Masterclass: Kelle Bryan (Eternal)
R&B songstress, Kéllé Bryan made her name as a member of chart-topping 90s girl group Eternal, with whom she claimed a four-time platinum-selling album, a MOBO Award for Best Single and several BRIT nominations. With that in mind, it’s fair to say Kéllé, an established solo artist and actress in her own right, knows a thing or two about entertaining a crowd. For this reason, we were elated when the talented singer agreed to deliver a performance masterclass at BIMM Brighton.
Hosting the Masterclass was BIMM’s head of vocals, Kate Cameron, who introduced Kéllé before giving her the floor to a deliver a highly interactive workshop. Taking a creative approach, Kéllé cleared the room of all chairs to create space for the immersive session, which included several useful exercises in performance to prepare students for auditions and live shows.
Kéllé said:
“Your audience are usually total strangers, so what you need to do is find common ground with them.”
Our BIMM students listened with intent as Kéllé emphasised the importance of having a repertoire of songs that reflect who you are as a performer:
“Choosing a repertoire is important, audiences need to invest in you so make sure the songs you sing are representative of you and your abilities. If an A&R person is listening to 70 CDs, you need to engage with them immediately with your music.”
Inspiring and highly knowledgeable, Kéllé helped our audience of BIMM students to ask questions of themselves and stressed the importance of being confident and ready for that one golden opportunity.
“Build the muscles to become fearless,” she explained. “Don’t play it safe. What are you going to get by staying the safety net?”
Kéllé was full of praise for BIMM and encouraged our students to take advantage of the exclusive opportunities on offer while studying here, she said:
“I love BIMM, I absolutely love it, it’s one of the great places to learn creatively. Appreciate where you are. It gives you opportunities you wouldn’t get elsewhere.”
Attending the masterclass was Alex Beharrell, a BA (Hon) Professional Musicianship in Vocals student at BIMM Brighton, who thanked Kéllé for delivering an insightful and motivational masterclass.
He told BIMM: “Kéllé Bryan gave a wonderful, no-nonsense insight into the audition process within the industry, how to sell yourself as a musician and the importance of knowing your musical repertoire. I definitely walked away feeling more motivated and driven.”
It was a pleasure to host Kéllé at BIMM Brighton for what was an engaging and insightful performance masterclass!
