By Nirmita Palakodaty
Palladium
Northville HS
1st Place
Division 1, Yearbook
Personality Profile
Junior Patrisia Vekima didn’t audition for American Idol in a quest for fame and fortune, which is why she wasn’t disappointed for not having been chosen to appear on the show, she said.
“You go into a stadium filled with 20,000 people and you have five seconds to sing. Out of those 20,000, maybe 100 will be chosen in any city,” she explained. “I auditioned to test my odds. I believe in taking chances, and I didn’t have anything to lose.”
Vekima, who began singing after starting piano lessons at six, is certainly no stranger to success. “I took part in the American Guild of Music competition at 13, and made it to Nationals. I got first place for Vocals with Accompaniment, third place for Vocal Broadway, and second place for Classical Piano,” she said. “I qualified for Nationals again in April, but I didn’t go because I had so much going on then.”
Vekima released an EP in October 2013, and credits her ongoing success to her love for music. “I write all my songs about my experiences; they’re raw and honest,”said the singer, who cited Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, and Elton John among her influences. “I feel like nowadays, people don’t know that clean, stripped down music can be beautiful. That’s the kind of music I’m trying to put out there.”
She continued, “I love singing other people’s songs, but when I’m singing songs of my own, I bring something deeper to the music. I’m confessing my life to other people. I hope that carries through.”