Twenty-two-year-old South Indian vocalist, Yovani Naidoo is a star in the making who has established herself as a singing sensation both locally and internationally.
The beautiful songstress recently added another accolade to her long list of achievements when she was proclaimed the winner of the first ever South African Tamil Idols. “It was the most surreal feeling ever. I am still in shock. I put a lot of effort and time into delivering the best performance possible and to know that my efforts were not in vain, was the best feeling ever. When I win, my parents win. My parents and brother are my life’s greatest treasures and all that I am, I owe to them,” said Naidoo.
The uMhlanga resident is well on her way to becoming a vocal legend. In 2016, her debut album Dheiveega Dharisanam was released, featuring regularly on local radio. This garnered her worldwide attention as she performed live with international singer P. Unnikrishnan and his daughter Uthara, and toured abroad in California, USA, where she represented South Africa at the World Tamil Diaspora Conference. Naidoo was also the youngest person in the country to receive Kannadhasan Award.
In the last three years, she was selected as one of 10 global winners, by an international panel of judges and esteemed artists, for the 2020 International Film and Music Festival which was held in India. She solely represented South Africa at a Global Tamil Concert held on behalf of the University of Toronto and was recognised as one of 50 outstanding and phenomenal youth globally and was presented an Olympus International Women’s Day Award. Remembering where it began, Naidoo said: “I started singing at the tender age of five. I would mimic my parents and try to pronounce the words of our Tamil songs and hymns during our home services. Eventually my parents identified my love for music and made contact with the late Mr Beama Naidoo who introduced me to the world of music and taught me harmonium. I also trained under Pragalathan Vadival in Carnatic music.”
The UKZN Bachelor of Science graduate is not only trained in eastern and western music but boasts immense skill in the harmonium, keyboard, violin and sitar. “I sing in Tamil, Telegu, English and Hindi. To better understand the meaning of the songs in Tamil, I’ve been tutored by Guru Mala Lutchmanan. My knowledge of western music is advanced as I was a recipient of a scholarship during my high school days at Northlands Girls’ High School. I took up the violin under the mentorship of Rozanne Botha and also studied the North Indian instrument called the sitar under Dr Kanada Narahari. I seem to love wind and string instruments. The harmonium, the violin and sitar are identified as challenging instruments and I like challenging myself by taking up these difficult instruments,” Naidoo said.
Singling out the iconic Shreya Ghoshal as her inspiration, Naidoo devotes many hours a day to her art, even avoiding specific foods and drinks to preserve her vocal chords and to ensure that her voice is always in top form. “Music brings me peace and happiness; it allows me to escape to a whole new universe. Music has the ability to bring so much joy, peace and solace to people and it’s knowing that your music can impact people in a positive light that makes me want to be and do better in music. My advice to aspiring artists is to always be be willing to learn more and improve yourself. There is no limit to success or greatness. Reach for the stars with your feet firmly on the ground. You can do it,” concluded Naidoo.
