Bell Nuntita a True Diva of Thai Music, Thailand

In Thailand I don’t watch a lot of local TV, mainly because it is terrible, especially the soaps or dramas. But there are a few things I like to watch and one show that is seen across the world in many different countries is the Got Talent franchises.

This was created by the smart and very wealthy Simon Cowell, who was already famous before being a judge on American Idol.

I have watched a few different countries franchises, Australia, Britain, New Zealand and of course Thailand.

Thailand’s Got Talent is mostly terrible, well compared to the other franchises I have watched. But of course no matter the country there are always people there for the 30 seconds of fame, some are just downright imbeciles, others a tragic wannabes and some think they are all it, but aren’t.

I mostly watch it for that one person who walks out on stage and when they start to sing, you edge closer to the TV on your chair. Everything around you just stops and nothing can grab your attention away.

On Thailand’s Got Talent, this hasn’t happened too many times. I never thought I would blog on this but then again, why not?

I am sure many have seen the girl featured in the video below, she has become an internet sensation in a short time, and she deserves all the attention she is getting. And not just because she is beautiful!

I have added subtitles for the Thai song, I used a site called Ethaimusic.com, and adjusted them a little here and there. Take the time to watch the video; it is a few minutes worth wasting of your life.

Now, you can tell she has an excellent voice. Not many Thais I have seen can sing live like that. There are some other videos of her I will add a little later on in this post.

Maybe you think that she is nothing special, I am not sure, let me know what you think. And you probably worked out that she is a transgender person.

Here in Thailand, anyone who has been here for a period of time or even just visited have seen what people call Thailand’s third sex, katoeys or ladyboys. These are simply boys who want to be girls. Unlike many western countries where these people might fell like they have to hide, here in Thailand most freely express their preferred gender.

But they still face ridicule, are teased and probably the worst, rejected by their own, their family. Bell Nuntita has been through all this.

Since she has appeared on Thailand’s Got Talent, she has been in the media spotlight not just across Thailand, but the world media as well. She has her own website and also Facebook page and just continues to grow and grow.

She has been on Thai chat shows, and it has been like she just come from nowhere, but this isn’t the case. She has been singing for years, since school. She has been a DJ for a radio station and performed in pubs and clubs many times before being thrust into the bright shining lights of stardom.

Robbie Williams was shown Bell’s performance while in the Netherlands, you can watch his reaction below, but he doesn’t realise that Bell is actually a guy.

Robbie says, “Oh, It’s a guy!” “Is that a guy?” “He is fit.” That’s a guy!” It is pretty funny as he is trying to get his head around Bell being a man.

This video is of Bell on a Thai chat show, it is 12 minutes long but there are English subtitles and she talks about her father not accepting her being a transvestite, and how he used to beat her as he wanted her to be a soldier, like him. At the end she sings another song using her two voices and again is a pleasure to listen to.

In the video above she sings, When You Say Nothing At All, a song sung best by a country music artist known as Keith Whitley and then Ronan Keating butchered it many years later.

Bell’s pronunciation isn’t perfect but it is the tone of her voice that tells me she can sing, she can sing live and I respect people who sing live as in Thailand and across the world too many performers need to lip-sync, or dress like a pole dancer to sell their music, this is not talent, to me.

Video clips are important but to me music will always be about the voice of the artist and of course the lyrics.

I have been a person who always takes a person as they are. I do not care what race, gender or sexual preference they are. If the person to me is good, I will go in and bat for them anytime. A person who I think is a dick, I will acknowledge them but that is it, I don’t socialise with people I consider fools or tossers, life is too short.

The question being, and a very hard question to answer is this. “How would you react if your son wanted to be a girl, just as Bell did? How would you react?”

To be truthful, I do not know how I would. I wish I could truthfully say I would accept him and support him, but I cannot. I am sure I would be angry, hurt and maybe go through what Bell’s father did, but I would hope I would never beat my son.

Thailand’s third sex, I know some incredibly beautiful ladyboys, some that have had the gender changing surgery and others that haven’t. Do I feel threatened if I am out drinking with them, and I get a little tipsy?

Hell no! I worry I might hit on them! I actually worry more about the Thai men, for some reason Thai men become more and more affectionate when drunk and at times feel you up, unintentionally or deliberately, who knows.

All I can say is this. Bell Nuntita is a feel good story out of Thailand. She has worked hard to be where she is today; she didn’t just drop out of the sky overnight. She has been through a lot, many probably would have given up or ended up down a road of destruction, but she didn’t.

She is obviously strong willed and I do wish her the best and hope this new found attention propels her into record deals, concert appearances and she makes enough money to keep her and her family happy the rest of their lives.

She is appearing on Sunday on Thailand’s Got Talent on Channel 3 from 5.45pm – 7.15pm. I do hope she makes it through to the semi finals and I will vote for her.

Brunty