MICHELLE XAVIER
On Her Own

It’s Sunday October 9th. Michelle Xavier is at Gary Jordan Photography, being prepped for our cover photo-shoot. “This is painful,” she says. “Musicians aren’t morning people especially me.” She’d risen at 7:15 am, following a “gig” the night before. But the excitement is tangible.

Nigel Celestine, the stylist for the shoot, has chosen four looks by Philippa London, to be shot at four different locations. “We’re going for a vintage, yet very clean and classy feel,” he says. “My job is to make her (Xavier) glamorous.”

The first stop is at the picturesque Fort George. “The view is spectacular,” says Jordan, as he angles the camera. Xavier, wearing a pink, jersey, pocket-dress, with belted waist, is perched on a ledge to get the clear blue sky and the backdrop behind. Snap. There is Xavier facing the camera. Snap. She wears bold sunglasses, staring off towards the sky. Many snaps later, the team is off again, this time to a well-spotted location on Tragarete Road, Woodbrook. Xavier stands against a stunning poison ivy backdrop. Celestine adjusts her black waistband, and the make-up artist and hair stylist add their touch-ups. Snap. The colours really pop here. Xavier’s sensual light pink, short dress, coupled with her sultry poses, bode well against the splendid green.

The final looks are captured against a street backdrop on Ariapita Avenue. Xavier wears a lovely purple dress. She steps into her heels as Nigel adjusts her hemline. “Love this colour!” she says. “My phone case and my room are in this colour.”

See video footage on Xavier’s vlog: http://www.overtimett.com/michellex

It’s Friday October 28th, at 3:30 pm. Xavier is relaxing with a cup of green tea. “I try to have green tea every day,” she says. She has just returned from a one-week Orlando vacation, and there’s a lot of catching up to do.

“This week has been particularly busy, though today is less of a work day. She recounts the morning’s activities: “There was Pilates class, then a manicure and pedicure afterwards.” Taking care of herself is part of her job. She says, “I meet people all the time so I have to look presentable. Whenever I take a chance to go out looking like a bum, someone always recognizes me, and I think, Oh God.”

She has a crammed social itinerary for the evening. In fact, she has scheduled this interview around a wedding rehearsal: “I have a good friend getting married tomorrow. And I am going to be singing.” She adds, “We also have some birthdays to celebrate today.”

But not every day is Friday. She admits that though her usual workdays are flexible (she has never worked a ‘nine to five’), they’re often jam-packed. “There’s the studio, photo shoots, media releases, press launches. Tuesday (last) was hours in the studio, with a new producer, in Chaguanas. I have three performances next weekend.”

Xavier’s first crowd performance was Somewhere Out There. “I was five years old. This tiny thing in a huge, white, tulle dress. I would never forget it.” She admits to being a born entertainer: “I’ve never been nervous on stage, though my confidence has developed tremendously over the years.” She explains, “When I joined Imij & Company, I had never sung Soca. It was the first time I went on a Soca stage.”

I wondered whether her career was strategized, or if it was a hobby turned business. “There was no doubt in my mind, since I was eight years old, that I’d be a singer and entertainer,” she said. “I lost my voice once when I was eight. I wanted to cry, because singing made me so happy. That was when I knew what I wanted to do. I never imagined that I would live in Trinidad and live this dream. I do what I love all the time.”

She describes her childhood self as a “busy body”. She says, “ I was involved in so many things. My mother was fabulous with that over the years. She was always that one hundred percent dedicated mother.”

Her affection for her mother is tangible. “She drove me to Port of Spain, from south, to do ballet, once a week. I had outgrown the school in San Fernando. She did everything for us, made us clothes, cut our hair.” Her sentences glide on, “I look forward to being a wife and mother. When I see what my mother has done for me. She inspires me.”

Xavier and her four siblings were also encouraged by their father to learn at least one sport and one musical instrument. She says, “Looking back on that, that was a very good move.” The qualities that define her? Honesty. Professionalism. Friendliness. All traits for which she is known: “I am very professional. As an eight year old, I would be correcting even adults on stage. I have always given work the priority it deserved.”

She credits her former vocal coach, Roger Henry, for putting things in perspective. “He used to tell me,” she says, “to ‘practice what you perform and perform what you practice’. So if you wanted to get it right on stage, you had to get it right in practice.”

Xavier is also a people magnet; she exudes self-confidence, and is friendly to a fault. “I love when my fans come up to me to chat. Even when I don’t know who they are. I like that I seem approachable.”

