Amira Willighagen is a Dutch singer who won a national talent competition at the age of nine. The girl, who had never studied music before, was able to conquer the jury by performing an opera work.
Biography
Young celebrity Amir Willighagen was born in 2004 in the Netherlands. Her family belongs to the family of South African colonists. In South Africa, Amira's mother Frida was born. Until recently, her grandmother Elsa Brand lived there, but in 2013 she was gone. The girl's name translated from Arabic means "princess" or "princess".
Amira became famous in 2013 after participating in the talent show, which in the Netherlands is called Holland's Got Talent. After that, she was offered a tour that covered the United States and South Africa. Then there were numerous performances in competitions and TV shows in different countries: in Austria, Germany, Argentina.
At Holland's Got Talent, Amira went straight from the qualifying stage to the final. The jury awarded her a "golden ticket" for the excellent performance of the aria "O mio babbino caro" (G. Puccini).
The final number of the girl got more than half of the votes from the viewers - this is how Amira Willighagen became the winner of the show.
As Amira herself says, no one taught her to sing, everything turned out spontaneously. One day her brother, who plays the violin, was preparing to perform. The children decided that they could perform as a duet - Amira could sing to the accompaniment of her brother. In search of a suitable piece, the girl reviewed a huge amount of material on Youtube. Most of all she liked the opera arias, and it was them that she decided to master. Amira herself has a great and clear soprano.
After winning the competition, the girl met Andre Rieu - this is a well-known conductor in the Netherlands, whose middle name is "King of the Waltz". He often helps young and gifted musicians, and Amira is no exception. Seeing the recording of Amira's performance from the show, the conductor invited her to work together. Now they quite often record classical pieces in the studio and give concerts.
Now the performances of the young singer are scheduled for many months ahead. She sings not only with well-known performers from different countries, but also performs in schools and churches with children's groups.
Awards
Currently, Amira is 15 years old, but she has already received significant awards in the world of music. For example, in 2014, the Vatican celebrated the young talent and awarded the International Prize to them. J. Shakka.
The girl gives most of her prize and money earned to charity. In 2014, a playground was erected in one of the small towns in South Africa. Funds for the construction were donated by Amira. In 2016, a similar structure appeared in one of the Ikagenge public schools (South Africa).
Amira decided to do charity work after visiting her grandmother in South Africa. Watching the children, she realized that they had nothing to do and nowhere to play. Amira decided for herself that she would help these children if she ever had the opportunity to do so.
Later, the Amira Gelukskinders (Happy Children) charitable foundation appeared.
Albums of Amira Willighagen
10 best recordings of the young opera singer were included in her first album "Amira" (2014). Among them were the recordings of her performances at the talent show. By the way, her debut performance there "O mio babbino caro", edited into a video and posted on Youtube, instantly gained millions of views on the hosting.
Amira's album two weeks after the start of sales received the status of "Gold" - in the Netherlands for this you need to overcome the mark of 10 thousand sold copies.
To date, the singer has released the following albums:
- Amira (2014)
- Merry Christmas (2015)
- Classics Is Groot (2016)
- Afrikaans Is Groot (2016)
- Classics Is Groot (2017)
- With All My Heart (2018)
For Amir Willighagen's performances, he predominantly chooses classical opera pieces. Her style can be attributed to the classic crossover - this is a musical direction in which two styles of performance are mixed.
A family
Amira's mom, Frida Brand, used to live in South Africa and only left the country in 1995. After emigrating to the Netherlands, she met her future husband Gerrit (he is Dutch). The couple have two children - a son and a daughter.
Amira's older brother's name is Vincent. Their age difference is two years. The young man plays the violin professionally and has been performing since the age of 9. In general, the whole Willighagen family is related to music - my mother plays the violin, the father plays the accordion.
As a child, Amira remained a versatile child, and in addition to singing, she really liked athletics. She even stated in an interview that "running and singing are equally fun."
The girl also loves animals, highlighting the turtles. She has a lot of toys in the form of turtles. After winning the talent show in 2013, Amira bought herself a large turtle pillow, which became her mascot and accompanied her on all trips.
At the beginning of her career, Amira was practically not engaged in specially setting her voice, developing breathing, etc. She sang and performed for her pleasure. Participation in competitions was strictly controlled by parents, as in the Netherlands there are restrictions on such activities for children. Therefore, Frida and Gerrit carefully weighed the pros and cons of each show or performance.
