Singer Michelle Player, who is set to release her new single “Christmas is Here Again” next weekend, is currently in New York putting together a video for her song.
“Christmas is Here Again” is Michelle’s fourth release. Her previous songs, including another Christmas song, were released last year. Up until now Michelle had worked closely with Ssignal Productions to produce her songs. However, following the illness of producer Bonny Alves, the singer is working with DP Records on the upcoming song.
She said the song reflects the warmth of Christmas, those celebrating the birth of Christ and also children who look forward to gifts from Santa Claus. For various Guyanese, the season has different meanings and “Christmas is Here Again” embraces it all.
A model, Michelle revealed that she is also engaged in events related to Brooklyn Fashion Week which began on November 7 and runs until the 25th. As such she is caught up in various photoshoots with Long Live Productions, which is liaising with BK Fashion Week.
Through these events she is sharing about Guyana, as well as her organizations.
Her presence at the BK Fashion Week is on behalf of her business, Playter Model Agency and her non-profit, the Jaden Foundation, which was launched last year and supports parents with special needs children.
As the mother of a special needs child, Michelle knows how challenging it can be, hence her move to support and educate parents taking care of children with special needs. Since its launch, the foundation has also taken on humanitarian projects including the distribution of food hampers and medical aids to those in need in Georgetown and Berbice.
Michelle said she has noticed that First Lady Arya Ali has also shown interest in wanting to help special needs children and hopes to someday soon collaborate with her in reaching more persons in need.
Currently, Michelle has a few Guyanese models with her and is hoping to have a Guyanese photographer. Her team, Michelle said, should have been larger as there were plans for more persons to accompany her on the trip but due to sponsorship, she was the only person making it to BK Fashion Week as she took care of her own expenses.
It has been seven years since she has been attending Brooklyn Fashion Week. Michelle explained that whenever she goes on the stage, before her name is announced, the name of her country is always announced. What she represents is bigger than her name, the model said. As such, she stressed the importance for the government and the private sector to invest in such
opportunities positing that the bigger Guyana’s team is at any event, the better the representation and the recognition.
Guyana is among dozens of countries being represented at the fashion week. Some of the other countries are Dubai, France, China, and Japan. Owing to their sizable teams these countries make more of an impression, Michelle said and as such it is easier for them to have foreign representation when they host events of their own. It is her dream to see first world countries in attendance in large entourages for similar events hosted in Guyana.
Meanwhile, the date for the video for the song to be released remains tentative, but Michelle is working towards having it out in time for Christmas. The video will be shot in both the US and Guyana featuring everything Christmas from both countries. The singer pointed out that for the video she will be outfitted in designs by local designer Debbie Sammy.
