The angelic vocals of former Bahrain schoolgirl Yasmeena Fontaine lit up the airwaves of a major radio station whilst she was on holiday in the Philippines with a heart-rending version of a classic song she last sang at her grandmother’s funeral.
The 19-year-old, who has Bahraini, British and Dutch heritage, sang live on 102.3 Kiss FM, the ‘official Number One hit music station’, broadcasting locally and internationally from Bohol in the country’s Central Visayas region.
“It was such an amazing life experience, and, in the future, I would love to do more things like it,” she said. The university student was with her dad, Raimond, general manager at Bahrain’s Aqua Cool, visiting her Filipino stepmum Via’s family and friends.
“The radio broadcast actually came about really spontaneously," Ms Fontaine added. "Some of Via’s family actually come from and live in Bohol whereas her children are living in Metro-Manila, therefore she doesn’t visit Bohol often and hasn’t in almost three decades.
“That is why they decided it would be a lovely idea to go to Bohol as part of our holiday. As anyone who hadn’t seen their family in a while, Via got in contact with family and friends, one of which happened to be a radio host for Kiss FM.
“Her childhood friend Bobby - the afternoon/evening host - were catching up and Via mentioned my love and interest in singing and music and he invited me to be interviewed and sing on the show.
“It was genuinely within a few days of arriving. My song was literally picked two days before the broadcast. I truly believe that anything this spontaneous has to be amazing … and it was!”
Although a Dutch national, Ms Fontaine was born in the English seaside resort of Brighton and moved to the kingdom at the age of six. Her mum, Tanya Shaheen, who is half Bahraini and half English, works at Gulf Air as a PA to the CEO.
Her brother, Sebastian, 15, joined her on holiday to the Philippines along with Via’s children, Naomi, 20, and Troy, 19. “I’ve always been really family-orientated and close to my cousins, so they really are all like my brothers and sisters too," she explained.
“While growing up in Bahrain, I attended St Christopher’s for almost 12 years. I would never fail to participate in school productions and singing shows.
“I also studied Music and Drama GCSE and Drama A level, so these really helped build my confidence and ensured that I do not get too nervous when performing.”
She also sang at numerous school events such as the annual festive fayre, end-of-year assemblies, as well as her own commencement ceremony - her last performance in Bahrain before departing to start university, studying Psychology at Goldsmiths in London.
“I sang a lot of these with one of my closest friends, Marwa,” she added. “However, I think no matter how many songs I perform, there will always be a nervous thought trying to make its way into my mind.
“The way I’m usually able to overcome this is my passion and love for music and I know that as soon as I’ve said the first word of the song, I never want to stop.
“I believe that before anyone performs, or is ever nervous about something, it’s important to really think about what you’re experiencing and ask yourself: What exactly are the emotions I’m feeling? I find that I’m usually overcome with excitement and it’s sometimes mistaken for nerves.
“It also helped at the radio station that I had my family around me and didn’t have hundreds of people physically in front of me!”
Her choice of song – Angel by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan – was a ‘last minute’ choice. She originally planned to perform a Coldplay number but didn’t have enough time to rehearse.
“I had once song this song in my Year 7 Talent Show in 2011 at school where I went on to actually win it. As well as singing it at the talent show, the song has a special place in my heart as I sang it at my grandmother’s funeral along with my older cousin in February of 2014," said Ms Fontaine. “It was one of the most difficult things to do. The room was huge and echoed, as well as singing acapella and feeling like your voice was going to give in every second, to say the least, it wasn’t easy. The song generally means a lot to me, and my grandma – or Oma, as we say in Holland - will always come to mind when I sing it.”
Although singing remains close to her heart, the bright teenager is fascinated by psychology and ‘really intrigued’ with several aspects of the subject and has not linked her studies with other subjects, such as popular choice, forensic science. “This way I get a wider range of what I can do for a career,” she explained. “However, I do have a few topics which stuck out to me for example, neuroscience and looking at individuals who commit crimes but have severe mental disabilities. Nevertheless, I have always loved children and loved helping them where I can and a part of me would love to have my career around making their lives better.
“Despite all this, of course I would be living the dream if given the opportunity to have a career around singing and psychology too … who knows though?”
The DJs at the radio station, which boasts a huge following of Filipino expats living in Bahrain, are convinced she could prosper as a performer. Popular show host, Bob Goodman, said: “Yasmeena has a stunning voice.” His colleague, who goes by the stage name of Sean ‘bytheway’, added: “I hope she comes back and performs here when she has her own Number One!”
- She also posts on social media Link: https://www.instagram.com/yasmeenafontaine/
- Tune into www.kiss102fmbohol.com
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