Q&A: Get to know 14-year-old singer Gabrielle

Gabrielle, a 14-year-old prodigy has released a hit single called Nasty.

The up and coming artist and singer made use of lockdown to work on her craft and write and record her debut single.

“My debut single Nasty was written during lockdown level 5 during my first year in high school. Communication was mainly online and I was trying to form new relationships with the other students. This opened up a lot of opportunities for bullying,” Gabrielle says.

“Cyber bullying across the world grew tremendously during this time. Having been a victim of bullying since grade 4, I took this time to write the song using my own experiences as material. I let it all out, expressing how I felt.”

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The Citizen had the chance to talk to Gabrielle about her music career and her debut single:

Congratulations on your new single, Gabrielle, I heard it’s all about bullying. How did that come about?

During the first lockdown I moved to a different school and I did not know anyone at the school at the time. There were kids from that school and another school who formed a group on Instagram and judged me about my singing. They were bullying me and telling all the other kids not to like me but they had not even met me at the time. I wrote a song about it because it really affected me how they all judged me before they even met me.

Which school do you go to?

I go to Agape Christian School.

Where are you from?

I am from Roodepoort.

Growing up in Roodepoort  how did that influence you to become a singer?

When I was younger I did public speaking, and I really enjoyed it on the stage so I thought that maybe I should try other performing arts. I decided to then audition for the play, Annie, and I got the role of Annie. From that point it just grew into something bigger. It helped me gain more industry knowledge and to achieve more in the industry.

How old were you when you fully understood what bullying actually was?

I think I only fully understood what it was last year. I think when you are younger you just see people being mean to you but you don’t really understand why people are being mean to you, you just know that it hurts.

Who is your role model?

My mom is my role model. She always been there for me. She always sticks up for me. She sacrificed a lot for me to pursue the arts. When I perform on stage I don’t just do it for me, I do it for everyone around me because they have sacrificed a lot for me to be here.

Which artist or singer, local or international do you relate to the most?

I would say I relate to Justin Bieber‘s story the most. He used to try to get his music out there in any way possible. All of his hard work finally paid off when he got his record deal with Usher. I relate to his story because I understand how much it took for him to get where he is. It wasn’t an overnight thing and he doesn’t make it seem like that either.

How do your friends feel about you being an up and coming artist?

My friends are very excited for me. Most of my friends are also in the industry and they are also in my music video. We are very excited for each other and we are very supportive of each other.

What is the biggest challenge you face with being a young up and coming artist who is still in school? 

Kids around me just see the final product and don’t understand the background and how much it took for me to be where I am today. Also people judge me on what I have achieved because they haven’t achieved the same things that I have. Judging me from just a photo.

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