to become a better musician but also become a better person. My family is my number one supporters, and they have been there for me every step of the way and encouraged me to try new things that I was always insecure about. they always protect me and I respect them, and I value them because they are the best people in my life and I could never know how to thank them.
I come from a family who has a musical background. My aunt is a pianist and my cousins play the piano. I learn from them and I learn from my surroundings, but right now my most inspirational singer is Lizzo. She is so respectable and her songs are so inspiring and it’s all about self-worth.
Q: How do you feel about your achievements at several international music festivals?
Usually when I enter into a competition or a festival I always think of it as not a big deal because if I do, I start to panic and I get stressed. So I think of it as a small event that I am going to, although it may be a big international performance like my WCOPA event. So I keep calm usually doing my performances and I do my best and wing it like the diva I am, and then I realize and put into my head how such a big deal most of these events are and that I am attending to such an important event and I realize that I’m not just an ordinary girl.
Q: Who are your favorite artistes - both locally and internationally?
Since I live in Saudi Arabia there is Amr Diab, he is amazing and I love Lizzo! Lizzo is my favourite singer in the whole entire world and after that would be Bruno Mars. I would do anything just to meet them!
Q: How do you feel about the life in K.S.A?
Life in Saudi Arabia has developed really fast it went from a desert to a fully functional country and it has so many facilities around us that are close to us, help us in need and it’s very fun here. To be honest I was basically born here and I grew up here so 95% of my friends are in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, and my life was built in Saudi Arabia. So I call this place home and I don’t say that, I don’t miss Sri Lanka. I miss it so much because part of my family is there too, and I would love to see them every day but I can’t but I feel like a foreigner every time I go to Sri Lanka, because I was brought up in a different culture and tradition, but I still keep my roots.
Q: What do you hope to do in future?
My main goal in life is to become a lawyer and help the ones in need, and I would love to thank my parents first of all for guiding me since day one till today, and my music teachers who have helped develop my voice and helped me gain my confidence in being myself, and expressing myself through music. I would also like to thank every mentor I had throughout my journey since I wouldn’t be this girl without them.
