Gabrielle may be small, but she is fierce. She may be young, but she is wise. She may work hard, but she’s nothing short of spunk. She’s a lady but not afraid to get her hands dirty. Gabrielle is a force to be reckoned with. She is taking over the world and she’s bringing her female cohorts with her.
Gabrielle is best known for her 2021 hit debut single ‘Nasty’. The song was released to critical acclaim and charted on various radio stations across South Africa. The song not only placed the young starlet on the map as a singer, but it opened up a conversation about bullying and created a space for Gabrielle to speak freely and in turn be a role model for young people.
Her new single ‘Superwoman’ once again brings to light a new issue, that of women empowerment.
Gabrielle explains, “The song is about how we all have imperfections, make daily mistakes but it is important to dust ourselves off and be happy with who we are. We as young women should focus on the good things and use it to encourage ourselves, and others, to face the world on the daily. We should embrace our insecurities and use them as our superpower.”
While many people may think that being vulnerable is a weakness, Gabrielle sees it as a strength. She says that someone who allows themselves to be vulnerable is secure in who they are and with their emotions and according to the singer “that is something very beautiful”.
The singer songwriter believes that anyone who struggles with self image, or is not fully confident in themselves will relate to this song.
“This applies to most people,” she says, “because it is very seldom that someone is completely happy with themselves.”
So what makes a ‘Superwoman’? According to Gabrielle, this includes characteristics such as bravery, courage and kindness. Most importantly, it involves not caring about other people’s opinions and staying focused on the mission given to her.
A crucial issue she would like to pin-point is that of beauty standards and social media influence. This is a huge problem in our society and not everyone fits the accepted standard of beauty that is portrayed by the media and online.
She says, “This is a big challenge mentally for teenagers. Young people are being pressured into meeting standards that are near impossible. This is not the message we should be sending to young women out there.”
The song not only addresses this important issue, but it is uplifting and will hopefully touch the hearts of both men and women across the globe.
With all that being said, it doesn’t mean that things are going to be easy, and they haven’t been for Gabrielle either.
She says, “Some days I feel nothing like a superwoman, but it is in these times that I’ve learnt to shift my focus and learnt to appreciate my idiosyncrasies. I am God made and I know that every piece of me serves a purpose.”
“I strongly believe that how you feel about yourself will project onto others and will determine how people see you, hence why self-belief is so important.”
Since much of society is plagued by gender stereotypes, Gabrielle wants to encourage her listeners not to hang around with people who stereotype others but rather form friendships with likeminded people.
She says that women empowerment is important because in the past women were severely overlooked and were given very specific gender roles that limited them in achieving their goals.
“Many women still are,” she says. “Until we eliminate gender stereotypes and discrimination against women, women empowerment will be relevant and extremely important.”
The song was written and recorded together with SAMA Nominated Songwriter Warrick Wallace and MPJ (Melrhone Paul John Miggel).
When asked what makes women unique, Gabrielle eagerly responds, “We as women are unique because we have a creative view of the world. We also have a drive to fight for the things we believe in. We as women have a natural way of nurturing and are dedicated to those we truly love.”
It is these characteristics that will change the world and Gabrielle is mobilising her cohorts of young ladies to do exactly that.
She says, “I hope that the faith I have in my dreams will push others to believe in their own and become more confident in themselves. Music is a great way of doing that because it touches a lot of people emotionally.”
She continues, “I want to empower young people to know that they are not alone in their feelings of vulnerability and in their insecurities. There are other people out there who understand what they are going through. There are people who have successfully changed their weaknesses into superpowers by adjusting their mindset. We should stop comparing our success to that of others because we are not all the same.”
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