Ysabelle Santa Ana has been singing since she was three years old.
In fact, the 2018 RichCity Idol winner was born into a family of musicians.
“Both my parents sing; my mom runs a choir and my grandpa was in a band when he was younger,” she said. “Music is something that we all share and it has brought us closer together as a family.”
RichCity Idol is a student-driven singing talent show launched in 2004 by Natasha Jung and Martin Hui. Students from local Richmond secondary schools compete within their own community during the preliminary rounds where one contestant is selected from each school to sing at RichCity Idol.
Currently a Grade 12 student at Richmond Secondary School, this is Santa Ana’s second time trying out for the competition. Last year, she only made it to the semi-finals at her school. But this time around, she started out strong and became the city-wide winner on May 30 by singing “Halo” by Beyoncé.
“It was a really fun experience and I got to work with all sorts of talented people,” said Santa Ana. “Even if I didn’t win, I still would have enjoyed the opportunity to perform and showcase our skills.”
In addition to singing, Santa Ana also plays the guitar, ukulele and a bit of piano. She has participated in singing festivals before, but in a less competitive atmosphere.
“I have a super supportive group of friends and family; even my relatives from the Philippines congratulated me when they heard the news,” Santa Ana added.
Santa Ana hopes to become a speech-language pathologist in the future and is enrolling at Langara College in the fall.
