Much can be said about Susan Harvey a.k.a Goldie, one of the very few Nigerian female pop vocalists around. While the press and tabloids seem to focus on her ‘Victorian costumes and infamous eyelashes,’ surprisingly, fans have over time chosen to embrace her very daring musical style with many describing her as ‘bold’.
When she hit the scene in 2007 with the single “Spin Me” and an accompanying video, it elicited comparisons ranging from her idol Madonna to Amy Winehouse. However, judging from the response, it was pretty obvious that Nigerians were not quite ready for her style of music. “When I recorded the ‘Spin Me’ video, MTV base loved it but Nigerians were not crazy about the track; people were like ‘why does she like these outfits?’ So it was a bit difficult,” she remembers. “Then I did ‘Shift’ and took it to the next level. I went all out and said let me just do the outfits and the response was too much. People were like this is something new from a female artist. Of course there were other female artists but my style was unique. I am a contemporary pop artist with a blend of Afro-Hip-Hop sound.”
Shifting focus
Realising that appreciating her music had become even more difficult as time went by, she decided to record ‘Nothing Has Changed’ and toned it down because “I wanted to be simple. ‘Nothing Has Changed’ spoke of my feelings of satisfaction. People [still] love it.” The video for ‘Nothing Has Changed’ featured a lot more dynamic urban backdrop, luxury shots with champagne popping and boat cruises; a shift from her other videos.”
On this day she isn’t sporting her signature long eyelashes and also has on very subtle makeup as well as a wicked micro mini skirt, prompting me to ask if she has rebranded. She bursts out laughing and says, “I don’t think I have changed that much. I no longer wear the long lashes and the makeup is a lot less. I discovered that after I started wearing long lashes a lot of artists began wearing them in their videos and I thought it’s a new year that I could be more creative than all that.”
Now you know
With the release date of her highly anticipated debut album drawing near, the leggy singer who recently signed with Kennis Music has a controversial song and video titled ‘You Know it’ whose Yoruba chorus translated to English means “I can take your man.” Shedding light on the inspiration behind the song which featured eLDee she said, “We (Kennis Music artists) were in Abuja for lunch and while we were talking, Kenny Ogungbe went out and then Eedris started saying, ‘you are a bad girl, you should sell badness because everyone wants the bad girl. You are a “Gb’oko lowo e” girl. Kenny came [back] asking who Eedris sang the song for and he was told I was the one. He compelled me to sing the song.”
Visibly happy with the video’s reception since its release, the singer says she isn’t in any way bothered by the negative comments “I was not referring to anyone [in particular] contrary to what some people think but at the same time, maybe I was referring to someone (laughs) and she knows herself.”
Entertainment fanatic
When not busy in the studio, the University of Sunderland, Business Management graduate is involved in other entertainment projects. “I love writing.
The other day, I was in a stage play titled Peace of the Grave Yard. It was a Black Image production. I love the general process of entertainment and embodying a character like what I am doing right now is my passion.”
With a September release date for her album already set, the Ekiti state born singer is yet to come up with a title. “My fans say I should call it Duchess but my management say I should look for something more simple like Goldie.
All tracks are ready but we just want to streamline and get it all tight. I don’t want it to be like other Nigerian albums; I want all my songs to be classic!”
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