Natuharinah Lavett Holden, better known as Rhee in the PNG Music Industry is the winner who proved too triumphant to win the title of the Lamana ICE PNG IDOLS 2020 out of the four (4) other finalists.
She walked away with a whooping K10, 000. Originally from Vanuatu and New Ireland Province, Harinah was declared the winner of the competition during the New Year’s Eve celebrations at the club.
“My experience during the competition was very tough. There were a lot of good singers with raw talents that had me doubting myself that I might not make it to the end of the competition. Everyone in the competition were fierce and pretty good”, said Harinah
She started singing when she was little but eventually came out at the age of 10. She did her first stage performance when she was only 16 years old back in high school. Her inspiration came from her Dad, David Andrews (Flash was what they usually called him) who was also a Melanesian music sensation during the 1990’s.
The competition had to be deferred due to the Global Pandemic COVID-19 outbreak and at that time, Harinah was seven (7) months pregnant and thought about withdrawing from the competition.
“When the competition resumed, I had to make a tough decision whether to continue in the finals or give up only because I was already seven (7) months into my pregnancy heading into eight (8). I eventually made up my mind to take part in the finals of the competition”, said Harinah.
Auditioning for ICE PNG IDOLS was not only the competition Harinah tried out auditioning for.
“I tried auditioning for other competitions like Vocal Fusion and Digicel Stars but I was never that successful until I auditioned for the PNG ICE IDOLS in 2020”, said Harinah.
Harinah would like to set her mark in the PNG Music Industry as one that is very influential to many of her fans and listeners out there.
“Most people would say they want to become famous for Wealth and Fortune and everything “bling bling” but I for one would like to achieve recognition, respect and value in the trend of music especially in Papua New Guinea, the creativity on how I could make my music grow here in PNG”, added Harinah.
Not only she hopes to achieve her music hitting the charts but also be given the opportunity to venture out to places within and outside of Papua New Guinea to promote and to spread awareness in the music industry.
“In the next five (5) years, I want my music career to be fully recognized in PNG and hopefully abroad. “As a female it is tough especially in the music industry which mostly is dominated by males and also it is tough for us females considering the amount of criticism and judgmental views and opinions we get from all angles”, said Harinah
She added on saying that she believes that as an individual, achievement and success is dependent on yourself.
“How you create happiness and strength for yourself to move forward and the courage to feel really good at the end of the day really depends on you. Because it is really you that makes it happen and no one else.”
“My advice to young girls out there who would like to pursue music in the country, you should never see yourself as less capable as how people may see you. If you are driven by passion then make it happen. Be yourself and love what you aspire to do. It’s not just going to be about singing but mostly about what you want to relay to your listeners”, added Harinah
She said “Respect others and never be competitive because everything you do is for the benefit of this nation at the end”, said Harinah.
Other winners on that night were Judith White, who was the 1st Runner-Up and Emmanuel Ali who took the 2nd Runner-Up position respectively.
Photo Credit: Lamana Hotel
