The singing nurse goes to Vegas

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This article was published 27/06/2023 (1014 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a bit of a juggle, admits Nicolette Ahow.

The opthamology nurse would see to her children, then do her hair and makeup before doing chores around the house. Once everything was done and dusted, Ahow, 38, would head to the dining-room table, where she’d turn on the computer and wait patiently for her turn to sing.

Ahow, who works at Misericordia Health Centre, recently placed second at a singing competition for medical professionals, beating five others to take the runner-up spot. She was the only Canadian to made it through to the finals of Healthcareoke, a contest organized by Kumu, a Philippine-based entertainment social media app, and L.A.’s One Down media.

On competition days, she would get her sons — Ezra, 5, and Kai, 4 — ready for bed, then send them to their paternal grandparents’ house.

“Then I would breastfeed my six-month-old baby, Koa, before my husband, Alan, would take him to my parents Connie and Jose’s place, just so there wasn’t crying or screaming while I was competing,” she says, laughing as she recounts her preparations.

Ahow says she decided to take part in the show after her oldest son encouraged her to. She had been scrolling on Instagram and saw a post advertising the competition.

“Ezra asked me, ‘Are you going to compete?’ That’s was what prompted me,” she says.

Ahow, who is currently on maternity leave, was chosen out of 36 contestants to go through to the semifinals, where she and seven others sang for a place in the finals, which took place on June 10 in Las Vegas. Her husband and Koa were in the audience, cheering her on.

“I sang a mash-up of On My Own and Don’t Rain on My Parade. When I knew I was being sent to Vegas, I thought to myself, ‘I am going all the way there, I am not just singing one song.’ I wanted to make the most of it,” she explains.

“When I knew I was being sent to Vegas, I thought to myself, ‘I am going all the way there, I am not just singing one song.’ I wanted to make the most of it.”–Nicolette Ahow

Ahow rehearsed tirelessly once her children had gone to bed, and plotted out a narrative to accompany her songs.

“I tried to make a bang. I did a story, with a transition and an outfit change. You’re in Vegas — you gotta go big or go home,” she says.

Ahow first started singing at eight, when, at a party at her aunt’s house, she picked up a karaoke mic and belted out a song by Tony-winning Filipina performer Lea Salonga. Not long afterwards her mother bought Ahow her own machine and sent her to Winnipeg singing coach Joy Lazo for lessons.

She always had an affinity for performing onstage, and started auditioning for musicals when she was in Grade 6.

After completing high school, she went on to study business before deciding to pursue musical theatre and film. In her 20s she performed at Rainbow Stage, before moving to Toronto. She landed roles at the Stratford Festivaland was also part of the Vancouver Arts Club.

“It’s so competitive in Toronto and I was dealing with a lot of pressure. Stage anxiety was starting to build and it just got worse and worse. It was taking a toll on me.” –Nicolette Ahow

“I tried to pursue it as a career in my early 20s, along with film,” she says.

“But it’s so competitive in Toronto and I was dealing with a lot of pressure. Stage anxiety was starting to build and it just got worse and worse. It was taking a toll on me.”

She moved back to Winnipeg to study nursing and graduated in 2013. In 2015, she decided to start auditioning again, but found her stage anxiety had escalated.

“I thought, ‘I want to have fun when I am doing this; I want to feel comfortable.’ I also got engaged that year and I knew I wanted to build a family,” Ahow says. “My priorities changed and it all became too stressful, so I pushed performing to the side.”

Placing second at Healthcareoke came as a surprise; she hadn’t thought she would even make it to Vegas. The result has imbued her with more confidence and a desire to explore the arts again.

“Part of me was uncertain — when you don’t perform for so long, you are trying to figure out how you can fit in, if you still have it. I kept asking myself: Am I able to do the things I used to do onstage?”

She’s got her answer now. Her self-belief has grown in leaps and bounds; she has been sending out audition tapes for films, and while she has no concrete plans for the future, she would like to perform again.

She says she has a handle on her anxiety but accepts that it’s part of her life.

“I think to a certain extent it will always be there. That’s why I am very picky with what I decide to pursue,” she says. “Because it’s always present in my body, but knowing I have the power to decide is what will make it fun for for again. Doing it on my own terms.”

av.kitching@winnipegfreepress.com