Cindy Gomez is Canadian, sings in eight languages and has a famous mobile game avatar.
Contributed By Yong Yung Shin
CN PHOTO: Michael Chan
Cindy Gomez is what you’ll get if you create a hybrid out of Shakira and Angelina Jolie—the Canadian singer has the same sultry Latino good looks with dark features and flowing ebony locks.
While she was holding down a day job at a furniture company, her big break came several years ago when Dave Stewart of Eurythmics needed a backup singer for his appearance on Larry King Live alongside Ringo Starr. He picked up her knack for melodies and helped her make her debut in the mobile video game “Dance Fabulous” on N-Gage by Nokia in 2009.
The Canadian artiste was in town last week to shoot a travelog for Imagine Network.TV.
Is this your first time to Singapore?
No. The longest time I’ve ever stayed here was a month and a half and I almost got caned (laughs)—I had to pay a S$100 fine for overstaying. I didn’t know that as a Canadian you’re allowed to stay only one month.
So what you are doing here this time round?
I’m currently filming this travel show called Must See! Must Eat! Must Do! (Singapore) for Imagine Network.TV so I’m going around trying and experiencing stuff that I’ve never done before, such as cable-skiing at SKI360, East Coast, drinking turtle soup and having crocodile meat and frog legs, rock-climbing and even driving a Ferrari at Ultimate Drive—basically fun, fun and more fun.
I’m also here to promote my upcoming album Sound Of Freedom, out later this year. One of the songs is called “God Wants Me To Be Sexy”. It was featured and played on Power 98 FM, 987 FM and 91.3 FM.
How is it like working with someone like Dave Stewart, who has such an established track record in the industry?
For the longest time I was hoping to be discovered by someone who would be able to understand me and find my “sound/genre of music.” [Gomez has been described as a cross between Sade and Jennifer Lopez.] He was able to do that very quickly as he has a talent for being able to find a person’s true essence. He is such a sweet person and an absolute genius. Thanks to him, I was able to have a mobile phone video game called “Dance Fabulous” where I became an avatar. I also co-wrote five songs with Dave which I sang for the game. After the game, he got me a record deal with Universal. I can’t say enough nice things about him!
And how does it feel to be immortalized as an avatar?
I used to watch the New Kids On The Block cartoon as a child and thought to myself, “wow … if I became a pop star then maybe one day I could be a cartoon and have a doll that looks like me—how cool would that be!” I haven’t become a Barbie doll but being an avatar is something that I will one day get to show my kids if I ever have any. The only thing is that my avatar has a huge head! Haha!
How did you learn to sing in eight languages—English, French, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Hindi, Cantonese and Mandarin?
Being from a family background with Colombian/Belgium heritage, I already could speak English, French and Spanish and then, growing up in Toronto, which is a cultural melting pot, I had best friends from all around the world.
I learned Cantonese and Mandarin by grade 4. One day, while staying at my best friend’s place, her father brought home a karaoke laser disc one day. We would listen to it every single day so I automatically learned the songs as I fell in love with the videos.
I also have a lot of Indian friends so I was able to learn Hindi and even model Indian clothes!
How’s your schedule looking for the rest of the year?
It’s super jam-packed. I’ve got to complete my first album, continue traveling the globe to promote it and perform, which is good because two of my favorite things in the world are traveling and performing. If I’m lucky, maybe I will get to spend a few days on a beach somewhere.
