5 Questions with ... Sakina Deer

“Nerves ... pan tap a nerves, pan tap a nerves, but guess what ... I did it!”

That’s how actress, TV personality and singer, Sakina Deer, triumphantly describes her first live performance as a singer. A finalist in this year’s Jamaica Festival Song contest, the two-time Actor Boy Award winner is relishing the opportunity to let her voice be heard on a slightly different stage.

Deer was one of the 10 finalists who all showed their mettle last Sunday on the Digicel Unplugged virtual stage. The online concert was beamed live on the D’Music app, Digicel’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages @digiceljamaica, and the feedback for Deer’s debut couldn’t have been better. The congratulations have been tumbling in from all quarters and Deer is humbled. “Thank you everyone for the encouragement and I’ll keep doing my best,” she promises. Her entry is titled We Are Jamaica.

It was actually her song-a-day ‘singspiration’ that she started posting during the COVID-19 lockdown that ushered Deer into this new sphere, and she is loving every moment of it. “What a feeling it is when you can see your dreams literally unfolding before you!” she says in amazement.

The winning song this year will be decided exclusively by public voting via the Digicel platform. FLOW customers will also be allowed to vote. Voting will intensify between the Presentation Show on Sunday, July 19, and the Results Show on Sunday, July 26. Both shows will be broadcast live on TVJ.

This week, 5 Questions managed to catch up with finalist Sakina Deer for a quick chat.

Jamaica Festival Song finalist has now been added to your bio. Did you ever envision this?

Ha! Not in a million years did I ever see myself at this point. I saw myself as doctor. Very specifically, a cardiologist! As I child, I think my dreams fell in line with what was expected of me and what I was exposed to. I have doctors and lawyers, a judge, even a horticulturist in my family; however, I can’t recall anyone being involved in the arts. I went totally left field and I’m so grateful that this is where the journey has led. It’s been a challenging ride so far but most definitely worth it!

What are your plans should you win the competition?

You mean after mi dun beat pot cova and run up and dung? Lol! Sleep.

After that, though, I haven’t really made any decision, music-wise. I’m open to whatever good life brings. Our current reality doesn’t really allow for concrete plans per se. I mean, I have my vision board with plans for my life that have not changed, but to say, ‘Oh , next month I’m gonna put out an album’ isn’t really something I’ve done. I’m going to continue to try and get my lash and make-up business up and running, act whenever the opportunity presents itself again, and accept any gift God gives.

What lessons have you leant from COVID-19?

Sooo many!

1 – Save. Save. Save. Anything can happen. Literally – ANYTHING

2 – Children are resilient

3 – Be open to new ideas and adventures

4 – What you think is the darkest time of your life is just the prep time before everything becomes visible and possible.

How do you manage to balance the various aspects of yourself and still find ‘me’ time?

Literally buss out laughing at this one. ‘Me’ time is stolen mommy moments in the bathroom. Lol . Seriously though, prior to COVID-19, it was a bit easier to have a bit of that while munchkin was in school. Now? Those moments are few and far between . Each day is a different experience. I get it when I can.

Tell us two things on your bucket list.

To perform in a Broadway Musical and (the typical one) – to travel the world. Literally want to visit each country.

As the entanglement debate rages on, what is your takeaway?

No matter how interesting and salacious these things seem, at the core of it all, there are still three HUMAN beings going through God knows what. So it’s not really our place to judge them, even though it’s in our nature to do it. Mek dem untangle fi dem entanglement. I will keep drinking my coconut water and minding my own business. Besides, us talking about them isn’t putting a cent in our pockets.