Myah V To Headline First Show In Cleveland
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Myah Ballentine did not feel confident enough to sing even in the shower a year ago, however next month, the Bermudian singer-songwriter will headline her first concert, Myah V and Friends, at the Grog Shop, an iconic venue in Cleveland, Ohio.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for the 22-year-old, who was the opening act for Shenseea, the Jamaican dancehall artist, at a recent pre-Cup Match show at the National Sports Centre.
“It was awesome,” Ms Ballentine told Bernews. “It was my first performance, and I was so nervous.
“Shenseea’s one of my favourite artists. It was an absolute dream. My music career has skyrocketed in such a short time!”
Ms Ballentine, known by her stage name Myah V, only started recording and writing music in October last year.
It was during a Wednesday Night Vibe show at The White Horse Pub and Restaurant in St George’s a year ago when her dormant desire to create music was ignited after watching her friend’s performance.
“My friend was performing a song called Own it,” Ms Ballentine said. “I really felt a strong connection to this song. When he finished, I was like, I need to remix it. Something was telling me words to sing to the song.
“The next day, we were in a studio [NewWav Studios in Smith’s] recording.
“I’d always been told I couldn’t do it, and this was the first time I took action from the connection I felt to a song.”
Ms Ballentine, who was raised in St David’s, said she was nervous about singing before an audience, however small, she had to be joined in the recording booth by a friend before she could muster the confidence to sing.
“I was scared I was going to fail, scared it wasn’t going to sound good, scared I was going embarrass myself in front of these people,” said Ms Ballentine, whose show in Cleveland Heights is on September 6
“When I started singing, people were in shock. They were running in from the other rooms and were like, ‘Who was that?’ I knocked that song out and was over the moon with the response I got.
“My confidence has increased tremendously. It used to take me a lot of courage to sing by myself in the shower! I didn’t have confidence in myself.”
Since releasing her first single, Mean It, Ms Ballentine’s career has continued to soar, with her debut album, Human, following in June, including a song dedicated to her four-year-old twin daughters, Karter and Karsyn, called Letter to KK.
Myah and Shenseea
“They know every single lyric of every song I’ve written,” said the Cleveland-based artist, who has dual citizenship. “They freestyle on beats I play for them! They’re very musically inclined.”
She added: “My album is a mix of reggae, pop and R&B. I’ve written about human emotions on that album, hence the title.
“Some of the songs are super raw and authentic. We all have human imperfections, and that’s OK.
“I have a song called Rumours – we deal with that a lot in Bermuda!”
The former Bermuda High School for Girls student, who credits her American boyfriend, DJ Bank Shaq, for helping launch her career in the United States, said she is excited to continue growing as an artist.
“It been a little overwhelming, but I’ve had a lot of support over the last year,” said Ms Ballentine, who also owns a business, Mama Leche LLC, a lactation-producing bakery that helps breastfeeding mothers produce breastmilk.
“My mom is flying to Cleveland for my performance. It’s all working out as I hoped.
“My goal is to keep doing what I’m doing, put some more albums and more visuals. It seems to be working.”
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