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| Welcome Shakaya Smash Hits March 2002 Quite unlike any other new act on the scene, Shakaya are as intriguing as their name. Here are just 10 facts about these fascinating girls� 1. Simone Stacey and Naomi Wantong* make up new duo, Shakaya. The girls are both from Cairns and share a common ancestry (a mix of Aboriginal, Vanuatu and White Australian). �We both spun out a bit when we worked it out,� laughs Naomi. �We thought we must be related because we have the same background!� 2. How did they come up with the name Shakaya? �Our manager came up with the name,� recalls Naomi. �He just woke up in the morning and thought of the name. He said to us, �what do you think of Shakaya?� and we said �Yeah, we like it,�� The name means �voice of the wind� in American Indian. 3. Although they were signed to a major record label, the girls are still based in their hometown, Cairns. But don�t think they�re just up there enjoying the sunshine. �We�re still up here in the studio, writing stuff every day,� insists Simone. 4. Their first single, Stop Calling Me, is about receiving unwanted attention from an interested male �stalking, basically. �It�s happened to both of us,� complains Naomi. �Everyone has a story to tell. Maybe not as bad as what we�ve written, we might have blown it out of proportion a bit!� 5. The girls first met while both undertaking an ATSIC (Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Commission) Music Course two years ago. �We were out in the same class and we wrote a stupid song together. It was so embarrassing,� cringes Naomi. �No one will ever here that song we wrote, it was called Happy Thoughts.� The girls have been writing together ever since. 6. Simone and Naomi were both born with music in their veins and have been performing since a young age. As Naomi explains, �Both our parents are into music. It just runs in our families. We both grew up in church, so it�s something we�ve always done. 7. The Shakaya girls are so talented that the bosses of Sony signed them on the spot. As Simone recalls, �When we did our showcase for Sony, we performed Stop Calling Me and three other songs. It only took them five minutes to decide. It was so exciting.� 8. When you really want to be a famous pop star, there�s only one place to go � Lou Pearlman�s pop star bootcamp. The likes of *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys have been trained by Lou and so have Shakaya. �That was a good experience,� recalls Simone. �We had vocal training, and a choreographer taught us more dancing. 9. Shakaya�s first big gig will be supporting Human Nature on their upcoming national tour. �We were so excited when we found out we were supporting them, we were like �Are you serious?� bubbles Naomi. Are these newcomers nervous about performing in front of large crowds? A confident Simone assures us, �We�ve been singing since we were young, so we�ve faced big crowds before.� 10. A great first single, a national tour, what next for Shakaya? �We have another single we want to bring out,� enthuses Simone. So will the second release be able to match their debut effort? �We have a local basketball team up here in Cairns and we�ve performed the song at their games and we got a good reception. People came up to us and said they likes it.� Sounds good to us! *Smash Hits mistake � Naomi�s last name is Wenitong. |