When Sosoliso plane crash survivor, Kechi Okwuchi made it to American talent show, America’s Got Talent, it became obvious that nothing could stop her. Like making it to the stage alone wasn’t enough, her singing talent drove her straight to the finals, then it dawned on most that Kechi was made to be a star regardless of the jabs life had thrown at her.
In this interview with Punch Newspaper, Kechi talks about the miracle that is her voice and the effects of the plane crash on it.
She said, “My voice after the plane crash is one of those miracles I can’t explain. My voice became significantly better than it was before the plane crash. I remember when I was still in the hospital; my mum will always put a music player by my bed. There was a time she was playing one of my favourite albums, and I was singing along; I can still remember the moment when my mum and I were surprised that my voice sounded better than it used to before the accident.
“We just saw it as something positive in the midst of all the ugly things that happened after the accident. I just ran with it, my voice really changed. It was an escape for me, and I was able to sing my sorrows away. It was very strange, I still can’t explain it,” Kechi added.
The passionate singer recently had a successful surgery and she also briefly talks about it, “It was only my family that knew that I couldn’t move my neck to the right just by being around me all the time. I made sure I was working with my body even with the limitations. There was progress after the recent surgery I just had, and things are getting better.
“However, when it comes to things like burnt skin and scars, when surgery is done on those areas, they tend to contract overtime. I have another surgery coming up soon, and it is going to involve skin grafting. I am really happy I did the surgery on my hand and wrist, it was really great. I am really happy I did it, it was really effective,”
On how she became the animated person that she is on social media and not letting anything or person hold her back, Kechi said, “I am more comfortable being myself – just the way I am in real life. However, prior to AGT, I wasn’t really consistently visible online as I am now. I had to learn how to engage people online. I was testing the waters with my posts to see what my followers were really interested in on my platform. I was not sure of the kind of posts they would like to see.
“Over time, I realised I was comfortable with the kind of response I got from my followers, coupled with the kind of comments I got from my posts. I was relaxed a bit when I saw that people were trying to encourage me and wanted to see me do well. It made me share more of my activities online. When I got to AGT, I was extremely shy and I wasn’t even confident facing an audience filled with strangers. That was a whole different ball game for me.”
