Viveeyan believes that music and dance have found her; I believe her voice announces her

I knew about my upcoming interview with Viveeyan weeks before our call, so I did my research before our call. What is her personality like? What was her path to the finals of The Voice? What does her new EP Slice sound like?

As I immersed myself in the music, I immediately realized I was listening to someone heavily inspired by Beyoncé. The beauty of Viveeyan’s voice transported me to a place where I was sure I knew what I was hearing.

So I had to start the interview with my curiosity:

Has anyone ever mentioned that you sound like Beyoncé?

Oh God, I hear that all the time. Sometimes people think I’m trying to copy them. You know, there’s a story why I sound the way I sound.

tell me

My father noticed that I could sing when I was eight. He noticed because I was singing around the house. I already knew I had a good voice.

My father was an artistic person. He was a professional footballer and thanks to football he was able to go to secondary school on a scholarship. He could draw, write – everything. He wanted me to continue to go to school, but he didn’t want me to have the same experience he had, when people said that only degenerates made a living playing football.

So he looked for a way to balance things out for me. He took me to a voice coach for advice. And when we had visitors, our living room turned into a stage and I sang for them while my parents watched proudly.

I can’t remember exactly how many times I spoke to the vocal coach, but it was only a couple of times. I remember one time he heard me sing and he said to me, “Your voice would be so good with Destiny’s Child.” And guess who the lead singer of Destiny’s Child was?

Beyonce.

Before, I wanted to have a delicate voice like Celine Dion, but when the coach mentioned Beyoncé, I got to work. I didn’t just listen to Beyoncé and love her, I studied her like a textbook. My dad bought me Destiny’s Child tapes and I listened to Beyoncé’s solos and practiced over and over until I understood what she was doing.

Now that I’m older, I realize it’s not unusual for people to be influenced by other musicians. I love the poetry of Owl City and Taylor Swift’s ability to tell stories. It all fits together.

I am (again) curious why she invested so much time and effort into perfecting her craft as a child and ask:

Have you always wanted to be a musician?

Music has always found its way to me. In secondary school, I sang in class to the delight of the person sitting next to me, who called people from other classes to come and listen to me sing. I vividly remember that my wooden table sounded like a drum, so I had everything I needed to make music. I sang and people loved it.

I also found music at university. One day I was singing in my room and a girl next door ran in to see where the sound was coming from. She couldn’t stop telling people about me and encouraging me to sing.

I even started getting gigs on campus because people heard my voice. The first one, someone heard me singing and suggested I write a jingle for someone running for political office on campus. I wrote and sang and he won. Then I became known for writing catchy songs for people running for political offices. Through one of my jingles, I met my mentor, Mr. Gbade Adetisola, who heard my voice and said he needed to train me. He taught me more about music, voice control and more.

Another person who casually heard me singing insisted that I absolutely had to be on The Voice. So, yeah, it’s not like I decided to be a musician. I’m not even the best at promoting myself – I’ve just always loved singing and music has always found me.

I disagree. It doesn’t sound like music found her. It sounds like people can’t resist her when she sings. From her father, to the girl sitting next to her, to the girl in her dorm, to the people who wanted her to sing for their campaigns, to Mr. Gbade who insisted she must be on The Voice, to the thousands of Nigerians who kept voting for her until she made it to the finals, and even to me. I tell her this. She groans and smiles and nods in agreement.

Time for my next curiosity.

Tell me about “The Voice”

It was 2016. I had just graduated from college and was considering going to law school when the person who heard me sing insisted that I go on the show. My plan was to go on the show and then go on to law school. I was accepted onto The Voice in a group of about 100 people and we got started.

That show was a huge platform for me. People still remember me today. The privilege of being coached by experienced musicians, the joy of progressing round after round, wondering who voted for me and why, the thrill of working with a live band, the pressure of competing against talented musicians; it was all overwhelming and beautiful. I can still feel it as I speak.

It was painful to make it to the final eight and not win. But I was also incredibly proud. I didn’t think I could make it this far when competing against full-time musicians. The whole experience made me realize how much I love music. It helped me understand and define myself as a singer and artist. It showed me that I can perform on any platform at any level. And it made me decide to pursue music professionally. That’s when I started promoting myself by posting on social media. And that’s when I made my first song, “The Bull’s Eye.”

Oh, and I stopped going to law school. I got a job as a copywriter at an advertising agency – where I continued to write and produce jingles for brands. Even now that I no longer live in Nigeria, I still make ads and jingles.

I really like how she talks about her love of music and her craft.

What has it been like making music since “The Bull’s Eye”?

When I listen to “The Bull’s Eye” today, I want to scream because I ask myself, “What did I even do?!” But I’m grateful that I did it. It showed that I was still discovering myself as an artist and wasn’t afraid to experiment.

My very first manager was Amara Agwu. She was instrumental in getting me noticed after The Voice. When she got the opportunity to manage Ayra Starr, someone else had to step in and continue to manage me. It had to be someone I could trust because I had built such a wonderful relationship with Amara. So she recommended Nathalie Wemambu to me and Nathalie followed through on her recommendation. She is a pleasure to work with and is really passionate about building artists. I am grateful for both of them in my career.

After “The Bull’s Eye” I made a few more singles before releasing my first work “Slice” a few months ago.

“Slice” basically says, “It’s been a while. Here’s a little glimpse of what I can do.” On the EP, I showcase my strengths as a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. I also talk about the story of my adult life and what I imagine would be the story of many people who would listen to the project. That’s why it starts with “Minimum Wage,” because it’s like, “Hey, I’m an adult now. I had these big goals for my life, but where’s the money now to achieve them?”

And it ends with “Feel Good,” a song about self-acceptance. “How do I accept myself and move as the most authentic version of myself in society?” That’s a question that many people probably ask themselves.

Along the way there are things about love and things that make you want to dance, but those are my main themes.

I’m working on a few more singles that will be released this year before my next album comes out.

I ask her what she thinks are my two favorite songs from the five-song project. She says:You do not love me” And “Feel well“.

She is right.