Most locals have likely never heard of him, but one of Ethiopia's newest music sensations is growing his career while living in St. John's, Newfoundland.
Milly Wessy is a performer from Ethiopia who came to St. John's to be with family. However that didn't stop him from racking up millions of views on YouTube and other social media sites with pop music videos sung in his own language.
In fact, the video for one of his biggest hits, Shemshirshaye, was even filmed in St. John's.
He even used some local volunteers as extras in the video, which had 600,000 views on YouTube as of Aug. 10. It's one of two videos Wessy has filmed since he moved to Newfoundland.
Peace and quiet
Wessy and his manager Hamerti Melka admit it's unusual to be making and promoting Ethiopian pop music from a place like Newfoundland, but they say they it's been working out so far.
"I like St. John's, it's a very quiet and a peaceful place," Wessy told the St. John's Morning Show.
Milly Wessy told the St. John's Morning Show that while his audience is international, he would like to be more involved in the local music scene. (Maggie Gillis/CBC)
Manager Melka said they can still keep track of Wessy's growing popularity even though they aren't in Ethiopia. She said they would like to stay in St. John's, but will leave for a while if it's necessary to continue building his career.
In the meantime, she would love to become more involved in the local scene in St. John's, despite the fact that the language barrier means most locals have no idea what Wessy is singing about.
"We aren't really active in the music scene here. Not because we don't want to, but just because we thought people wouldn't be interested," she said. "But we are hoping to fuse with local musicians to create a different sound that people in St. John's can relate to."
"Obviously our audience is not here — it's an international audience, but we do want to promote our home here."
Check out more of Wessy's videos on his YouTube page.
Meet the Ethiopian pop star who makes hit music videos in St. John's
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire