Singing with a sense of melancholy and depth of being, Nadia
Rebelo sounds at perfect ease with the Fado. “I have always enjoyed jazz, but
since 2011, I have been deeply drawn to the feeling and style of singing of the
Fado. It’s something I did not have to work too hard at. I was automatically
attracted to it and grasped its nuances easily,” admits this singer, whose
first encounter with these soulful, evocative melodies commenced at the age of
10 when she participated at the Vem Cantar competition. “I recall I was a
bundle of nerves then way back in 2009 and I clinched the third place, but I
was determined to prove that I could be the best.” And she did.
Launching her debut album ‘Fado Português’ at the hands of
Dr Rui Carvalho Baceira,
Consul General of Portugal in Goa at the Fundacao Oriente,
Fontainhas on October 1 has been a realisation of this dream. “My album
contains 12 Fado songs of the late Amália Rodrigues which I have sung. I am
enamoured with her songs and hope I can someday emulate her,” envisages young
Nadia who regaled the audience with seven of these songs in a special Fado
concert preceding the launch.
Enveloped by Fado, she is actively pursing all avenues to
perfect her skills. “I made a trip to Portugal in July on an invitation to sing
in Portuguese for World Goa Day there. The ultimate high was visiting several
Fado clubs in Lisbon and performing with them. I am planning to go to Portugal
to study the language and hopefully launch my music career as well. I’ve always
had big dreams about becoming a successful singer,” avers Nadia who knows she
is at the brink of something big, especially after the warm reception to her
debut album.
Her rise as a singer is also attributable to a blending of
family cultures. “I guess I inherited the love for Portuguese from my maternal
family which has a Portuguese background, and music, of course, from my dad,
late James Rebelo, who trained me as a young girl. He saw my inclination
towards soft music and encouraged my talent in that direction,” says this
devoted daughter.
The love of Fado is proving to be the ultimate ladder to
success for this young dreamer!
