Margao: Twenty-nine-year-old Clynton Fernandes from Margao has just won the hearts of the audience and judges at the Karaoke World Championship India that was held in Mumbai and will be battling with the world’s best at the final to be held in Singapore on November 20.
15 years ago, besides the school choir master, not many knew about his musical prowess or would have foreseen Clynton emerging as India’s best vocalist and his story has inspired many back home. During his school days, everyone who lived around Grace Church Margao, knew Clynton as the lanky basketball player with a strong sense of humour and popular among the Loyola High School boys. Even during his college days at Chowgules, Gogol, Clynton’s love for basketball was the talk of the town as he was the star of several matches and even represented Goa University at the state level. Clynton who can also play the guitar would entertain his friends many of whom were musically inclined; and at the same time was making waves at college festivals winning personality contests like one held at Carmel College, Nuvem in the early 2000s.
However, Clynton always nursed a passion for music especially singing and his tryst with the industry kicked off in 2005 when he went on to participate in Kingfisher Voice of Goa as an amateur and won the competition. That has been the trend where he auditions and participates in these competitions and Karaoke turned out to be his domain having won Karaoke challenge held at the famous Opus Bangalore in 2012.
Clynton who performed for around 100 shows for Kingfisher Voice of Goa moved to Pune where he soon won the Best Metal Vocalist at YOUTHOPIA – Battle Of Bands held in Pune.
Clynton had done his Masters of Science in Chemistry at Fergusson College, Pune and post college he started his own academy in Pune where he has roped in professors who teach Physics and Science to the enrolled students.
As much as teaching is his bread and butter, Clynton loves to jam and swears that he is still a young student when it comes to music despite his long list of achievements and accolades. He will tell you that his great motivation for the World Final is his chance to learn from his competition, the best vocalists representing their own countries from across the globe, those who he will be pitted against.
“It’s not easy to be an English Western musician in India and this is a big big opportunity and it will open many doors for me now ” said Clynton. The jovial Clynton jokingly quipped that this is his climb on the stairway to heaven and on a more serious note how trophy can catapult his career. His friends will tell you that for Clynton the sky is the limit and how they were not surprised when he won this honour given Clynton’s success and fan following on the Indian circuit where he has played played at major venues across the country for years. Clynton has also created a niche for himself as a sessions (vocalist) artist and has often collaborated with numerous studio recording projects.
Cylnton has also concentrated on a lot of original compositions as a singer/songwriter/ composer.
When he moved to Pune, Clynton was the vocalist of metal/psychedelic act Pitch Black Symphony that went on launch an album. Later on, he was part of group called Eden that was into soul rock and they launched singles as well and currently he is with a group called Black Wings that is into blues.
Clynton has also started Tribute Inc where he has done cover tributes for his favourites Queen and Led Zeppelin and also an unforgettable experience performing at the tribute to Pink Floyd at Hard Rock Mumbai. Incidentally, he is on his way to perform a Byran Adams tribute in Mumbai before he leaves for Singapore.
“I am a 80’s glam rock child and am also into western classical and I plan to showcase this at the final,” says Clynton who feels his rocker image that has defined his personality will help him sail through the finals.
When asked about his journey so far, he said it has given him experience and versatility to explore music on a number of different levels and is focused on a project that he says is fuelled by his own originality and graciously incepted fashioned and decorated by close friends and music experts. He wants to bring a complete new idea of music relating to every situation and creativity of his life.
In a message to youngsters in Goa, Clynton believes that beyond one’s music talent it is one’s persistence, hard work and strong pesonality that leads to recognition and it is important to have these values if one has to overcome all the obstacles and accept all that comes your way.
Clynton’s dream is to return to Goa with his sights set on the existing platforms and he feels Goa provides a great boost for youngsters, upcoming musicians and live acts.
Clynton is the son of Christoper and Yvonne Fernandes. The singing champ who was an ace basketball player till recently, says that his elder brother Nigel has surpassed him on all levels on the basketball court!
His family and friends back home have their fingers crossed that Clynton will clinch the Karaoke World Championships 2015 title. The championship that has been organised annually since 2003, is the world’s biggest and most respected karaoke event and provide the World’s best Karaoke Entertainment year after year with the World Champion Title in a Men’s and Women’s category.
