A young woman in a dazzling blue dress and silver kitten heels took center stage as she prepared to sing at Irving Fine Arts Academy.
She kept her eyes trained above the crowd as they listened to her sing, unable to risk making eye contact, but as the smooth groove transitioned to the upbeat tempo of her upcoming single, Chebet Nyangesi transformed into her alter-ego LUVIZA.
Like the flip of a switch, she had total command over the audience as they followed her lead by clapping and dancing along to the beat. Her big hair, big smile and big energy was infectious.
“When I’m performing, or when I’m recording or writing, I always try to channel, ‘What would LUVIZA do in this moment, not Chebet,'” Nyangesi said. “She knows what she wants, and she knows how to get it.”
Nyangesi is a NE Campus cybersecurity student and financial aid office student worker by day and an up-and-coming pop and R&B artist by night. She’s been producing music for the past three years, since she was 16 years old.
She performed at an open mic night hosted by Art Official in Irving on Sept. 19 to promote her new single “Pink,” which is set to release Sept. 25.
Inspired by the pop divas of the 2010s, Nyangesi created the persona LUVIZA to separate the student from the performer.
“I think I’m still in that stage of building LUVIZA’s brand,” she said. “My goal for her is to be this glamorous, classy, yet theatrical pop star.”
She describes her music as a mix of R&B, pop and other genres, including Afrobeats inspired by her Kenyan heritage.
She grew up listening to Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey CDs, watching videos of Beyoncé and Lady Gaga perform and admiring the fashion and big hair of Dolly Parton. She tries to emulate the stage presence and performance of her favorite artists.
“I’ve always enjoyed the theatrics,” Nyangesi said. “I love extravagance. I love flamboyancy. I love all of that. Even if people judge you, just do whatever you want because there’s only one life to live. I’d rather just live this life being the most dramatic, theatrical, diva-ish person.”
Her new song “Pink” is unlike any of her previous singles.
Most are R&B tracks about love and heartbreak, but the 19-year-old said she has limited experience in that department. She’s never been in a relationship.
With “Pink,” she wanted to write a pop song about something she more closely related to.
“It’s more about having fun, being glamorous, being truly yourself and just expressing yourself to your greatest ability,” she said.
Though pink may be considered a feminine color, she hopes the song’s message can be received universally, where anyone can enjoy it.
Her supervisor in the financial aid office, Marshall Ramirez, had a chance to hear the song before its release at a listening party Nyangesi hosted. He said the style reminded him of PinkPanthress, and it was stuck in his head for the next five days.
Ramirez first heard her perform at an open mic on campus. He assumed a Rihanna song was playing until he turned around to see Nyangesi singing. He’s watched her hard work and dedication to her music ever since.
“I’m just really proud,” Ramirez said. “She’s really bright. She’s always looking for opportunities, and I know she can grow in whatever field she wants to.”
After she finished her set and thanked the crowd at her Sept. 19 performance, Nyangesi walked down the aisle and took her seat next to her mom, who immediately squeezed her into a tight hug.
Her mom and younger brother came to support her and even coincidentally wore blue jackets to match her sparkly dress. As “momager,” Lucy Sakura tries to champion her daughter in anything she sets her mind to.
“I just want her to enjoy what she’s doing and do the best that she can,” Sakura said.
She said that even she doesn’t recognize her daughter when she’s LUVIZA. When Nyangesi shot a music video for her song “Boy Bye” at the Fort Worth Stockyards, she rode around in a gold Cybertruck and strutted the streets in a golden fur coat while lip-synching in the middle of cowboy country.
“I’m a very confident person, but I didn’t know who that was,” she said. “I’m like, ‘I couldn’t do that in front of all these people.'”
At the beginning of her career, Sakura connected Nyangesi with a producer who was a family friend. She’s found opportunities for her daughter to perform, like at an upcoming dinner in Chicago. Nyangesi will be a featured performer at the Kenya Marathon Dinner, where the Kenyan ambassador, esteemed Kenyan athletes and major news stations will be in attendance.
Within the next five years, LUVIZA hopes to write an album, tour as an opening artist and have a viral song.
“You have to be consistent because you can have a viral song then disappear off the face of the earth, and no artist really wants to be a one-hit wonder,” she said. “But I don’t plan to be a one-hit wonder.”
