– Brandon Harding’s now looking to go international

WRITING a song, recording it, and putting it out on the airwaves and social media with hopes that it will be receptive by the people is already a tall task to execute.

You can only imagine standing on a stage in front of thousands of people and making them love what you do. Not many people can do that, given how critical an audience can be, but 25-year-old Brandon Harding makes it seem so easy, as he has conquered every stage that he has graced, with his electrifying performances and charm.

Harding is no stranger to the local stage, as he would have been adjudged Guyana’s Soca King for two back-to-back years, and currently holds the said title.

One would think that this onstage fire he brings was developed over time, but Harding said he was born for the stage, and has been performing since he knew himself.

‘The Buzz’ ran into this exceptional artiste, who shared a bit of his story, and what is next for him in his musical career.

Harding said that he grew up in the Coomacka Mines, a quiet village in Linden, with his parents and grandparents who are all singers.

Singing runs through his veins, so as soon as he was of age, he entered the Junior Calypso Competition. For five consecutive years, Harding said he competed in that competition, and won four out of those competitions. In fact, he said that he discovered that performing was his calling, and his uncle, Otis Harding, who is also a singer, was who he aspired to be like.

Upon entering high school in 2007, he said he migrated to St. Lucia with his family, taking his love of music with him.

However, given the challenges and ‘fight- down’ he got in St. Lucia seeing that he is Guyanese, he wasn’t able to do much to push him where he was aiming to go.

So, in 2011, he returned to Guyana, and the very year he entered the GT&T Jingle & Song Competition and was declared winner. From that win, his name was buzzing, and his musical career started to propel.

He had to return to St. Lucia, however, and though the challenges were still the same, he persisted and remained. Harding entered the Soca Switch competition in St. Lucia, which is equivalent to the Soca Monarch, and won it two consecutive years, 2017 and 2018. After winning again in 2018, he came home and entered the Carib Soca Monarch that same year, and won that too. He defended the title this year, and is preparing to do the same next year.

After these multiple wins on the local stages, Harding says it is time for him to aim for the international market.

Now he has signed over his music and management to Vizion Sounds Records and Promotion Company, with hopes of rebranding and connecting to the international market.
He told ‘The Buzz’ that music is his life, and now he is looking to get on stages in Trinidad to compete, and showcase his talent and country to the Caribbean and further afield.

Even though he is known for singing soca music, Harding said that persons should expect more from him, since his love for music isn’t limited to one genre.

“I write every day, and I listen to all types of music. My favourite singer is actually Dennis Brown and I like singing reggae. So part of this rebranding process I’m working on, is to do more music, and videos.

Music that would change people’s lives. If you’re feeling down, I want you to be able to listen to a Brandon Harding song and feel better,” the young artiste said.

Sharing further that he has had experiences like that before, where persons came to him and said that his music changed their lives.

In fact, he said that the song he won his first Soca Monarch in Guyana with, ‘Alive’, was a tribute to someone that died. He said that the producer of the song died from stomach cancer, and he started writing the song while he was on his dying bed.

“So I took the song and put it in my own words, to tell his experience,” Harding said. And this song to date, is still played and loved by a lot of people, and it is one of his favourites.

Persons now can expect to hear more music coming from Brandon Harding, more videos and the possibility exists for more collaborations and more international performances.