Celeste finds new niche as reggae singer

Celeste David the accountant is a stark contrast from the vampy singer with the enviable vocal range, but if the jingle competition had failed to provide the successful breakthrough she had been looking for, a career balancing the books would have been likely.

Celeste David
“It would have been accounts,” the soft-spoken singer said with certainty on Wednesday when she popped into Stabroek News office for an interview. She is one of the few local artistes who, “never too busy” for a sit down, and or if she is, something favourable is always arranged.

Feels like a lot more than two years since Celeste first “Back it up” for us and looked good doing it too; she still has the figure though, which she pays strict attention to. Her voice has since matured; the young girl is now a woman and the fresh, young singer we saw back then continues to perform above expectations.

Celeste would tell you that her music has matured to the point where she is not just backing it up, but she is crooning and singing beautifully too. She went from the dancehall scene, which worked for her, and went on to embrace R&B — a genre that more suits her upbeat style. Now she is singing reggae; hoping to be among the first newfound batch of talented local female singers to make a successful reggae single.

20081227davidDon’t go comparing her to First Born — their reggae vibes are different — she is singing about love and taking local reggae to a different place. Her most recent single, “Stealing Love” has been playing on the radio to mixed reviews, but mostly to an appreciative audience. She has a fairly dedicated fan base that embraces whatever she is doing and right now it just so happens to be reggae. In the song, she is singing about love and its complications.

“I like the song because it tells a story about people who are in love and can’t be together, but somehow they find a way to be…they are stealing love,” she said with a smile, in reference to her song.

She is constantly writing songs and is honest enough to say that nearly all of them need to be vetted thoroughly before they can be considered for recording. Celeste chronicles her journey in the music business as a GT&T jingle competition runner-up to a new singer trying to it big, and now an accepted voice in the local music business. She is still trying to make it big.

20081227singerThough she has not had much exposure outside Guyana, Celeste is hoping that this changes next year. She opened up about a recent trip to Dominica where she was able to network with a wide cross section of people, particularly some in the music business, and how she has been invited back to see what success might be there for her to grab.

Today, Celeste is a far way from home and from the music she grew up singing; gospel. She learned to love and embrace gospel music in church and proudly declares that she was born to parents who are both pastors.
According to her, gospel is where she will eventually return since she hopes to finish her career praising God.

Remember the “Back it up” video? Her parents both gave their blessings to her career and had supported her in releasing the single, but when the video aired her father had a few questions to ask. She laughs when recalling some of the things he said, but nothing harsh. To put it simply, he was shocked.
“He said that he had no idea… he liked the video but then there were a few things he was not so comfortable with. He asked me questions about the guys in the video and their proximity to me and stuff…” she said.

Celeste also spoke of her Accolade nomination referring to it as an acknowledgment of her efforts. She was nominated for the Best New Artist award but lost out to Timeka Marshall, and contrary to what some people think she shares a mutual, friendly relationship with Timeka. She admitted that they do not go and have drinks together, but “we talk and we are part of a family…we are part of the GT&T family,” she added.

Celeste is now singing under the Kross Kolor record label with new manager, Burchmore Simon. She was previously associated with Kingdom Friends studio, and manager Danley Major. She praised Major for always supporting her music, giving her a start, and for believing in her. Now she is looking to forge the same kind of work relationship with Simon.

She has big plans for 2009, but has taken time off from mapping out her life to enjoy the holidays. She said Christmas would usually be a time when she travels to Berbice to be with her family and do “traditional things”.

Expect great things from her next year, she has already declared that it’s her year, and perhaps the year when she finally gets that big breakthrough she has been looking for. (ianaseales@yahoo.com)