Ever since songstress Canjelae Taylor was a young girl she would quietly sing around the house or in the background with her church choir.These days Ms Taylor is confidently taking centre stage and dreams of sharing her vocal and song writing talents with the world.She will be treating the local audience to an eclectic mix of R&B, pop and house music tomorrow night at the Chewstick Neo-Griot Lounge, starting at 8pm. She said the performance will be similar to a VH1 Storytellers Series — as she looks to share details on the motivation and inspiration behind some of her favourite songs.The young talent said she was excited about the upcoming show and keen to share her music with new audiences.“I would really love for people who haven’t heard my music before to come out. I haven’t put out anything for two years, but I think it’s time that I let people know they have another person to be proud of and who is doing big things away.“I would love for the younger people to come out as well just because I have an endearing love towards them. My brother and sister are 16 and 17-years-old and I think a lot of my music caters to that age group as well as to those 21 and older.”Over the past few years, Ms Taylor has been making steps towards stardom in the United States.Formerly a student at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, she followed her heart early last year and moved to Atlanta where she has been working with music producers behind artists like Ne-Yo and Trey Songz.Just this past May, Ms Taylor started working inside singer Akon’s studio and she said there are currently a few “deals on the table” from record companies interested in signing her.“I just haven’t decided what label is really the best for me and I am still getting my package together for other labels,” she explained.She said she was “really proud” of herself and surprised at how far she has come thanks to her drive and determination.“[I have met] a lot of people I used to read about on Wikipedia or watch on BET, but this is only the beginning for me.“I ultimately want to become an international recording artist similar to the likes of Alicia Keys or Beyonce, not like them as artists, but in so far as how much success they have had.“I think of myself as more of a dual act with singing and song writing as well and I would love to be an internationally renown song writer like Diane Warren and Ne-Yo.”Ms Taylor’s recent success is even more surprising considering she started off very shy in her younger years.Her first solo singing experience came at age nine or ten, when a Bermuda Institute teacher caught her singing in the bathroom and pushed her into taking part in the school’s Christmas play.A year or two later, her mother and godfather Dwight Jones encouraged her to audition for a play called Joy In The Morning, produced by American actress Robin Givens.Ms Taylor bowled producers over when she sang gospel tune ‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord?’ and was immediately cast in the play.She performed to pack houses for three nights running at the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts and was eventually flown to London to audition for the part of Nala in hit musical The Lion King.The experiences helped to build her confidence and it gradually began to sink in that she might have something special. However, the youngster decided to take a break from singing and focus on her studies when she transferred to Bermuda High School.For a while Ms Taylor considered becoming a forensic scientist, but after taking part in a summer programme at Johns Hopkins University she realised her heart wasn’t entirely in it.“Music was the one thing I procrastinated on everything else for. It was the thing I did without anyone telling me to do and the thing that I loved,” she explained.In 2007, Ms Taylor went on to win the Hal Jackson Talented Teens International pageant, joining past winners like actress Jada Pinkett Smith and Vanessa Williams.She was also one of three top place winners in the local Singing for Success contest and was given the chance to sing Etta James’ hit ‘At Last’ on stage at the world-renown Apollo Theatre.“There was an audience there and I got a really awesome response and I think that experience really made me feel I should be singing,” Ms Taylor said.“I never sang at school during high school at BHS. In fact I was told by a teacher I probably wouldn’t be able to catch up with the music programme, which I later found out was the silliest thing you could ever say. I guess it was good though because that allowed it to still be a hobby for me.”It wasn’t until she was 17-years-old when she really fell in love with her voice and accepted her talent as a gift from God.For her first two years singing locally, she performed gospel music at both the Hamilton and Southampton Seventh Day Adventist Church. But during her time at Berklee she really found herself as an artist and realised she was most passionate about singing love songs.“I know a lot of people wanted me to sing gospel music, but I am such a sucker for love that I [wanted to focus on that genre]. I was always a fan of love, peace and happily ever after types of things.“I think growing up my parents got divorced [and] I don’t know how other children deal with divorce, but I always said to myself I was going to be better and learn from their mistakes and master how to love.“I think that is kind of what propelled me to be more of a secular artist and wanting to write more about love and my experiences.”During her time at Berklee College she was able to perform at cafes in the Boston area with an all-girl group called Breath of La Femme.From that sprang other opportunities like meeting an agent from Atlantic Records and opening for soul singer Dwele’s concert. Ms Taylor, who is managed by John Matthew Borders IV, will also be releasing a single called Set Me Free on iTunes within the next month.Despite her small successes, she said there were also challenges to the entertainment business. Due to the large pool of talent in the United States, she said it was possible for newcomers to either get depressed about their own abilities or egotistical.Ms Taylor has taken a different route and said: “I just have this gut feeling in me that tells me to stay focused on what I need to be, that keeps me humble and makes it so that I can’t stop.”She said she was really looking forward to showing local audiences how much her talent has grown over the years and encouraged people to come out tomorrow night to Chewstick.“I really hope that people come out because I have never done this before or sang [this many of] my original songs before and I am almost treating it like a VH1 Storytellers night where I get to tell the stories behind a lot of songs I have written.”She thanked Chewstick founder Gavin ‘Djata’ Smith for supporting and encouraging her throughout the years.Chewstick’s event will also feature performances by reggae artists ‘Victims of Existence’ and iLLogical Linguistics. Tickets, $10, can be purchased online at www.premierticketsglobal.com or at the door, which opens at 7pm.Useful website: www.chewstick.org