In a body-hugging suit Krystal Khayne emerged beneath the spotlight. After years of dreaming and months of preparation, she was ready to introduce Trinidad and Tobago to her music at the recent John Legend concert. The result was a warm welcome from the audience with positive reviews following the show. However, the Krystal Khayne who showed up to Express House to be interviewed was a complete contrast to the sexy and sassy diva who worked the crowd on the night.
’I’m actually very reserved,’ the artiste shared. ’I wouldn’t say I am very shy but I am not ’out there’ if you know what I mean.’ She attributes her off-stage demeanor to her upbringing. ’I was sheltered as a child. My dad raised me. He had me from when I was three weeks old. My parents were young when they had me. My dad was 19 when I was born and it was challenging for my mom so my grandmother and my dad took care of me. My mom, because of her age when I was born, probably felt dealing with a child at that time would have been daunting. She migrated to Canada when I was around four years old but we stayed in touch. I spent up to my mid-teens in a financially challenged neighbourhood with my dad and my grandmother before we moved to Belmont, which is where we stay now.’
Born Krystal Haynes, she completed her secondary education at St. Francois Girls’ College before she moved to Canada to live with her mom and pursue tertiary level studies. But, for various reasons, the reunion didn’t last long. ’I wanted to come home and I had made the decision to pursue a career in music. I always loved singing. How I got involved in the industry on a professional level was first through working with Carl ’Beaver’ Henderson. We were going to put out some singles but Ian Wiltshire called and asked me to do some work with him on a demo of a song ’Island Boy’ for Mya. He liked what I did and asked me to do a project with him - that was about three years ago. What we did was record tonnes of songs and from then on, he started grooming me to become an artiste on an international level.’
From performances at Zen to the previously mentioned stint at John Legend’s concert, Khayne said she’s doing as much as she can to get a feel of performing through acid testing. ’It’s like a rigorous appraisal process to see what works and what doesn’t work for me as an artiste on stage,’ she explained. ’I’m doing as much as I can here while my manager works to shop my music abroad.’
If you listen to some of her songs, it’s hard to peg Khayne to one genre. But her manager coined a term that seems to fit. ’My manager coined the term ’Sun Pop’ and I believe that perfectly describes my music. I write most of my own music. My manager also does some writing for me. I would describe my style as pop music with a Caribbean vibe. It’s soft and sultry but infused with elements of reggae and Caribbean music.’
Caribbean music like soca? Khayne laughed before saying a resounding no. ’I don’t do soca. A lot of people ask me why I don’t do soca. I think soca requires a certain attitude. I admire people like Destra and Machel who can go out there and command the crowd and jump and wave. But, I think my style is more along the lines of pop music. This is where I am most comfortable.’
However, the idea of collaborating with a soca artiste certainly does appeal to her. ’Locally, I would love to do something with Machel Montano or Patrice Roberts. I think Patrice has such a great voice. Regionally I would love to work with Mr. Vegas. Internationally, I would love to work with Mariah Carey. She is my role model and a huge part of why I wanted to get in this business.’
So what’s next on the agenda for the young beauty? Khayne wants the public to look out for her as she makes her television debut. ’We’re working on a TV special to launch to the public. This would be to highlight some of my songs and give people a behind-the-scene look at my progress as an artiste,’ she explained.
And listen for the first official single from Khayne’s first album. ’The name of the album is Sunshine Revolution and the first single off that album is ’Kitty Kat’ so you’ll be hearing more from me in the months ahead.’