She believes in being productive: “I like that lazy Sunday. But usually if I have a free hour I would consult my ‘to do’ list and find something to accomplish in that time.” “I am kind of OCD,” she continued. “Very organized. I write everything down. Every thing has a place; my closet is colour coded.” She is quick to add, “But if someone moves something I don’t go crazy and have to put it back.”

She credits her childhood home for her organizational skills, “He (my father) taught me that if you have a place for something, you put it back there, so you always know where to find it. There were six of us in the house, so we had to be organized, or we would not have been able to find anything.”

Though, she is sitting peacefully at the moment, there is a glint in her eyes. I ask what soundtracks she likes to dance to. “Latin,” she says. “I love Latin dance.” But she enjoys listening to a wide variety of music: “From 80’s pop, to country and hip-hop. I listen to everything.” Her favorite genre? She laughs, “Pop rock music; but I’m starting to like country more and more.”

Going Solo

Michelle Xavier is best known as the lead singer for Imij & Company; and as a finalist for the Power Soca Monarch 2011, with the song Fettin For Days, representing that band. In 2011 she also announced her decision to go solo.

“It’s not something I planned,” she says. “I was sixteen years old when I joined Imij, and I was totally committed for the last ten years. I gave it all I had; I did nothing else.” Now, it’s a matter of finishing her album (her originals), “I’ve been working on it as a side project,” she says. “My schedule with Imij didn’t allow me time to finish it. I have certain goals, which I need to achieve on my own.”

Aside from completing the album, she has Christmas performances lined up, and then the Carnival season to contend with. “Right now, I’m getting tracks ready for Carnival,” she says. “Your whole year is determined by how you do at Carnival.”

Xavier admits that she still hurts from the split with her old band mates, and reiterates that there was no bad vibe among them. She respects them, and feels gratitude that they helped her to grow as an artiste: “It was very hard for me to pursue the solo career in the first place…that was a ten year relationship where they were my family. You’re going to grieve.” But she is moving on, “This year (Carnival 2012) people would hear a different side of me…I’m coming out of my shell; the sky is the limit!”

We talk a little about rebranding Michelle X. “I have the same values that I’ve had over the years,” she cautioned. “That same classy, sexy vibe that I’ve always had. That’s my personality. I probably would take more risks though, and try new things.”

When pressed about what her fans can expect in the New Year, she says, “I’m going to bring some songs that they probably won’t expect from me. They would get to know me a lot better.” She intends to lay everything on the table, much like her singer/icon Gwen Stefani. “I admire her,” Xavier says of Gwen. “After her breakup with the bassist she just put everything out there.”

She says of her own album, “There are some very hurt and angry songs. They are about relationships that I’ve been through and been in. Everybody goes through that stuff at some point.” Thank You, now available on itunes, is a happier, more appreciative song.

“There will be some pop songs and a ballad in there as well,” she says. “I love to sing music with emotion. I love to listen to music that touches me.”

Xavier is confident that her fans would accept her. She, being a fair skinned Soca artiste in this twin isle Republic, knows a thing or two about acceptance, or lack thereof. She is grateful for the encouragement of those who preceded her: “Denyse Plummer went through everything I had to go through. She was the only fair skinned singer in her time. I owe a lot to her. She paved the way for singers like Tricia Lee Kelshall and myself. She always told me not to give up.”

Look at me!

“I’m not one of those people who can ignore what people think of me…when I’m on that stage performing, they’re looking at me.” How does Xavier remain energetic on stage? “Sleep is very important. Getting enough hours of sleep every night is very important. So I get my sleep as often as I can.”

She also exercises five days per week. “I like to mix it up. One day is bikini boot camp, another day would be yoga or spin. I have to challenge my body. Right now my workouts come first. It’s the first thing I plan for my week. So on a Sunday I sit with my laptop and my calendar, and I say, ‘Okay, so I’m going Pilates here, boxing there’, etcetera. Then I book rehearsals, and fit in meetings and everything else. I have to make exercise a priority, or something would always come up.” But don’t bother finding her at KFC, Burger King or any fast food restaurant. “I believe in personal health choices. My sister owns Live Green, a wellness store that sells healthy and organic foods and products. So I use sea salt, and coconut oil, and so on, to keep myself healthy. I want to live the longest life I can.”

Her guilty treats? “I do order a pizza once in a while. And I have a terrible sweet tooth. I am one of those people who always saves place for dessert.” Her dinners? “I try to always have a salad.” Xavier has been doing her styling, with the help of her sisters, for the majority of her career. “I like to switch things up and have a different look,” she says. “I’m going to reinvent myself for carnival – I have a new look coming out.” Her hair stylist is planning something special. I press her to let the cat out of the bag. She smiles, “You don’t have long to wait again.”