Identical twins Andrea and Shanice exploded onto millions of TV screens over the summer, stunning viewers with their incredible vocals on ‘The Voice Kids’ – a show they ultimately went on to win.
Here they tell our editor, Louise Steel, how it felt to be mentored by Will-i- am on the hit TV show, and how their powerful, “God given” voices were nurtured at a church right here in Leicester…
After hearing them sing, it’s hard to believe that Andrea and Shanice Nyandoro are just 12 years old. Their voices are rich, powerful, mature and full of the most awe-inspiring soul…
You only have to check out their incredible rendition of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Faith’ to understand why three of
the judges turned around when they auditioned for this year’s series of ‘The Voice Kids’ and why they ultimately went on to win the show.
The judges were blown away and so was I.
After speaking to Leicester’s so called ‘wonder twins’, I’m amazed to hear that they’ve never had a single singing lesson in their lives. Their talent is completely natural – “God given” says their Mum, Faith. Even more extraordinary is the fact that the twins could sing before they could even talk!
“For some reason they took ages to speak, but they could sing! I was very surprised. I was always singing in the house, and each time I’d sing a song, the twins would hum along and sing with me,” revealed Faith.
“Music is just something that’s always been in them. They were born with it I think.”
Andrea and Shanice grew up in a happy, musical household – one which saw them sing along with their siblings from a young age. They come from a very religious family, and so the girls developed a love and a great talent for singing gospel in particular.
Their Mum is a leader in the choir at Leicester’s Christ Life Ministries International and their Father Ron is a pastor there. So when they were old enough, it made sense for the girls to join the church choir too. And it’s here where their voices really began to flourish.
“It really helped us as singers, because when we first started, we were quite shy when it came to performing in front of people,” said Andrea.
“Singing in the church helped build our confidence. We just started singing together and realised that we sounded really good and we could harmonise well.”
“It brings us great joy,” added Shanice.
“When I’m singing, I forget about all the bad things in the world and I just feel really happy, especially with my sister by my side. “We’re really confident individually, but when we sing together, we’re even more confident.”
Auditioning for ‘The Voice Kids’ was Andrea’s idea, their Mum tells me. She’s “the leader”.
“They’ve always been big fans of the show and it’s something we’ve always watched together as a family,” she revealed.
“However, when they asked me to help them apply last November, I was a little surprised. I thought they were joking at first. But then they kind of put me in a corner and I saw they were serious. I thought ‘fine let’s do it’. I didn’t want
a situation where they blamed me and said I didn’t support them.
“As a parent you worry. It’s a lot of pressure and you think what if they melt on stage or something like that, but I was so surprised by how confident they were. It was such a relief to see them making the judges laugh and asking questions. I know they were anxious but they didn’t show it at all.
“I think the blessing is there being the two of them,” she added. “They bounce off each other and they have each other’s backs 100 per cent.”
Andrea admits that there were nervous, especially during the blind audition phase of the competition, which attracts over 70,000 entries each year.
However, as soon as they started singing, the nerves melted away – especially when the first judge turned.
“When Will-i-am turned we were so happy. He was the number one coach we were going for, so when we saw that it allowed us to relax and enjoy it a bit more,” she told Pukaar.
“We never expected to win the show, but it’s been amazing. We just went there for experience really and to get a taste of how it is in the music business.”
The twins are keen to go into music professionally, and are already getting quite a surreal glimpse into the world of fame and celebrity.
Over the summer, they graced the stage of Leicester’s Caribbean Carnival where they were greeted by a crowd of fans, all vying for autographs and selfies.
“It’s quite surreal, but also so much fun,” said Andrea. “When we went back to school, people were calling us celebrities and stopping us in the corridors. Everyone’s been really supportive and our friends are really happy to know people that are on TV!”
The future looks bright for Andrea and Shanice, who have some exciting projects in the pipeline. However, they can’t really talk about it at the moment, their Mum tells me.
However, what they can reveal is that they have a single coming out before the end of the year. The name of the track is ‘Destiny’ and it’s a mid-tempo R&B number.
“It sounds a bit like Bruno Mars,” offers Shanice generously, and then like a seasoned pro;
“You’ll have to follow us on our socials to find out more!” Don’t worry girls, we wouldn’t miss it for the world!
Follow Shanice and Andrea’s journey on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/shanice.and.andrea
