BAJAN SUN MAGAZINE
Let’s chat with
Ayana John
A Barbadian born R&B/Reggae performer who has been
performing
from the tender age of nine.
The Bajan Sun Online Magazine Team had the
opportunity to interview Ayana who was most willing to
let us into her world.
See Interview Below
W
hat is your real name and stage name (if
different)?
My birth name is Feloshade Ife Ayana John, however, I
use the name Ayana John as my stage moniker. My
mother did some research and recently found out that in
the Swahili language, ‘Felo’ means ‘Successful’ and
‘Shade’ means ‘Singing’. So in a way she believes that I
was destined to be a singer and entertainer. The name
‘Ayana’ means ‘Eternal Bloom’ in the Navaho language. I
love that name as well, because to me it means that I can
choose to never stop evolving into a stronger and happier
version of myself. I adore both names but everyone that
I’ve known since childhood has called me, ‘Ayana’, so
I’ve used Ayana John from the beginning of my career in
music.
OCT 2014
wanted to be a world-renowned dancer before I embarked
on a career in singing.
Which performances/songs you see as a crowd favorite?
The songs, ‘Bajan Story’ with Buggy Nhakente, ‘Guns ‘N
Roses’ and ‘Paper Chase’ are very popular in Barbados.
However, the songs ‘Pose’ featuring Elephant Man and
‘Baby’ are very popular when I perform in Europe. Those
songs are from my older catalogue. I will mention that my
recently released EP, ‘S-Curve1.0’ has been so well
received in Barbados and Europe, alike. The tracks which
were released as singles are ‘Light Me Up’, ‘Can’t Get
Enough of Your Love’, ‘One Life 2 Live’ and ‘Save the
Night’. These tracks have crossed over and have bridged
the gap between audiences. Everyone I perform for no
matter what nationality enjoys hearing me sing these
songs.
I enjoyed my experience performing at the O2 Shepherd’s
Bush Empire. The energy was incredible and it was great
to have performed on the same stage as some of the
world’s biggest legends in music such as Sting and The
Police, Grace Jones and Pearl Jam, to name a few.
How long have you been performing?
I’ve been performing on stage from the age of 9 years old
in popular primary school productions. In terms of singing,
I took a shot at it when I entered the Kolij-Queens pageant
at my alma mater, Harrison College. It was a risk that
didn’t pay off then, the performance was AWFUL…
nonetheless, I forced myself to continue until I found my
flow. It’s funny because the deejay for the night was ‘Big
Red the Deejay’, of ‘I Feel So Good’ by Bashment Menz
fame (2nd place Road March 2005) who also attended
Harrison College.
What got you into performing?
I’ve always been a show girl! From the time I was very
young I was always getting involved in some artistic
endeavour whether it be a dance troupe or a choral
ensemble. I was writing plays for my class and assigning
roles for my fellow classmates, in primary school. In
secondary school, I headed a dance troupe called,
‘Liberated Steps’, a name given to us by the father of my
friend, Anamita Gall. We did a mixture of Modern dance
and Indian dance and we used to get paid to perform at
school events, we were that good! I learned the style of
Indian Dance called Khatak and with the ‘Nadira ShahUllyett Dance Troupe’ won a bevy of awards at NIFCA. I
PHOTO BY ZICO MILLER
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