By Nicole S Farrell

Michelle Sylvester was fierce on stage several years ago but she has since staged her debut into a different walk of life.

You may remember Sylvester as a soca artiste with groovy hits such as "Go Ahead", "Dip Down Low" with Terry Seales and "Sleeping In Your Bed". She was the first female to win the Groovy Soca title in 2005.

Over the years, she performed with local bands such as K.V. Charles and Insight, Sound Revolution, Rukshun, Horyzon and Triple X with Eddie Charles.

Of her tenure as a band member and solo artiste, she said, "It was a good time. I was able to do so much for my mother and myself so I am grateful for that aspect."

Pointing out that there is a perception that she has now 'gone gospel', a composed Sylvester attempted to thwart the misconception of her with regard to her recording songs. "I do perform gospel music but I won't say that I've 'gone gospel'. I'm doing music, period. The thing is, regardless of what genre I now do, you won't hear me singing about wining down anymore or talking abou taking someone to bed, you know? I'm into a certain type of positive messages within my songs."

"Everyone is expecting me to say that I came out of soca because something was 'wrong'. The story behind me making that decision was so funny. I was driving home one Saturday afternoon and I just started reflecting on my life and I felt like something was missing. I realised that God was missing in my life. Right there and then, I said that I'd go to church the following day. That was it."

Recalling the events as if they occurred yesterday, she continued, "When I attended church, the pastor came up to me and said, 'God doesn't want you to go back.' I will never forget that. That was it for me. You know they say that someone gets 'a calling'?"

Sylvester vowed to take a year off performing to work on herself and let God work within her and that year turned into three years. It's been that long.

Relaxed in her chair, she recounted another defining moment. "I began to think that if I had to live for God, I couldn't sing the songs I used to sing. I tried performing them but I just felt uncomfortable."

Knowing that one couldn't please everyone, she still emphasized, "Please don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with soca music per se; it's just the kind of lyrics in some songs. If the song is about excessive alcohol consumption and infidelity and vulgar behaviour, that is not for me anymore."

"I still have friends in the industry and I am not going to be judgmental towards them and cut them off. This is just where I am now. I don't feel as if I was celebrating God there. I really don't want to upset anybody but this is just my personal view."

She chuckled and shook her head as she stated, "People think that because of the change I made, they can't be themselves in front of me, that they can't make a certain joke or whatever around me. I am still me. Funny enough, even as a soca artiste, I was never a 'limer'. Ask Nadia (Batson) or Ms. Alysha or any of them. They would get vexed with me back then because they knew that I would want to go home as soon as I finished performing!"

Now a member of the worship team at her church, the International Charismatic Mission in Arouca, she smiled as she said, "I am enjoying this. Christianity is fun! You don't have to be underdone in any way to prove you're Christian."

Sylvester has been performing at church concerts and has participated in some productions. Driven by her love of music and being encouraged by her pastors, she will be releasing her first single during the early part of the second quarter of this year.

"It's no one genre of music. Nadia Batson used to write for me and she might still pen a song for me but I have more confidence in songwriting now."

Many people don't realise how much of a powerhouse Sylvester is. Her versatility as a singer is phenomenal, to say the least.

One of her victories is raising her son who's now 16 years old and of whom she's very proud. "Just what my mother passed on to me, I've passed to him. I had my son and I'm raising him but I'm single now. When God sends the right person and he puts the ring on the finger, right!" she said, giggling.

During her photo shoot, every passerby with whom she was acquainted greeted her with hugs, kisses and well wishes and she was just as gracious as she was several years ago.

Her make-up artiste and close friend of over 10 years, Dominique La Roche, had this to say of her, "The essence of her has not been lost since she became a Christian. She is never super-imposing; she'll just give subtle hints and leave it up to you. Honestly, I am not a Christian but I am insanely proud of her."

Sylvester isn't missing out on anything. "I loved my life before but love it even more now. So it's still action all the time."

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