American singer Pia Renee talks love for all things Jamaican

American singer Pia Renee, who first garnered national spotlight in the USA in 2007 when she auditioned for American Idol, is booked to perform at an all-star reggae summer event on May 28, in Chicago. The event, billed ‘Dubahdeh’, features Wayne Wonder, Richie Stephens and Stylo G.

During that memorable American Idol audition, Pia impressed judge Simon Cowell, who immediately proclaimed his love for her.

“You’re interesting,” Cowell said.”You’re confident; you’re stylish. I like you. I like you a lot.”

After the contest, Pia continued to have a presence on television, appearing as a bass player for television show Empire. This role led to a career as a voice actor where she did voice overs for major brand campaigns, including Walmart, United Way, CNN, Boeing, Nestle and the CNN Matter of Trust news promo that earned her a nomination for a Promax Award for Best Voice Over. Last year, Pia auditioned for Season 20 of The Voice where she impressed judge John Legend. She made it to the semi-finals of the competition. Her rendition of What the World Needs Now received high praise from legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach and was met with comparisons to the late pop superstar Whitney Houston.

JAMAICAN INFLUENCE

Pia is, however, not shy to let the world know about the influence Jamaican singers and the reggae genre have had on her musical career.

“Honestly, the influence of Jamaican people and expressions of the culture were a big part of my life before I became a musician,” she told The Gleaner.

Pia, who calls herself as ‘a servant of love,’ lso spoke passionately about her love for Jamaican model, actress and singer Grace Jones.

“I had to be about nine years old when I begged my mother to let me get my hair cut like hers. She eventually did, and boy did I learn very early that sometimes artistic appreciation and expression wasn’t as accepted, understood, nor encouraged in my environment,” she said.

Years later as an adult, she was approached to play bass in a reggae band that transformed her musical journey.

“I fell in love with Toots Hibbert, Barrington Levy, Shabba Ranks, Maxi Priest, Morgan Heritage, Dennis Brown, Leroy Smart, Jah9 and, of course, all things Marley,” she explained.

Pia’s love for reggae music saw her doing a rendition of Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill’s Turn Your Lights Down Low on The Voice. This was after she had solidified her connection to Jamaica, visiting the second city a few years earlier.

“I love it. I stayed in MoBay. I visited some friends in the mountains and explored the island a bit, but not as extensively as I would have liked due to time constraints” she explained.

“It’s so different from Chicago that I enjoyed everything about it. The water is clear, the fruit is beyond anything I’d tasted back home. The food was amazing and I experienced Reggae Sumfest for the first time. It blew my mind that people party all night long into the next day,” the Chicago native stated.

Asked about her favourite Jamaican food, Pia had more than a mouthful to share.

“I love brown stew chicken or fish. The first time I had brown stew fish was in Ethiopia. The cook was a Jamaican woman. I tried my very best to smuggle some back to America. I’ve been hooked ever since” she said.

She also loves peanut porridge.

“I chased the peanut porridge man down like he was my babyfather every night I was in MoBay!” she confessed.