I was born to sing — Amarachi

Amarachi Uyanne was just eight years old in 2012, when she won the debut edition of the Nigeria’s Got Talent show with her dazzling dance styles. She had since then made her presence known in the Nigerian entertainment industry, with a couple of singles to her name. The child celebrity and her manager cum mother, Mrs Emike Nyanne spoke with DOYIN ADEOYE about her career, education and projects, among other things.
How does it feel to be famous at a really tender age?
It is really exciting, I am enjoying it and I give all the glory to God for the grace and the talent.
How did you develop the passion for dance?
I am a born dancer. Dancing makes me happy and I derive joy from it.

How is your education going on?
I’m in secondary school right now and I’m really enjoying my school. I’m just like every other person and it is quite okay. When I got back home from the show, everyone in school welcomed me with warmth and love. It was really interesting.
What part of being a celebrity do you enjoy most?
I really enjoy touching lives and being who I am today has given me a platform to do that. I am glad I’m doing so.
What was the best advice your mummy gave you, prior to the show?
She told me to always put my trust in God. I did just that and it paid off.
What was the first thing you bought for yourself from the prize money?
A talking baby doll.
How was the Nigeria’s Got Talent experience for you?
Being in the Nigeria Got Talent was fun, especially meeting different talents and living together in the same place. I loved it and it is an experience I’ll love to have again in my life.
How did it feel working with the likes of Kate Henshaw, Dan Foster and others?
Waoh! I love them. I really think they were the elements that made the show successful.
You set up a talent academy last year, what influenced that and what exactly does the academy offer young people like yourself?
I think the idea behind it was to replicate myself. I want to have as many of the young ones out there and help them in discovering their talents.
How does it feel being able to make an impact at such age?
It gives me great joy and a sense of purpose.
Does your new found fame influences your choice of friends now?
No, it doesn’t at all.
What is your favourite subject at school?
I love Mathematics. It thrills me.
What special skill did you learn while the show lasted?
The show increased my confidence on the aspect of working with other people. And I gained the experience that when God is with you, you can do anything and be anything.
Your video, ‘Amarachi Dance’ was really accepted by a lot of your fans, how do you feel about that?
I really thank God for the success of the video and I’m grateful to my fans for the warm acceptance.
You also just finished working on your new track, ‘Get Down,’ what influenced the lyrics and how did you come about singing as a passion?
First of all, I’m always grateful to God for granting me so much influence to impact my world and with this joy in my heart, lyrics just pop out.
What is your favourite genre of music?
It is mainly Hip hop and for dance, I do all kind of dance.
Who is your favorite dancer?
Usher. I love his style a lot.
What I s your favourite TV show?
I love Ant farm.

— Mrs Uyanne   
You got the Nigeria’s Got Talent form for her, what prompted that?
The form was free online, so I filled it and what I had in mind when I was doing that was that she had always had the flair for things like that. As a child, she was little Miss 7up, Edo State and also won on some other platforms. So I felt that was a very big platform to showcase the talent she has.
As the show went on, did you ever think that she would win the money?
Yes, I knew. Although it was not as if she was the best of them, I was with them there, but I knew her confessions. I know what she believed in and she had said it from the onset that to her, she was the best of all, because God lives inside her and that was what she kept confessing, even till date.
So, how are you helping her to manage her new found fame?
First of all, that is why I never allowed any other person to manage her, except me. Many people have been coming, but I believe that she is my daughter and I understand her better and can almost read her. I know her very well and before she says what she want, I can sense that already. And I’ve been able to do that really well through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Right now, she doesn’t even have a private lesson, I do the teaching myself. It is amazing. I have a time table for play and book work and we just try to balance it. So, I want to tell the world that you can actually manage the two and that is what we are doing.
What doors has winning the show opened for Amarachi?
It has opened a lot of gates. Thanks to Airtel and Nigeria’s Got Talent, they gave her a very big platform that she is flying on right now and I really appreciate that.
There have been various instances of many TV reality shows’ winners complaining of not being paid the specified amount promised after the show. Was this also the case for Amarachi?
Not at all. She was paid and all the money was transferred into her account.
How has she grown since then, was there any change in attitude since she got into showbiz?
I can say that she is more matured now because a lot of people look up to her in church and everywhere. So she just assumes that leadership role. She is been very amazing, especially with her talent academy.
So, how is the academy coming up and what initiated it?
It is coming up very well. Their rehearsal is between 12 noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, because of their school and it has been really good. Amarachi is the type of person that likes giving back to the society and that was one of the reasons we came up with the talent academy.
How do you manage her talent and being in showbiz, from clashing with her education?
There is no problem with that at all. She is not in the studio 24 hours a day recording. She writes most of her songs and I just help to put it together. She can just wake up and write something. For instance, she wrote Amarachi Dance. So, she is entitled to her play time and also her education is paramount. So it is not clashing in any way at all.