'Sawubona': It's the call-centre star here

29 April 2016 - 02:14 By Thembalethu Zulu

Call-centre agent Esperanca de Tavares spends her days saying "Hello" to hundreds of people - now she is also singing it. Her Zulu version of songstress Adele's No1 hit, Hello, is making waves online, having reached nearly 8000 views on the video-sharing site YouTube."I am excited. I didn't think it would get to that," said De Tavares.The 31-year-old has had no musical training other than "singing at home with mother".But she was singing at a church talent show when she caught the eye of videographer Richard van Schalkwyk.After the show, he went to her with a proposal to team up on a vernacular remix of the song."I wanted to showcase her voice but in a different way," said Van Schalkwyk, owner of Richard Henry Productions.This was the first time De Tavares had considered a performance of this kind and she admitted her nerves had her "shaky". A month later she answered the call and translated the song herself, which took her two days."I didn't find it difficult," unlike memorising her own Zulu lyrics."Even now I sometimes miss a line," she said.Earlier this month, she met Van Schalkwyk at a restaurant in Randburg, where he shot the video in two-and-a-half hours, wrapping up production after just four takes."I used a mixture of the takes and the best parts of the sound," said Van Schalkwyk. He recorded the video and audio on his video camera.There is no shortage of Hello covers across the world, but De Tavares's home-brewed sound seems to have struck a chord and she has received many positive comments."When you make a video, you hope it will go viral," said Van Schalkwyk.But the singer and filmmaker will not be cashing in on the video's success because copyright restrictions mean the production cannot be monetised.Despite this, Van Schalkwyk and De Tavares hope to do more translated hits.She has her heart set on John Legend's All Of Me as her next recording...

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