Elena Baravilala
Recorded live at Soul Studios, Suva – Producer: Craig ‘Doc’ Adams
Musical History & Influences:
Elena started singing at an early age of 10 in Levuka at the Levuka Assembles of God Church.
She has starred in the Vodafone M.I.C show and also met up with Vanuatu based singer Vanessa Qai who has mentored Elena and arranged a tour to Vanuatu and across the Pacific.
Elena grew up listening to Whitney Houston and African-American singers like CC Wynan and a diverse range of other artists in mainly Gospel, R&B and Soul genres.
With paternal roots in Vanua Levu, Dreketi and maternal links to Levuka, Elena is a strong Christian woman who inspires to become a Lawyer and goes to the University of the South Pacific.
Inspiration:
Elena’s involvement in the MDG goes LIVE competition began when she met Agus Ali (a young UNDPA worker) while touring with Ms Qai in Vanuatu, and he informed Elena that she could contribute by writing songs about MDG goals.
When Elena came back to Fiji and read about the MDG goes LIVE Competition in the newspapers, she felt compelled to write a song about women. Her inspiration for the song came from her mother and her two sisters, who are wives and mothers, and Elena wrote this song with them in mind.
Vision:
As well as studying to be a lawyer, Elena aspires to become a professional singer and become more established in Fiji and across the Pacific as a R&B singer with roots firmly in Gospel.
She also hopes that in her journey as a singer that she acts a mentor to younger women in the same field and use her music to inspire and educate Fiji and Pacific Island people about current issues impacting their lives.
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