Teen singing sensation Nadine Sutherland, known for her dynamic stage performances, admits that life as a student and performer isn’t always easy. Speaking with FLAIR during a recent outing at the Terra Nova Hotel, the 16-year-old star revealed that “mixing professional work and school is not really my idea of heaven, but I’ve managed”. Despite a demanding schedule filled with recording sessions and rehearsals, Nadine remains focused on her studies at St Andrew High School while nurturing dreams of one day performing on Broadway.

Published Tuesday, October 16, 1984

Big Date

Nadine Sutherland: Offstage, She’s the Shy ‘Girl Next Door’ Type

Teenaged songbird Nadine Sutherland—so dynamic and confident on stage—is, believe it or not, a shy little ‘girl-next-door’ type when she’s not performing.
Though she hasn’t yet started dating boys, Nadine accepted FLAIR’s invitation to a big date at the Terra Nova Hotel, where she shared what it’s like to be famous at 16.
In spite of the wide exposure she’s had during her performing career, she was quite thrilled with the sophisticated ambience at the Terra Nova. In honour of its 25th anniversary, the hotel has launched a total refurbishing programme. Its popular dining room and several other areas now boast a new look — lots of antique furniture, highly polished mahogany, and even more elegance than before.
Although it was not a special seafood day (Terra Nova’s restaurant features a Seafood Buffet on Fridays at lunchtime and Seafood Festivals on Tuesdays and Thursdays), Nadine enjoyed a delicious lunch of lobster salad and her favourite dessert, chocolate cake.
Since being signed by Tuff Gong Recording Studio after she won the Tastee Talent Contest four years ago, she has found the demands on her time very heavy.
“Mixing professional work and school is not really my idea of heaven,” she says, “but I’ve managed.”
With voice lessons and rehearsals, she hasn’t had much time for extracurricular activities at St Andrew High School, where she is in her final year. She plays hockey and swims but was not able to take up an invitation to try out for the school swimming team. However, she has served in such offices as form and house captain and on the graduation committee.
She’s now in Sixth Commercial Form, gaining office experience in preparation for a managerial course she plans to pursue. Her real dream, though, is to hit Broadway — singing, dancing, and acting. Her father has guided her in saving her earnings, and she hopes to attend the World School of Arts in New York.
With recording successes such as Starvation, Young Like Me, and Hands and Hearts, Nadine has received enthusiastic applause in recent live performances, including shows at the Bunny Wailer concert on Ash Wednesday in Kingston, and at New York’s Apollo Theatre benefit performance for VOUCH in April.
How does the young star get along with her schoolmates? She loves school, she says, and considers all the other sixth formers — and, in fact, all the students — her friends, but admits that her public image sometimes gets in the way.
No jealousy
“Sometimes I get a feeling of inferiority, in case they think I’ll be showing off. Some girls hold off in case the others think they are ‘nuffing up’ on me. But mostly, the other girls are cool — there’s no jealousy.”
A sensitive Piscean, Nadine is concerned about the future of Jamaica’s young people, particularly issues such as teenage pregnancies, school dropouts, and drug problems. Those who are poor, she feels, have very little to look forward to.
Some people associate all Tuff Gong artistes with the Rastafarian religion of its founder, the late superstar Bob Marley. However, Nadine explains that talent is the only criterion for working with the internationally recognised studio, and she is of a different religious belief.
At home, Nadine feels (like many a teenager) that she’s a bit “overprotected”. The second of five children now living with her father (her mother is abroad at present), she says her older brother keeps an eagle eye out for potential “Romeos” who recognise her in public.
When she does start dating, the most important quality in a boyfriend, she says, will be a considerate personality. But she confesses she’s not averse to muscles — especially if he’s tall, dark, and handsome!

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