When she was just 17 … these words in the hit song ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ by the Beatles come to mind when you hear this refrain. When she is just 17 … this is what you grasp when you focus your attention on 17-year-old Kimberly Lisa Van’Drine, the pop singer-songwriter whose latest composition ‘Brave this Storm’ has been making waves for its feeling of hope and positivity in the current coronavirus lockdown days. You can catch it on YouTube as she emotionally sings and plays the piano, spreading a smile and singing about happiness waiting on the other side.
In a telephonic chat, this Bandra girl and a third-year student at The True School of Music speaks to us about her music and more.
How did this soulful song ‘Brave this Storm’ come about? Well, she has been writing music since the last two years and loves penning down a line or two, every day. The current situation with people caught in a jam, feeling alone, not knowing how to deal with it, prompted her to pen this song, to express something for herself and others, to bring hope and happiness to people through the music.
Now, she is 17 but she started her musical journey much earlier, naturally, since she hails from a musical family. At the tender age of three, she found herself on stage for a competition and from the age of seven, she has been professionally performing in various musicals as well as at private and public gigs. She took part in the zonals and charity concerts, performed at the Celebrate Bandra event, and lent her voice to many advertisements for brands like Amul, Skoda and Servo and also done work for Disney.
She has always been exposed and inspired by music by Elvis Presley and Abba and later was enamoured by the music of Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift among many others.
This young talent draws inspiration from a variety of musical genres like soul, country, funk, jazz, blues and pop. She describes her music as very honest and simple and emotionally-driven. It’s more like story-telling, she elaborates.
In the public arena, you witness her sometimes performing with the popular family band 2 Girlz & A Guitar comprising her granddad Nelson Vaz (vocals and guitar) and his daughters Revlon Vaz Campos (vocals) and Sharon Van’Drine (vocals). Yes, Sharon is Kimberly’s mother. Right now, besides singing, Kimberly would like to spend more time on the piano and guitar and focus on live concerts coming up. And when she is not immersed in music, she likes to delve into psychology and literature. Well, the story has to be told.
