|
Kacha catches up
The 'Academy Fantasia' second runner-up finally has fame within his grasp
After more than three years of hard work and plenty of disappointments, 22-year-old Nontanun "Kacha" Anchuleepradit feels he might be finally on the path to realising his childhood dream of making it as a singer.
An alumni of popular TV reality show "Academy Fantasia", Kacha finished third in the eighth season, and has just released his first single "Khae Khong Lian Baeb" ("Just a Substitute"). He also stars in the music video of the melancholy number, written and produced by former A Cappella 7 member Sarun "Mac" Wongnoi, which premieres on Monday on the True Music Channel.
"Mac wrote the song after I shared my memories with him of a girl that I loved but who didn't like me," says Kacha, who was voted Popular Male Artist at the 2012 Kazz Awards. "I love singing and listening to slow songs. I'm confident I can make people believe in what I'm singing."
Born in Nakhon Ratchasima and raised in Bangkok, Kacha developed an interest in music at an early age, taking singing lessons and reaching the ninth level of music school while still at high school.
In 2007, he entered RS's "RU Ready to be a Singer" contest and was one of the 10 winners to be accepted into the record label's "I'm Ready" project the following year. Along with the other winners, Kacha, whose original nickname was Coke, sang "Sad Birthday", a number also written by Mac.
In 2009, Kacha auditioned for Season 6 of True's "Academy Fantasia" but was eliminated in the first round.
The following year, he auditioned for "The Star" and "The Hunt", both under GMM Grammy, and tried his luck again on "Academy Fantasia". He failed to go further in all of them.
"I even went back to my native Nakhon Ratchasima for the 'AF' auditions, thinking I would have a better chance there than in Bangkok," he says. "The main problems had to do with my personality and the fact that I tend to frown a lot."
Most youngsters would have given up after multiple rejections but not Kacha. He set himself a more rigorous practise schedule and was lucky to meet the family band Dad's Asset, who instructed him in the finer points of entertainment and expression.
"I think that I can now do better in singing, performance and entertainment than maths and swimming," says Kacha, who is in his first year of studying integrated marketing communication at Rangsit University's communication arts faculty.
In 2011, he auditioned for "Academy Fantasia" yet again and was picked as one of the 24 contestants to live under the cameras for three months while learning how to sing, dance and perform.
Each week for 12 weeks, the six finalists were given songs they had either never heard before or at least never dreamed of performing.
Kacha says his hardest task was learning how to put across Plern Phromdan's luk thung song "Mia Na Na Chart".
"Phi Dee [Nitipong Hornak] wanted me to express more emotions through my facial expressions," he recalls.
In the last week, Kacha was almost in tears as he struggled with Christian Bautista's "The Way You Look at Me" but in the end proved that he does best when under pressure.
"That last week was difficult. I'd selected the songs and was determined to perform them to the best of my ability but it was really nerve-wracking having to play an instrument in front of such a large audience."
As the second runner-up, he was given a new song, "Ther Mai Pen Rai Tae Chan Pen" to perform on the compilation album, "AF8 Rai Kaj".
Asked about his music idols, Kacha names Jetrin "J" Wattanansin and ETC.
"Both have their different strengths. J Jetrin is full of energy, power and passion. He loves his fans and vice versa. I admire ETC's assiduity. The band struggled to become known yet they persisted and now, 14 years later, they sget plenty of gigs. My favourite foreign artist is Jay Chou, who is a great singer, dancer and songwriter. My cousin brought me his 2006 album 'Still Fantasy" and I fell in love with the song 'Qian Li Shi Wai'. And even though he has an unemotional face, like me, he can still be an actor."
Does that mean Kacha is aiming to be an acting superstar too?
The young man bursts into laughter. "Oh no, it's far too early to think about that."
จากคุณ |
:
Spring&Summer
|
เขียนเมื่อ |
:
20 ต.ค. 55 22:10:01
|
|
|
|
|