Sevana makes Tiny Desk (Home) début
Published:Saturday | January 30, 2021 | 12:21 AMShereita Grizzle/Staff Reporter
When Lila Iké made her NPR Tiny Desk (Home) series début last August and Protoje in September, the comments section under videos of their performances were flooded with requests to have fellow In.Digg.Nation collective member, Sevana, also make an appearance. Their cries did not fall on deaf ears as a few months later, the Mango queen herself was given the chance to mesmerise NPR’s 5.3 million subscribers with her sultry vocals. Her Tiny Desk (Home) series debuted on the platform on Tuesday.
Accompanied by her six-member band, Sevana delivered a soulful performance that left those who were not aware of her incredible vocal ability astonished at her range and sheer musical maturity. The session, which was recorded at the Kingston Creative Hub, saw Sevana serve up a four-track set which undoubtedly left viewers wanting more. In fact, NPR’s description of her performance said the songbird “jumped delicately between traditional R&B, Caribbean gospel and soul, with touches of reggae interspersed”. It was indeed everything you thought you needed and then some. Her set list included the songs: Blessed, Be Somebody, If You Only Knew, and of course, her delightfully delicious hit single, Mango.
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In an interview with The Gleaner, Sevana said that having been a fan of the Tiny Desk series, she hoped to one day grace the stage but was totally taken aback when the NPR team reached out. The songbird said though it wasn’t immediately obvious during the performance, she was extremely nervous.
“I am a big fan, a STAND of Tiny Desk. I have been watching it for a long time, hoping I would get a chance on that stage but mi never even did think say me woulda reach. I am just really grateful and just overwhelmed at the entire experience,” she said. “It feels good, I feel like I am being seen. I feel really humbled by the whole experience that I don’t even really have words for it. Dem supmn here validating. If you have been watching supmn for a while and yuh end up on the show, it makes you feel like you’re getting somewhere. I am very resolute in making sure that I level up and that I become and that I achieve all the goals that I set up and Tiny Desk just proved that I can do it all.”
Getting called for the show was an honour but Sevana said the real “golden moment” for her was the fact that she was able to share the moment with her band. She explained that because of the pandemic, performances with a full set band have been few and far apart and the Tiny Desk experience really gave her a chance to re-connect with the musical geniuses she rose to popularity with.
“It was an incredible experience but especially because I got to play with my full band. Whenever we link up its just a different kind of energy. I don’t have the words to express how I felt about that. I came up with these guys and I feel like they understand my flow and so we find a pocket every single time we are together and we just make magic,” she said highlighting that the reactions to their set has been mind-blowing.
“So far mi nuh see one bad comment and mi fraid a comment sometimes. It has gone over really well and I am grateful for that. People are really enjoying it and I am happy people were able to connect with me,” she said.