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‘The Voice’ Turned Me Into A Singer – Arese

Multi-talented entertainer, Arese Emokpae, has found a way to use her dancing, acting and singing skills to full advantage, performing her way into the heart … Continue reading ‘The Voice’ Turned Me Into A Singer – Arese


Multi-talented entertainer, Arese Emokpae, has found a way to use her dancing, acting and singing skills to full advantage, performing her way into the heart of Nigerian’s while carving a niche for herself in the industry.

Speaking on Entertainment News on Channels Television the Multi-talented entertainer explained that talent contest ‘The Voice’ turned her into a singer which has become her identity when acting was her first love.

“I always wonder if there is any such thing as one big break because I feel like everything you do leading up to the thing somebody new might know you for, it all feeds into itself,” she said.

“So, there are some people who have known me since ‘Saro’ who can argue that, that was my break and then there are some people who didn’t know till ‘The Voice’, so which one is the break? I don’t know; it depends on how you look at it, they all feed into each other.”

The graduate of Visual Art from the Washington and LeeUniversityy, in Virginia, USA was raised in an art-loving family and was first introduced to the theatre in college, although she did not get a major role to play until a few years later.

She said, “Eventually, by last year I got a lead in ‘The Musical’, I played Bawma in ‘Chicago: The musical’, so that was my first show, where I was acting, dancing, singing and it was the thing that changed everything.

“After closing that show, that was when I decided that I can’t end there. I have to try, even if I will be hungry for a few years as a starving artiste, I am going to try and pursue art.”

Few years after graduation in 2010, she moved back to Nigeria, a time the theatre culture in Lagos, the entertainment hub of the country was getting a reboot.

“Moving back to Nigeria was always part of the plan, I wasn’t going to go and die in America. After I graduated in 2010, I moved to Chicago and I was working there professionally for about three years and it just felt like it was the right time – where I am free and can easily pick up my life.

“So, I closed my last show and I moved to Nigeria. It was dry for about a year and then I did ‘Saro The Musical’ and the rest is history.

Saro the musical, a project by Bolanle Austen Peters which debuted in 2013, saw Arese play Rume, the love interest to one of the lead acts in the musical.

In 2015, she took a lead role in another Bolanle Austen Peters production, Aakaa, where she played Kike, a happy-go-lucky materialistic lady.

Her delivery endeared many to her, which came in handy when she entered for ‘The Voice Nigeria’ music competition, which she won in 2016.

Her debut music video, ‘Uweno’, which features rapper Poe was produced and co-written by Johnny Drille with the visuals created by Ani James.

“Before ‘The Voice’, singing as a career wasn’t something I was focused on right then, so if not for ‘The Voice’ I may not have started recording as recording artiste for many more years. I was mainly an actress that can sing but ‘The Voice’ turned me into a singer and that is how some people met me. So they know me as a singer and when they see me acting, they will be like so you want to start acting. No, I have been acting way back so, yeah, all join.”

Speaking on her current project, she explained that her EP. will be dropping soon.

“Music-wise, I’ve been working on a project for a while, thankfully I am happy to say that there is an EP. coming out very soon, I have so many plans, there’s a lot coming.”

Arese is currently starring in the TV series, ‘Jemeji’.