We caught up with Regina, SK-based Neo-Soul artist Precious Onungwe who has recently released his single, “Champion”. The upbeat and soulful track will make you want to move. It is his message to his future self that there is no room to make excuses for not achieving dreams. It’s about not allowing negativity to put a ceiling on his aspirations, but to face whatever comes, and win triumphantly – like a Champion.
Give the single a listen below, and find out more about Precious in our newest segment of Five Questions With.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Precious Onungwe, born in Nigeria and moved to the “Queen City”, Regina, in 2010. Graduated with Petroleum Systems Engineering and Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Regina.
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
As a Neo-Soul singer, I like to convey purposeful lyrics and melodies that encourage and empower others. I started singing and performing at the age of 12 in high school choirs, musicals and gospel bands.
My style is influenced by songs like “Glory” by John Legend, “Wanna be Happy” by Kirk Franklin, “Hard Love” by NeedtoBreathe and other artists like Jennifer Hudson, Sia, Pharrell Williams, Tauren Wells, J. Moss, and Nickelback from the R&B Soul, Pop, Gospel, and Pop-Rock genres.
My writing style comes in three forms. Sometimes I have a strong impression of what I want to talk about and then I proceed to write down the lyrics. Afterwards, I play around chord progressions and see what works for the story.
Other times, when I listen to people conversing, read an article or watch a TV show, a phrase or a word grabs my attention, and I just sing that phrase or word. From there, I use my phone to record singing different melodies while writing more lyrics.
The third way of writing is listening to the music and allowing the lyrical ideas to follow from there.
Do you have any upcoming shows? For someone who has yet to see you live, how would you explain your live performance?
My live performances show a captivating stage presence which makes them always memorable. I make my audience not only enjoy the rhythm but also to feel the lyrical meaning of the songs.
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
I would suggest my song called Champion.
This is a song that keeps the mind in check to ensure that one doesn’t cave into negativity. It puts one in a perfect state to confront mind bullies and win triumphantly like a Champion. It is a song that energizes the listener with the perfect words to break the walls of limitations that tend to be clouded positive imaginations and aspirations for doing great things.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
Glenn Lewis, Warren Dean Flandez, Nickelback