When Melanie Fiona performed at the 2013 Tobago Jazz Experience this past weekend, it was her first time in Tobago. The Canadian songstress, who has Guyanese parents, went to Trinidad many times as a child, however, and was happy to be back in the Caribbean.
“I really love that I can come back here and be familiar with the culture and then be familiar with me and be able to feel at home. When I’m here I feel at home. When I’m on an island anywhere I feel at home because that’s what I know,” she said.
On Friday, Fiona gave a high energy performance during the World Music Night at Pigeon Point Heritage Park. While performing her reggae hit, Somebody Come Get Me, Fiona did a soca-inspired jam when she instructed the crowd to “jump and wave.”
Fiona wasn’t just appealing to a Caribbean crowd with this jam; the jump and wave is one of her trademarks. “I do that jump and wave movement even in America. I do it in Europe, at all my shows because it is a big part of who I am and I’m so proud to be West Indian. I feel like that’s what makes me the diverse artist I am,” said the 29-year-old who’s currently working on her third album to be released early next year.
Her sophomore album, The MF Life (2012), included the song Fool For You featuring Cee Lo Green, which earned Fiona two Grammy awards for Best Traditional R&B Performance and Best R&B Song. Her debut album, The Bridge (2009), earned Fiona a Grammy award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the song It Kills Me.
According to Fiona, her Caribbean heritage will be much more audible on her next album. She loves reggae and said she spoke to reggae stalwart Freddie McGregor about doing new music. McGregor performed before Fiona on Friday while she stood stage-side singing along to his classics.
The one thing Fiona hoped her young, female fans would know is that she’s committed to being real. “I would say (to fans) be strong and find yourself and don’t be afraid to be yourself. I hope that the one thing they’d see from me as an artist is that I’m an individual in this industry and that I’m not afraid to be different,” she added.
Although being in the limelight can be difficult, the deep love for music keeps Fiona going. “It makes me happy and I’ve always been a young girl with an old soul and I’ve learned that life is about being happy. If you can do what you love and be happy then you’re living a blessed life,” she said. “I feel like I was chosen to make music. I was chosen to do this and when you’re chosen, you don’t really have a choice. You just do it.”
“At the end of the day no matter how stressful the business side of it gets for me, the minute I make music and the minute I get on the stage I’m happy again so as long as my happiness is outweighing my stress then I’ll always do music.”