Local singer vying for YTV’s Next Star title

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This article was published 27/07/2010 (5898 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mimoza Duot is already the next star in her family. Now she wants to be Canada’s version of The Next Star.

The 13-year-old Winnipegger was named to the Top 16 in Monday night’s instalment of the YTV talent competition, which had its third-season première last week. Duot is following closely in the footsteps of her older brother, Moises, who made it to the Top 10 a couple of years ago in The Next Star‘s first season.

“I was pretty nervous when they were going to announce if we’d made it to the Top 16, and then I was really happy for myself for making it that far,” Duot said in an interview from Toronto. “And if I can make it to the Top 6, I’ll be the happiest person on Earth. It’s a really exciting experience.”

Duot, who recently completed her Grade 8 studies at Stanley Knowles School, said making the cut on the YTV show is the culmination of a lifelong dream. She’s been singing since before she could talk, and decided several years ago that she wants to pursue a career as a performer.

“If I get the chance, I’d really like to show my talent to Canada and everyone else who’s out there,” she declared. “I want to become a singer; I just want to get out there.”

Getting to The Next Star‘s Top 16 has been, quite literally, a long road. The series’ third-season tryouts didn’t include a stop in Winnipeg, so auditioning for the show meant Duot had to convince her parents to take a lengthy drive west.

“We had to drive about 10 hours to Saskatoon,” she explained. “I begged my parents to take me there; they were kind of, ‘Oh, maybe you should try out next time,’ but I thought I was ready for the spotlight. So we drove out to Saskatoon. I was very excited for my audition (which included renditions of Nikki Yanofsky’s Olympic anthem, I Believe, and Kate Voegele’s 99 Times), and I did really well.”

It was, as the local car commercials say, worth the trip. And even more so when Duot learned a couple of weeks ago that she’d been selected for the show’s field of 16 finalists. The biggest challenge since then has been keeping a lid on the good news, which The Next Star‘s producer kept confidential until Monday’s episode aired.

“It’s been tough, but I can really keep my mouth shut when it’s something important,” she said. “It was worth it.”

Duot said she inherited her musical talent, in equal measures, from both her parents — her dad, Moises Sr., an employee at New Flyer Industries, and her mom, Mimi, a nursing assistant at the Health Sciences Centre.

“My dad sings a lot, and my mom is really loud,” she said. “So I think I get the tune from my dad and the loudness from my mom.”

Her musical influences include Justin Bieber, Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato, but Duot is quick to declare that there’s only one No. 1 in her book.

“Céline Dion is my idol,” she said. “I’ve loved her ever since I was a little child.”

As she moves into The Next Star‘s next round of competition, Duot says she plans to heed the advice given to her by the show’s celebrity judges, Christopher Ward, Suzie McNeil and Steve Cranwell.

“They said I have a good presence and I’m really alive,” she relates, “but they want me to be more confident and to have a really good connection (with the audience). I think I can improve on that, because I’m really good at learning new things. I’m really excited about it.”

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca