I AM a great admirer of singers far and wide, since I am a professional vocalist myself. But my obsession with Guyanese songbird Lisa Punch flows not only out of pure respect and love alone, but is fuelled by her inspiring story of her rise from poverty, and is enflamed by her escalated present-day fame.

This vocal diva, who now resides in the USA, is not only chalking up notable points on the international scene, but, like no other local singer has managed to do, is placing Guyana on the map as the land of the honey-toned vocal humming birds.

The most admirable thing about Lisa Punch is that, despite hers being quite a famed name in the USA, she remains that smiling, charming and bubbly girl we all celebrated when she had won the first ever ‘Star Guyana TV Reality Show’ here in 2006.

She is certainly not ‘stuck up’, indifferent, or ‘cold’, like some of the other locals we have here, who through promoter affiliations and desperate measures have managed to rake in a gig or two somewhere around the Caribbean.

Not long after leaving the local shores – a few years ago – Lisa, from a prestigious audition, was called upon to perform at the Apollo Theatre in USA. And she also credits much of her success to special grooming while under the DP Record label.

Under this label, she has a pulsating album consisting of twelve very catchy songs. That album was made available at over 40 Online music stores, including amazon.com, Itunes, CD Baby and Rhapsody, to name a few. She is certainly multi-talented in that she has also found her grounding as Host of the Caribbean Music Box Talk Show and ‘Hard Vibes’ under the wings of Mondale Smith on BTVCh2, before branching into radio on NCN and Hits and Jams while in Guyana.

She migrated to the USA in December 2013 with her eyes set on the prize of being the first Guyanese to win ‘The Voice’, and is still making strides in that direction.

After years at the local level, she wooed the audience at the Barbados Music Awards and obtained rave reviews in that nation’s main publications, spreading her wings all the way to the Apollo Theatre. She graduated from the American Bartenders’ School not so long ago, and is now a qualified and certified bartender/professional vocalist.

This very ambitious young lady is also taking GED classes to further her qualifications, as she aims to get into the Manhattan College to major in Communications and minor in Music.
When she auditioned for Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre, she lustily performed Etta James’s ‘Rather go blind’. On that fateful day, the judges had determined they would listen to only three hundred entrants, and Lisa was listed at number eighty-three.
“When I started, they started cheering like they loved me right away,” she noted in a recent interview. And of course she totally wooed and enthralled the audience, in process passing that audition with flying colours.

Poverty was always an issue for Lisa, whose abode in Georgetown was in a house overcrowded by a very extended family. Nonetheless, with her sights set on ultimate fame and success, she endured her hardships, knowing she would one day make her family and Guyana proud. And she certainly did!

Popular for hits such as ‘One last Cry’, ‘Secret admirer,’ and ‘Momma’ while in Guyana, this ‘hottie’ has several recordings and videos to her name, and aspires to one day be an international artiste. For now, she is remembered by many as that little girl from Guyana with pearly teeth and dimples. Coming from a Third World country to the USA, Lisa says, “It’s but a dream for many; but, for me, I see myself as being able to rise above the opportunity given to truly live and achieve the American Dream, yet remain a proud Guyanese.”

“The Evolution of Lisa Punch” is the début album released by the former Guyana Star winner while she was here, and it served as a stimulant to propel her one step closer to her dream of becoming a star.

She also launched another album not long after, just when she celebrated a teenage birthday.

Singing has always been a first love for Lisa, and she admits that when she started singing at the age of five, it was just for fun; but then her voice evolved, and her personality followed suit.

Naturally, she is a mixture of girlish giggles, flashing eyes and coy stares, nicely accentuated with a somewhat scorching, demure sophistication that lends a somewhat provocative air to her demeanour.

She is also popular for her emotional rendition of her single, ‘One last Time’, which always brings the tears flowing. This single is actually dedicated to her young cousin, who passed away a few years ago.
“He was my biggest supporter, and though he was just 14 years old, he recognised my talent when I was young and promised that he would be the first to buy my album whenever it came out. He did not live to see me launch this new album, and that tears me apart every single day; but I still remember him, and I will dedicate this album to him,” she disclosed.

Most of her songs while in Guyana were produced by young Guyanese producer Ken Taylor, who always supported her in her dreams and aspirations.

REACHING FOR THE STARS
Guyana’s Lisa Punch sang her way into the hearts of viewers across the globe, and into the next round of the recent American TV Reality Show re, ‘Rising Star’, which premiered live on the ABC Network.

She stole the hearts of the judges and audience when she belted out Whitney Houston’s “How Will I know”, in a sexy and intense manner that was certainly captivating.
It was her time to shine, and she certainly sounded a warning to the Americans that “Guyana’s got talent…”
Lisa grabbed 80% of the votes cast, and moved into the second round of the competition. During the televised performance, she said she was following her dream, and was in the competition not just for herself but for her family, with intentions of creating a better life for them.

The video clip which introduced Lisa to the audience showcased her Guyana home where she had lived until the moment of her migration. And it also showcased her living conditions in Brooklyn, New York. In her own words, Lisa described Guyana as a very beautiful but poor country, and her desire to realise her dreams now that she lives in the United States.
She spoke about sharing a two-bedroom apartment in New York with 13 other members of her family as well.

Many Guyanese were upset that on national television she had described Guyana as a poverty-stricken country, but the diva just threw that aside…

“In Guyana, how I lived is considered poverty, and I wanted to show people that you can start off like that and follow your dreams and live your dreams to the fullest,” Lisa declared.

The Rising Star show received thousands of auditions, but after two rounds of auditions, Lisa was called back to be one of the Top 30. She made it all the way forward, but sadly failed to raise the bar to make it into the semi-finals.
She explained that she had, in her excitement, failed to put in one of her ear plugs, thus contributing to her somewhat rushed and slightly strained performance at that level.

She has however let on that she was very pleased with her performance, and hopes that she had pleased every Guyanese watching the show.

The 21-year-old Guyanese completed her secondary education at the North Georgetown Secondary School and the Bishops’ High School in Guyana.
She started a career in broadcasting and theatre just after leaving school, and worked with NCN Radio before moving on to 94.1 Boom FM, where she hosted a number of shows and served as an Entertainment correspondent.

The Charlotte Street, Georgetown “home girl” has belted out her soulful voice at a number of national events. She was the vocalist of the theme song when Guyana hosted the Caribbean Festival of Music and Arts. Although she now calls the USA home, Lisa continues to stay in touch with her home country through her music.

You can follow Lisa Punch’s Rise to Stardom on Twitter @lisapunch and on Instagram @lisapunchmusic

A lot of people wanted to know about her song choice, Alicia Key’s ‘Girl on Fire’ at the ABC Rising Star Show, and for this girl, it was all about relaying a message. The performance before that, when she had sung Pink’s ‘Perfect’, did not gain a strong hold in East Coast votes, but it gained a save from the West Coast votes. ‘Girl on Fire’ was her way of proving that, no matter what, Lisa was going to keep blazing and coming back hotter, like an explosive ‘vocal volcano’.

She felt confident about her performance, although she did not garner enough votes to go through to the next round. She said it was fun, and was quite a fruitful experience.

She had made ‘Girl on Fire’ a unique rendition that entailed a reggae beat, to which she had gyrated and danced in spicing up her stage presence. “I wanted to do something that says who I am as an artist. Every time I sang that song in my quiet moment, that’s exactly how I did it; so I just wanted to be myself on stage and show the world that’s the artiste they can expect to see in the near future,” Lisa revealed.

Not long after her Rising Star performances, Lisa was invited by the previous Government of Guyana to perform at the inaugural Guyana Festival, and she did put on quite a show for her many fans.

The songbird had fun singing, and loved the reaction of the people. They welcomed her home, and she enjoyed every moment of it. Lisa did some of her songs, and the ones she did in the Rising Star competition.

To add to her already impressive resume of accomplishments, Lisa served up a taste of the ‘Guyanese music flava’ during her performance at the Barbados Music, Fashion and Film Awards, held not so long ago at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Barbados.
She was dubbed the Guyanese Rihanna by members of the audience, who were pleased with her exhilarating performance at the event. Her powerful voice belched out some fabulous tunes that had the audience begging for more.

Forming part of the Guyanese contingent, which included Ernesta Nelson and Travis Bowen, Lisa’s lithe dancing caught the attention of some admirers in the audience. However, it was famed make-up artist and stylist Adzil Stuart whom she chose for her special serenade.

In its ninth year, the awards had showcased the talent of local and regional musicians, film-makers and designers to a smaller but appreciative audience. Lisa sang one of her hit songs, ‘Secret Admirer’, to a smiling and most receptive Stuart.

Lisa is back in the United States, and promises exciting new ventures. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep track with our continuously Rising Star.

By Alex Wayne

 
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