"At" The Voice ", I disobeyed a law: that of not singing in public"

Nessa, candidate for "The Voice", whose audience will discover the outcome of her blind hearing on Saturday evening on TF1, tells "20 Minutes" how she braved

NESSA, THE VOICE 2020 talent - Office 233 / ITV / TF1

A new burst of blind auditions will be broadcast this Saturday on TF1, from 9:05 p.m.
Among the talents in the running: Nessa, a gypsy from Gironde, will perform a cover of "La Grenade".
In the Traveler community, women are not allowed to sing in public. Nessa therefore defied a ban.

Nessa is a gypsy. Although music has a primordial place in the community of Travelers, singing in public has always been reserved for men. The young woman, originally from Gironde, therefore defied the ban by participating in The Voice . While viewers will discover her blind hearing this Saturday evening on TF1, 20 Minutes has gathered the word of this determined candidate leading a fight to tell women that "nothing is impossible".

How long have you been singing?

I have been singing since I was a child because singing has always been a means of expression for me. I am gypsy and the song helped me a lot to express myself on taboo subjects.

#TheVoice
She decided to brave the prohibitions to come and face the coaches 💪
Discover Nessa's story and experience her cover of “La Grenade” by @claraluciani 🎤
Will she convince the coaches to turn around?
Appointment Saturday from 9:05 p.m. on @ TF1 & @ MYTF1! pic.twitter.com/5mkHWIUKL8

- The Official Voice (@ TheVoice_TF1) February 19, 2020

Why are you participating in "The Voice"?

In fact, I never had the idea because it was a dream too big for the gypsy woman that I am. In my community, music is reserved for men. It was after an illness that I realized that I had to live the life of my dreams. And it was this idea that even helped me in my healing. When the The Voice team contacted me, after having watched one of my videos on the Internet, I did not hesitate.

Before "The Voice" had you ever sung before a large audience?

One time only. It was last September, when a great gentleman of French song, Daniel Lévi, invited me to Israel with him. He also discovered me on my little singing videos on the Internet.

How did you feel when you arrived on stage during the blind auditions?

Great freedom and a lot of relief. Because the road has been long and difficult. I simply disobeyed a law: that of not singing in public, and when I arrived on stage I was relieved of all that and I could finally be myself.

Why did you choose Clara Luciani's "The Grenade"?

Clara Luciani is above all a feminist woman. I admire him enormously. I chose her for her fights, for her commitment to women. And the choice of song seemed so obvious to me! It was a crush.

You take part in the adventure against the advice of your community but do your parents support you?

They support me even if, in reality, they found themselves in a dead end. When I fell ill I asked them an ultimatum: if I take care of myself I want to be able to sing in public and make it my job. They didn't really have a choice and now they support me.

If tradition hadn't stopped you from singing, would you have made as much music today?

I grew up singing. music is very present in my community. And singing is a means of expression that I have used all my life, because there are a lot of taboos in my house. It helped me to exteriorize everything I had inside.
If I hadn't been a gypsy, I think I would have sang anyway.
I would simply have found other themes. I tend to want to defend injustices, maybe I would have been a feminist too (laughs)

Why "The Voice"? What do you hope from your passage on the show?

For several reasons: I hope to bring my stone to the building, so that the woman can sing as a professional without receiving pressure, without worrying about what we will say. So that there really is an awareness of this and that we let the woman sing on TV, express herself. The second reason is that I would like to be spotted by a record company to be able to make a living from my music and to be able to put all these texts, these words that I have composed and written since always in song. And why not take advantage of my notoriety to found an association?

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