Shining Star In Brazil

Years ago there was a talent show on American television called The X-Factor, produced by Simon Cowell. Many who are reading this are most likely familiar with the show. It only lasted 3 seasons in the U.S., but up until this current year, the show still aired in Great Britain. Of all the amateur singing-shows on T.V., The X-Factor appealed to me the most (although the show The Voice is also a very entertaining talent show which is still running strong). 

One of my personal favorite singers from The X-Factor was Leona Lewis who won it all way back in 2006. I first saw Leona Lewis doing a rendition of an original X-mas song titled, “One More Sleep”, which was a “Who is this?” type of moment. After witnessing that performance, I dug deeper into her music and came away very enamored of her singing ability.  

NME.com/Paul Stokes

Enclosed is a clip of Leona Lewis performing a cover of the song Run. 

“Run” is a song by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol from their third studio album, Final Straw (2003)…The song was conceived in 2000 by frontman Gary Lightbody after an accident he had during a bender…Lightbody explained the song was not written about “being a child”, as he tended to say. He described: “I was on a massive bender and one night I was drinking in the bar of the Glasgow School of Art. I fell down a full flight of stairs.

Jonny Quinn found me in the stairwell with blood coming out of my head … I split my head open and my eye was closed and I lost a few teeth … I wrote Run soon after on this little guitar I’d tried to smash up in my shitty little room near Hillhead. The words ‘Light up, light up’ gave me this sense of a beacon.” Besides Lightbody, it was written by Quinn, Nathan Connolly, Mark McClelland and Iain Archer. (Wikipedia)

This is a link to their original creation / official video: 

I also include a version of the song where X-Factor celebrities record the cover of “Run” for a British charity; a version which is beautiful as well as very humbling, to say the least.

All three versions of the song are great! In regards to Leona Lewis’ cover, what I love about her performance and singing in general, is her wide range of pitch, where at times she will hit up to 5 different notes on just one verse alone. The power of her voice endears me to her, regardless of her current familiarity worldwide.

Now I’m a firm believer in fate. Where one door closes, another opens where you least expect it. I was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but my family only stayed one year after, so I never learned Portuguese. Much later in life, after awakening my passion for linguistics, I was taking Portuguese lessons from a fantastic tutor, whom for personal reasons, was unable to continue.

Wishing to continue learning Portuguese, as well as wishing to translate some of my original material into the language, I embarked on finding a new tutor. Now there are tons of amazing tutors out there, but chemistry is something I find necessary to enhance the learning experience. It’s not always a cut-and-dry experience choosing one tutor over another. One day, while sifting through tutor profiles on the website Preply, (that plug should be worth a discount?), I came across a unique introductory video where after introducing herself, a young lady named Lidia proceeded to break into a song while strumming on a soprano ukulele!

Witnessing this, I was like a fly caught in a spider web, lol. It was impressive to witness the depth of her self-confidence, uniquely on full display. 

I reached out to Lidia and we wound up arranging a time for a trial lesson. I was not disappointed in meeting Lidia, nor in working with her for the first time. The initial confidence I witnessed in her was effortlessly carried over to her ability to teach.

More surprises were in store. Later on, Lidia informed me she was studying to become a pilot, which added that much more intrigue. She also shared a link which introduced me to musical performances and other variations of creative visuals she had on display. All were fantastic reflections on Lidia’s creative prowess in showcasing her vibrant, confident self.

However, there was one video which stood out for me, above all others. It was a very simple production: while sitting in the front seat of a car, Lidia was filming herself singing. When I saw this clip, I was like a fly caught in a spider web for a second time.

In this particular video, Lidia is singing a Brazilian song titled, “Para, Pensa e Volta” which translates into, “Stop, Think and Come Back to Me”. It was amazing to not only listen to, but to see the star in Lidia shine so brightly!

While playing her video clip, two things immediately jumped out at me; 1) Lidia is a star, and 2) Lidia has exactly what Leona Lewis has: natural, God-given talent in using variation of pitch. After the clip ended, I was left wanting more than the 58 seconds she recorded! I told Lidia she had to do more videos like that (although she doesn’t need me to validate her talent). 

I don’t know how long I will be working with Lidia, but even if lessons stopped tomorrow, my life is richer for having met her. I find that true with all the tutors/translators I work with throughout the world, each of whom poses uniqueness in talent and individuality. In this particular situation, I literally found harmony in a shining star, rising out of Brazil.

Sometimes it’s win-win, when fate closes one door and opens another.

So… light up-light up / as if you have a choice… because there is much beauty out there to tap into, you just have to explore. 

Written by: T.K.

Chief Editor: Jade L. 

Share This Article