VIDEO: Meet Weya, a budding teenage musician

The most captivating quality of upcoming musician Weya Viatora is not how she juggles her studies with singing or the fact that her tunes are influenced by a variety of musical styles. But rather, it is her distinct vocal delivery coupled with her ability to communicate passionately through poetic lyrics. Born Marie Viatora Musikiweya in Kigali, Rwanda, Weya’s childhood was largely shaped by culture. Her earliest musical inspiration came from diverse sources: the church choir and traditional Rwandan folk music. These elements fused to form the foundation of Weya’s unique and powerful musical style that continues to grow. Weya Viatora on VOA EMPTY HOUSE. Source: David Murenzi/ YouTube Weya found her own passion for performance at an early age and began to write her original lyrics at the age of 14. The 18-year-old dreams to become a successful musician. “I started singing when I was just a little kid and only did it at home before my parents to make them happy and at the church in the school choir—little did I know that one day I would be going to the studios and, also have my songs played on radios,” says Weya. Weya came to the limelight after releasing her first single, Empty House- a song that is consistently garnering massive airplay on the local radio stations and on one of America’s popular radio stations, Voice of America. “Empty House was supposed to be a romantic song, but in the course of writing its lyrics, I realised that it can be a life inspiring song,” says Weya. She is steadily carving out a place for herself in the music industry. On this new song, the sound melts with her musical compositions to give great effect. “I like singing about life, it’s just out of my obsession of inspiring people, through my songs, Empty House, turned out to be inspiring. Weya is in Senior 6 vacation. She completed her A-level at Lycée de Kigali (LDK), where she did Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. She cites internationally renowned musicians Michael Jackson and Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, among others, as her role models in the music industry because of their inspiring songs. Writing lyrics is something that Weya can do easily because music is her passion and inborn talent. “It’s always that moment when I am singing an old song and then a melody just pops up and I suddenly also pick a different idea and then I keep on with the singing. At the end, I will have a composition,” says Weya. Of course like any upcoming artiste, Weya has tasted a dose of the challenges in this business. With the lack of financial resources, she has not been able to release videos for any of her songs. Weya urges fellow musicians to learn to love one another and work together to be able to build the music industry and rise to greater heights. She also urged young people to exercise discipline and stay away from activities that might destroy their future.

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VIDEO: Meet Weya, a budding teenage musician