Goencho Avaz has become synonymous with musical talent in Goa as it is the most prominent platform for youngsters to showcase their singing talent. This year’s edition saw a flood of entries from across the state and after multiple stages of the competition, three individuals have emerged as first place winners, one in the solo category and two in the duet category.
Reha Kimberley Correia
Reha Kimberley Correia is blissfully happy after winning the 4th edition of Goencho Avaz in the solo category. The winners
were announced at the contest’s Grand Finale on Monday and since then, the
young singer has been flooded by wishes from all over.
Reha comes from the village of Pollem in Canacona. This southern most taluka
of Goa is proving to be cradle of budding singers as the winner of the second
edition of Goencho Avaz, Classy Cardozo, was also from here. The song that won
her gold was Chris Perry’s composition ‘Kalliz Vhelem Chorun’.
In an interaction with Café, Reha expresses her joy and pride in winning the competition. She especially
showers praise on maestro Norman Cardozo for being a
inspiration and helping her in her singing journey till now, She also commends Lenoy Gomendes for having her in his troupe and encouraging her
throughout.
Her teachers at Mallikarjun College, Canacona, where she is
pursuing her graduation in Arts, also received a special mention from the young
achiever who is incidentally the youngest winner of this singing contest at the age of 19.
Apart from singing in Konkani,
English and Portuguese, Reha is also fluent in singing Marathi and Hindi songs.
When asked about her favourite singers, she says, "My all time favourite singers are
Shreya Ghoshal, Atif Aslam, Enrique Iglesias, Avril Lavigne, Lorna, Nephie Rod,
Annette Pinto… and the list goes on.”
Reha is already swamped with stage shows for orchestras, musical shows and karaoke shows.
"I would like to perform live stage shows and do playback singing later
but right now my priority is my studies," she says. She concludes with a special thank
you to fellow-Pollem-resident Prashant Naik who is the Chairman of Ravindra Bhavan, and the organisers of Goencho Avaz
for boosting the confidence of budding artistes.
Pricy
Gama
At just
20 years of age,
Cortalim's Pricy Gama won first prize in the duet
category of the 4th edition of Goencho
Avaz, alongside
Grezello Fernandes. The third year BSc student, studying at Chowgule College, Margao, and
her partner won over the judges with a powerful rendition of ‘Dadleponn’, originally
sung by Alfred
and Rita Rose. This talented youngster also took home the third place in the solo
category, for which she sung ‘Kitem Korum’, a 1976 hit by Rita Rose and Alfred Rose.
In a chat with Café, Pricy
states that
she started singing at the age of five, going on to win many
awards; this victory reaffirms
her belief that she
can do a lot more in her singing career.
Remembering her
first vocals and music teacher, James Vaz, who encouraged her to sing and
taught her the keyboard and guitar, Pricy is very satisfied with her
performance. She thanks Grezello for his on-the-spot stage presence as their
decision to sing together was a last-minute one.
Pricy is ever
grateful to her parents for
supporting her in her pursuits and always being present to cheer her on at events such as this
one. She hopes
that more children will take up singing Konkani songs.
Grezello Fernandes
Grezello Fernandes, a Computer Applications Post grad, took a break from academics to participate in the fourth edition of Goencho Avaz and his risk bore
fruit in the form of the first place in the duet category of the competition,
alongside Pricy Gama.
The young lad from Colva explains how he recently completed his Masters in
Computer Application but decided to delay his job hunting process and even refused campus placements in order to concentrate on
his singing career. "I am still on Cloud Nine and
want to stay here for a while since I am elated on winning. i
actually took a break to focus on this," explains
Grezello, also revealing that he had auditioned last year but didn't make the cut.
Grezello was studying in Mangalore and never missed out on the opportunity to sing, doing so even in malls
and supermarkets. He states that Anselm Fernandes from Colva, one of the
winners of a previous edition of Goencho Avaz, is one of his inspirations.
Grezello, a regular
in the church choir at Colva, is happy to have
made the cut at the auditions at Vasco with Pricy. Their pairing for the duet category was an
on-the-spot decision, he reveals. And that decision has surely paid off.
He now wants to
focus on his singing career, something along the lines
of a one-man band
opportunity. But all that will come in due course, informs Grezello, who
currently wants to celebrate his victory. He tells us that he is grateful to Anselm
and his vocals trainer for helping him win over the stage.