Francis Alicia

Article By Sesi King
Indian Times Vol 29#38
September 22, 2011

If you can just imagine a house with a beautiful young lady singing in this house all day long, with her beautiful voice - it really is happening. Kahentenhawe Alicia Francis has the look and the voice that will be famous one day. She is so determined to make it big and she also has the total support of her wonderful family. Kahentenhawe's parents are John and Carolyn Francis and their home is on Kawehno:ke. Kahentenhawe has
a quiet personality and never brags about herself and her gift.

What she does do is practice often in her home, whatever part of the house she enters, she sings. Kahentenhawe is now 19-years-old and said she began to sing at the age of three. While riding in their car her dad John and sister Channy would sing together and so this is how her own interest began. She could pick up words right away and her mom Carolyn knew right then and there that she was going to be a singer. The little three-year-old would sing right along with them. Kahentenhawe's whole family is her support system, especially her father. John is the one that gets the most excited and he told her that if she is really serious about her singing, that he will be, right there along the way. Even John's music buddies get real excited and offer her support and suggestions.

John is also well known in Ahkwesahsne for his singing and guitar playing. He is so generous with his time, especially when help is needed. I asked if her classmates in high school knew of her talent and she said that they didn't. She never liked to boast about her talent, but she was saving up to give her class a huge surprise on graduation night at Salmon River. Kahentenhawe was called upon to sing the Canadian Anthem at the ceremony and everyone was so happy to hear her singing talent. She was very proud of herself and she received so many compliments from that performance. After that experience Kahentenhawe decided to pursue her singing career.

Kahentenhawe has been writing songs and learning more about composing music. With the help of her computer, she can plug in her words with melody to see how she sounds. She can sing along and record and listen to, herself afterwards to figure out what works and what doesn't. Kahentenhawe is a very hard worker, especially with polishing her music and singing. Her future goal is to be a recording artist and to travel with her music.

Kahentenhawe has done everything on her own and hasn't taken any voice lessons. Kahentenhawe's performing experiences have included entering a contest in Minneapolis, Minnesota to tryout for America's Got Talent, after having missed the tryouts held in New York. She recalls that she had such a sore throat going into that tryout, even though she felt awful she still gave it a try. Kahentenhawe may soon be trying out for Canada's Got Talent. Over the weekend she performed at the "Parade Of Nations" in Lamoureux Park, Cornwall. Kahentenhawe has been working on developing her stage presence. She wants to be a singer that moves around on stage to captivate and maintain the attention of the audience.

"Alicia is her own worst critic," said her father John. "When something doesn't sound right, she gets to work on it and fixes it up." Kahentenhawe has stacks of written material and she will NOT allow anyone to touch it. Her songwriting also keeps her busy and she enjoys it. Her favorite singers. are Leona Lewis, Beyonce and Christine Aguilara. I haven't seen Alicia since she was on the volleyball court at Salmon River.

It was nice to see what a beautiful lady she has turned out to be. Its obvious she knows what she wants and I wish her the best in achieving her dreams. Nia:wen for this interview and we will see you in more performances, your voice is so beautiful.