POLOKWANE – 13 year old Cayla Marais says she has always loved singing and since then it has become a passion for her. Being in the top three has now given Cayla to showcase her talents as she is set to perform two songs at the Cansa Relay for Life. “I’m very excited to be performing at the relay” exclaimed Cayla.
Born and raised in Polokwane, Cayla is the oldest of two children and she is currently a Gr 7 learner at Ooskool. “I started singing when I was very young,” she tells Review. Cayla recalls having a Hannah Montana themed 6th birthday party with kareoke and a stage which she says she wanted to be on the whole day. “I was chosen for the choir at Ooskool and I have been singing ever since,” she says.
Cayla says she saw the Limpopo Supersterre competition advertised on street poles and asked her Mum to take her to the auditions. “I just wanted to do it after winning Osies Got Talent at school, I felt confident that I wanted to be on that stage,” she said. Being young and having to go up against contestants much older than her, motivated Cayla to do better and she took it as an experience to learn, saying that by listening and watching them, she learnt a lot. “I knew they had much more experience and that scared me a little but when I got to the top 10, I just decided to be myself, have fun and try. During the top three, I really felt the pressure, but next time, I will know what to expect,” she explained. Cayla says she enjoyed the experience of the competition and despite nerves, she gave it her all. She says she never thought she would get that far but she was over the moon when she reached the final three.
Her role model is Celine Dion as she says she loves her music and her voice and given that she inspires to be a singer, it is fitting that one of the world’s biggest stars is who she looks up to. “She started singing when she was my age too and she is very inspiring because she sings with her heart, she sings about life and love,” says Cayla. Celine’s famous high notes are also what Cayla loves and her dream is to one day have her join her on stage at one of her concerts in the future.
However, despite her bubbling singing career, Cayla is still a normal teenager and when she is not singing or at school, she enjoys spending time with her friends, going to the movies and bowling. She is also an avid scrapbooker as well as a dancer and she also loves baking. “I recently started writing my own songs which I am still working on, hopefully I can record them soon,” she says. Her favourite subject at school is Maths and Biology and in ten years she sees herself studying at Stellenbosch to be a Peadiatrician while juggling a buzzing singing career.
Her advice to young singers who are lacking confidence is to start small and build confidence in front of family and friends and from there, enter as many competitions as you can. “Confidence will come as your experience grows, we all doubt ourselves one time or another, but if you enjoy singing, then do it for that reason,” she says.
Cayla is currently a student at Rock Hard Music and she has recently recorded her first song on Soundcloud. You can have a listen here.
