Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

When you are a super star…
By Marisa de Silva
A ‘Super Star’ but still an ordinary girl at heart, the talented young songbird Dilini Perera (19) shares some of her thoughts on life before and after stardom!
So what makes a super star? “A lot of hard work, commitment and very supportive parents,” said a thankful Dilini, adding that “especially as the whole voting process was very nerve wracking, it was a huge relief that my parents did all the propaganda work, leaving me free to brush up on my singing,” she said. “They’re the best parents ever,” she whispered, whilst simultaneously reaching over and covering her unsuspecting mum’s ears. She added, that they’ve always encouraged and supported her and been her “biggest cheer-leaders!”

Having experienced many firsts during her lead-up to the competition, the brand new YES FM Radio Super Star 2005, spoke of her debut experience of working in a studio. It had been quite a unique and exciting time for her, as she had to work together with the other competitors on various music tracks, with the guidance of some of the “big names” in the local music industry, like Bathiya and Santhush, she said reminiscing. “I got to meet a lot of new people – not just the contestants, but also various radio personalities, which was lots and lots of fun,” she added. “I want to thank the organisers for giving me such a wonderful experience,” she said.

At the same time, it had also been quite a lot of hard work, as they had to do recording after recording and voiceovers galore, particularly for the ‘Grand Finale’ number “I Believe”. Bathiya had choreographed the song and given it an oriental flavour.

“The five of us (finalists) were very close, and always helped each other out. We even had nick names for one other. It didn’t seem as though we’d just met, but rather like we’d known each other for years…” she said fondly.
Being a member of the St. Bridget’s Convent choir, since she was just nine years old, she left school as the assistant choir leader, and continues to sing, as a member of Voices In Harmony, under the direction of Ruwani Seimon, who also directs the school choir. She had also started private singing lessons three years ago, and has completed up to grade eight in the Trinity College of London Music examinations.

“I love to perform, but haven’t yet got an offer that’s up my street. I want to break into the female artiste market, especially since there aren’t too many that have taken the field,” she said passionately. She also hopes to pursue a career in journalism and so, plans on leaving the country to further her studies, in the near future.

Currently though, (having completed her Associate of the Trinity College of London (ATCL) and hoping to do her Licentiate of the Trinity College of London (LTCL) as well), she’s a teacher at the Yoland School of Speech and Drama, and also conducts after-school speech and drama lessons at Royal College. Particularly as she teaches very young children, she said that teaching really tries her patience sometimes, but overall she thoroughly enjoys her work, she added.

Going back to the night of November 7, 2005, a landmark moment in her life, she recalled preparing herself for the worst just before the final results were read out, as she had been placed fifth, when the tally of votes was displayed on the big screen at the end of the second round. Trying her best to keep herself in high spirits, she had kept telling the other contestants “make way for me to go collect my blender (which was a gift allocated for the fourth runner-up),” as the comperes were working their way up the result sheet, from fifth place right up to the number one spot, she explained. “I didn’t mind ending up fifth, I was just hoping that I wouldn’t lose by a huge margin,” she said.

So, you can just imagine her surprise and delight, when she wound up with 2.5 lakhs, a return air ticket to Bangkok, a DVD player, fridge, Swatch watch, two microphones and a gift pack from YES FM, when all she was expecting was a BLENDER!!! Thus, began her reign as this year’s YES FM Radio Super Star…
Two weeks of ‘super star-dom’ has left Dilini just as normal, just as simple, and just as friendly as ever! She’s living proof that fame doesn’t always have to follow the same course…

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