It has been exactly three years since Dwane Husbands walked away with the title in the Digicel Rising Stars competition, and he is certainly not sitting by idly and allowing his singing talent to disappear.
This singer continues to shine as he ventures on his journey to stardom. Husbands told the WEEKEND NATION that since the 2008 regional singing competition, most of his journey thus far has been about “finding” himself as an artiste.
“So I have been trying to find music that will wholly and solely represent who I am, who Dwane Husbands is – the guy from the Caribbean and not someone from the United States. When people hear me I want them to know that this is a Caribbean artiste. So from then until now, that is what I have been doing and I can happily say that I have now found myself as an artiste.
“I am more developed. If you had asked me that question two years ago, I would tell you that I am a singer and that is it. But I can tell you now that I am a Caribbean solo R&B artiste,” he said.
And he may very well be on his way to becoming an international one.
Minutes after performing at a club, The Village Underground, in New York last June, Husbands was one of six people to be approached and told that producer and rapper Missy Elliott had an “interest” in him.
“The next big thing I am looking forward to is working with Missy Elliott. She has offered to produce a single for me. So I have to go to Los Angeles to start working with Missy Elliott as soon as possible,” he said.
Husbands was featured on Rihanna’s song Dem Haters, from her 2006 album A Girl Like Me. He said it was always a dream of his to sing with the singing sensation.
He recently completed a single, Where Did It Go, which is expected to be released this week. Among his other songs are All Over Again and Simple Mathematics.
Husbands said he was now working on “a few more songs” which should be released later this year.
While there have been mostly good times for Husbands, he had also encountered a few “down times”, but the rising star said he did not focus on the negatives. He said one of the main challenges he had for a long time was the lack of finance.
“It has been hard because nothing good comes easy. I have to put in a lot of hard work to reap success. It has been hard with a lot of challenges but we have overcome them. That extra push comes from the passion that I have for music and to sing and entertain the youth,” he said.
Husbands, who is in Barbados for a short visit, will be heading back to New York on Wednesday and is expected to fly to Miami on May 27.
He is also scheduled to go to Italy later in the year. He told the WEEKEND NATION that Sony was also expressing an interest in him.
Should his image change drastically, Husbands said it would not be an issue since image was all a part of the performance package and it was about pleasing the audience.
The favourite time of year for this youngster is Crop Over and he said he was eagerly looking forward to taking part this year.
