Ready to take on the singing world

Stepping onto the stage in front of a crowd can be daunting. Making your singing debut can be nerve-wracking. Doing all of that at 13 or 18 years old is simply awe-inspiring.

Three young singers joined the Ta-Da Academy a little more than a year ago, having been singing for a while and ready to take it to the next level.

Receiving a large boost in confidence during their weekly vocal and stage performance training sessions, Jana James, Jesslyn Scannell and Claudia Hupertz agreed with Ta-Da founder and head coach Danielle Steynvaardt that it was time to debut their singing careers to the world, limited of course to the regulated 50 people per room during a live performance at the Ta-Da studio in Cradlestone Mall.

Jana, the youngest of the three, is already making her mark in the music industry. She has been singing her heart out ever since she can recall but decided to pursue it seriously about three years ago.

Her love of the industry started when watching musicals and theatre performances over the years. “I found out I could sing, and I knew acting and singing were all I really want to do,” she explained.

Jana has been with Ta-Da for roughly two years and currently focuses on cover songs with two already available on Spotify. Jana and Danielle are also looking for an original song for her to record. Jana said her main goal is to be on Broadway and to star in musical films one day.

Jesslyn (stage name Jess) started singing lessons when she was 12. Now, at 18 years old, Jesslyn has teamed up with 17-year-old Claudia to form a duet.

“I now sing notes that I couldn’t even imagine reaching before. Singing is just something that I’ve always enjoyed doing, and it sets me apart from the rest of my family who are good at sports, which I am not. It’s one thing that helped me be myself. Whenever I’m sad, I sing in the shower, then I feel better,” Jesslyn laughed.

She wants to further her studies and take a relaxed approach to singing, regularly appearing in shows, at events, in bars and restaurants, and “… just sing for the public, just for them to enjoy it and not necessarily to become famous, so I can still enjoy the music”.

Claudia (stage name Gaffs) started very young. She has recordings of herself singing at only two years old, though she said it really started for her at four. But, having a love for singing as a kid isn’t the same as wanting to become a singer one day – that only came much later for Claudia.

“The first time I sang on stage was at our talent show at school in 2018, and Danielle judged the competition. She told me that I had to come and do singing. I never knew I could sing. I was planning on playing the piano at the talent show and the teacher told me to sing.”

Claudia is singing for the love of it and although she has thought about taking it further she really wants to focus on her schoolwork and future studies. “I would want to become a professional singer but I first want a back-up plan for something very stable.”

Danielle concluded, “The main thing is to never really chase fame because fame will never be enough. It needs to be something that you enjoy and if it ever becomes work, it’s not going to be that much fun anymore.”