Change had to come.
Songbird Ria Borman has been knocking at the door for years. She has seen some, who people would argue were lesser talents, surface; get signed and their careers take off, but that big break continued to elude her.
The scales were just not tipping in her favour. And the heftier Borman got, the further away they were turning in the opposite direction.
In the last few years she has been blowing away top music executives with her tremendous voice, but the verdict was invariably the same – she was too big.
“I got tired of several agents telling me ‘hey, yes you are fantastic in voice, and in your appearance and you have stage presence, but your weight definitely is an issue’.
“So I just had to get on a strict diet and really exercise and bring it [the weight] totally down,” she stated.
For the past eight months or so she has been on a low carbohydrate and protein diet and exercises up to three times a day. Exercise takes the form of running, yoga, Pilates, dancing, zumba, swimming and gym.
She tries not to eat after 7 p.m., and if she gets hungry she fills up on green tea and fruit.
“I do drink lots of water. I travel with water. I travel with my meals. I do not snack on junk food. I do not buy fast food. I’m very, very strict . . . . My diet is basically natural, contains lots of green teas, healthy nutrition.
“I don’t want to be on a crash diet, where you take all this stuff that will make you lose the fat quickly and then in a couple months you’re back at square one. I didn’t want that,” Borman explained.
Borman said her performance at last year’s Barbados Music Awards was “devastating” for her.
By that time she had tipped the scales at 235 pounds.
“I had challenges on stage in terms of breathing and it was very uncomfortable, even though I pulled the stops out in terms of styling and making sure I look correct on stage.
“I was unhappy with my look and I wanted a change,” she disclosed.
That was compounded by an experience with a lady at a label, which broke the proverbial camel’s back.
“That executive said ‘I’m sorry we can’t work with you, you’re too fat’. I felt so bad and that just like killed me. I said ‘I’m gonna show her, I’m definitely going to achieve my dream’,” she recalled.
According to Borman, her futile protests that she was thick, not fat, had no impact.
“Losing 80 pounds is a great achievement for me right now. I started my training here with my sister Vickie Borman, who is my personal trainer. My manager [Rodney Powers] also put me on a strict diet.
“The diet was the hardest part for me. I’m a person who likes food,”she said, adding that Powers was losing weight and it did not sit well when people pointed it out to her.
She insists she is more alert now, has more energy and is more confident now with the weight.
Her goal is to reach the size 4 agents assure her they can work with.
“Voice is five per cent and body is 95 per cent. And that’s what sells. That’s why Rihanna is the biggest star today, she looks great and everybody wants her. Once you’re gonna sell something you gotta look the part,” she said.
This year has been filled with changes for Borman. Not only has she lost close to 100 pounds, dropped several dress sizes and is virtually unrecognizable to several of her peers, but she has relocated to Beverly Hills, California and is trying to complete an album.
She is working with Top Job PR in Los Angeles.
Conscious that Barbadians had not heard anything new from her in the last two years, Borman said she expects the still to be titled eight-track album to be completed by the end of the year or early next year.
Fans can also expect to see Ria in concert in Barbados to launch the album.
“The album definitely will be R&B, jazz, soul . . . tied into one. It’s going to be my life story . . . everything I’ve been through the last two/three years in the music industry . . . . It’s going to be an album also dedicated to women.
“It’s an album that people can relate to,” she revealed, adding that the writing was done by her with some input from her brother.
She is also working on some collaborations with some artistes.
The loss of weight on her physical self has released some other things she had been waiting for. Borman said a lot of opportunities are opening for her and that Fantasia, whom she met at the Barbados Music Awards two years ago, is responsible for opening some of those doors.
The ultimate for her is Broadway, she said.
Borman, who holds an Associate Degree in Theatre Arts from the Barbados Community College, is back home to continue working on the album; soak up some of the Crop Over activities and hang with family.
She is singing backing vocals in the House Of Soca calypso tent.
“I love Crop Over. It’s a wonderful festival. If I get a chance to come back, I come back and lend a hand if I can,” she said.
Borman still conducts voice training sessions and sings backing vocals in the recording studios.
All things seem to be working for Borman in terms of her career paths, but as she continues to move on up to grab her piece of the pie in the fast-paced world of entertainment in the United States, Borman assures fans she will continue to be the same person.
“I’m the same Ria everyone knows from the time I was 12 years old, I’m just smaller. I’m not going to change. I’m much wiser now and smarter in my decision-making and I’m grateful for all the experiences music wise . . . I’m the same old Ria that loved to sing as a li’l girl in the shower. I love to sing and dance and a good joke,” she said.
The other thing that is for certain is that Borman is mentally, physically and spiritually ready to take the next step, which will catapult her to being the next big thing coming out of the Caribbean.
