V FOR VICTORY
ZIMBABWEAN singer Queen Vee’s music industry path has been unconventional. Born Vanessa Sibanda in Gweru, a city rich in minerals, she claimed her share of the pot of gold when she entered and won Miss Zimbabwe in 2009.
Her path into showbiz was initiated many years earlier when she would stay in her room practising her modelling poses and catwalk moves in front of the mirror while her two brothers, one younger and one older, would be “doing their boys stuff”.
Coming from a music loving family where her dad , a collector of music, exposed her to different genres at a young age, she always dreamed of becoming a superstar.
Inspired by artists such as Madonna, Aaliyah, Brenda Fassie, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, she started writing and singing at the age of eight and pictured herself in the spotlight making good music and performing like them.
But she soon got drawn deeper into modelling as she grew older, which lead her to entering and winning Miss Zimbabwe.
“Being an ambassador of 14 million people is a big task for anyone,” she said.
“My title was beyond just that of Miss Zimbabwe. I was also a tourism ambassador and strongly felt the true Zimbabwean stories were not being told accurately globally.
“I remember during the Miss World camp in 2009 most of the interviews I did with the media were about the political situation..
“People really did not understand or know much about Zimbabwe and believed that the dark side that was being reported was all that Zimbabwe was about. So mine was not an easy task because my being at Miss World was a mission to try and sell the beauty of Zimbabwe.”
During her tenure as Miss Zimbabwe, she released a single My Zimbabwe.
“It was such an honour and a very big responsibility. Hence my entire work, be it in the entertainment industry, had to exude that excellence, and I have maintained that.”
She moved to South Africa in 2010 in an attempt to take her modelling career to the next level. She joined an agency where she finished as the 2nd runner-up at the Top Model of the World competition, held in Germany in 2011.
After meeting reggae-dancehall star Buffalo Souljah, she gave him one her songs to listen to. He loved it and, after featuring on the song, signed her to his label, United Nations of Africa.
But her transition from model to singer has not been welcomed by everyone, she says.
“The world does not take kindly to new entrants in the music industry, especially if you are coming from a successful background from a different career path.
“I remember being heavily criticised and being told by some to stick to modelling. But I had to soldier on and focus more on the positives.”
Queen Vee started the year in style by releasing the up-tempo pop ballad, Nobody.
“It was largely inspired by the power of love and appreciation. Nobody is a love and sensual song about a woman who appreciates how her man makes her feel content in their relationship and is encouraging him to continue pleasing her because he is the only one that knows how to. Nobody else does it better than him.”