CARMEN Rodrigues represented South Africa for her singing and song writing at Talent America in New York this year and won a host of awards.
Talent America is an international talent show that showcases all arts such as acting, singing, dancing, modelling, and instrumentalists. Fifteen judges from all major record labels, talent agencies and film academies were the ones to crack the nod on Carmen’s future in the business.
Carmen proudly came home as the winner of the singer and song writer division with a Pinnacle award. “Being on an international stage and competing against most of the world’s remarkable talents was definitely heart racing but one of the most unforgettable moments of my life,” she said.
With the financial help of the Big Apple Drive team, friends, family and fans, she was not only able to compete while in New York but was lucky enough to site see and experience the wonders of the city that never sleeps. One of her highlights was stopping in the middle of the ever-buzzing Times Square where she belted out one of her favourite songs to people as they walked by. “I just had to live. That moment I thought to myself how cool would it be to sing in Times Square, so I just did it,” Carmen said with excitement in her eyes.
Back home in South Africa, the songstress is now working with an agent in America and has a short term goal of increasing her fan base to more than 3 000 followers on all major social media networks by May 2017.
Carmen will perform with Jason Kylen, a guitarist, at many venues around KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa. She also has her eyes set on uploading music videos so the fans can keep in touch and get to know this Durban dynamite more.
This whole journey has taught Carmen that anything is possible, to live your dreams and never give up. “I believe that anything you want in life is never easy but if you want it bad enough, and with hard work and determination, you can achieve. Of course, the most important thing is your belief in yourself and the support, with that you can get through anything,” she said.
Follow Carmen Rodrigues on Facebook at carmenrodriguesmusic and on Instagram at carmen.music.
