By Sarah Bharrat
“Hope he doesn’t sound too bad,” we thought when adorable 10-year-old Jovinski Thorne promised to “dazzle” us with his singing. But when he sang for us in a voice sure to make his dreams real and his loved ones proud, the thought became “Oh my!”
Thorne, the newest member of the Kross Kolor Records family, sang Michael Jackson’s Ben to The Scene earlier this week. As the words ‘Ben, the two of us need look no more/We both found what we were looking for’ were being belted out, we knew that we wanted to hear him sing the rest of that first verse. Sitting, his posture hardly encouraging good voice production, Thorne sang one of Jackson’s earlier songs and made good on his promise to “dazzle” us.
“Ben, that’s the song I sing for Kross Kolor right before I get signed,” a confident and smiling Thorne told The Scene. “I wanted to sing that song because Michael Jackson will always be my favourite singer – and you know the same day I sing Ben and get signed with Kross Kolor I went home and hear on the news that Michael Jackson died.”
Singing is not the only thing Thorne aims to master; already a good dancer, he’s been taking classes to expand his knowledge and skills. He insisted that singing was his ambition, the pure passion and love he felt for it could be heard in every word.
How did Thorne catch the eye – or rather the ear – of the Kross Kolor family? With a huge grin Thorne explained that his “friend” Jomo, one of the group’s artistes, was among the first people to recognize his talent.
“I met Jomo at GuyExpo 2004 and I told him that I wanted to sing and dance, that I wanted to perform,” Thorne recalled. “Jomo told me that he would help and that I should work on learning to sing and dance better.”
In June this year, Thorne said he entered the East Bank Demerara Talent Contest which was sponsored by Celebrity Barber Shop. He is currently the reigning ‘Talent King’ in that section of the county. It was in this competition that Jomo heard him sing a song which aimed to educate people about HIV/AIDS. The 10-year-old said he had written it and chose to sing it despite the fact that it was an issue popular with singers, because people “need to be reminded about the danger.”
Thorne then sang a verse:
She see me with Peter and she see me with Paul,
She sleeping with Derek and she even want Carl,
AIDS we can’t take it no more. (Twice)
The song, simply titled AIDS is reggae with a simple rhythm, and when combined with its soundtrack it just makes you itch to hit the dance floor. Thorne’s parents, Joseph and Dawn Thorne, said that they tried to educate their son as much as possible about everything and are proud that at this early age he is already aware of the life-threatening disease.
As his parents listened to the interview with The Scene they smiled occasionally; the joy and pride they felt clearly etched in their expressions. However, they also noted that while they were delighted with this part of his life they also knew that balance was very important.
Balance
Thorne is talented yes, but he is like any other child his age. He loves cartoons, groans about homework, and has had several pets that would overcome the average parent with revulsion and horror.
“I had a huge pet snake last year,” Thorne said. “It was an anaconda and I used to feed it big rats and beef, but he died. We got two more after that but they died too.”
Clearly put out about the death of his pet snakes, Thorne added that he currently has a pet cat called ‘Fungus.’ Although a cat wasn’t as much fun, Thorne said, it makes a good pet and is easier to feed.
Courage is another thing Thorne seems to have in large quantity. Producing a photograph of himself with a snake around his neck the 10-year-old explained that he was
allowed to pet the animal when he visited the zoo recently. There’s no reason to be afraid of anacondas, Thorne said, they’re just as nice as cat or dog and a lot more fun.
Thorne recently released his first single through Kross Kolor. An upbeat reggae number entitled Too Young which was written by Wilbur B52 Levans, it speaks of Thorne’s drive to become a performer at such a tender age, the way people feel about this and the fact that God can guide him through.
“I like the song and it really was made for me,” Thorne said. “It’s one of my favourite things to sing now.”
Like his new single says “Dem seh meh too young… the rain and storm meh go face it,” Thorne said, he is willing to work as hard as he needs to, and face whatever comes his way to achieve what he wants to in life.
Thorne, his parents said, will start his first year of secondary school at a private institution on Monday. During term-time, they explained, the 10-year-old will concentrate on his music career only on weekends, since Kross Kolor are adamant that he should get a good education.
“He needs to balance his singing with his education and Kross Kolor is very serious about this,” Thorne’s father said. “Even when he goes to the studio now they give him school work before he begin rehearsing… our son wants this and we are willing to support him and we know that Kross Kolor has his best interest at heart because they really are a family over there.”
Later this year, Thorne is scheduled to perform at a series of shows and he is confident that he will be “liked.” Stage fright and all other trivial things like that which cause some performers discomfort seem to have no hold on this young man.
“I am not afraid,” he stated. “I go out there and sing for my family, I sing for myself and like Jomo told me, I just relax and have fun on stage. I want children to know that they can do anything. I used to watch the singers on TV and think ‘Why can’t I do that?” and now look I am doing exactly that,” the bubbly Thorne said with a huge smile. (srh.midnight@gmail.com)