A surprise serenade at Media Xpose

By Venecia Valentine

The Media Xpose office received a sparkle of festive cheer when 12-year-old singing sensation Connor Foster stopped by to serenade the team.

While the Cape Town–based tween gears up for a jam-packed December, he kindly squeezed us into his schedule for a surprise visit. The pint-sized star impressed staff with soaring high notes as he performed Over the Rainbow by Lauren Allred and This Is My Life by Shirley Bassey.

A young voice with big dreams

Connor, who cites Celine Dion as his idol, is currently in Grade 7 and dreams of becoming a professional singer.
He told Inbound SA magazine:
“One day, when I’m grown, I would like to share a stage with Celine Dion. I want to sing on that stage in the centre of the venue, surrounded by people.”

Rituals, warm-ups and inspiration

Sipping his tea, he added: “Tea helps soothe my voice before I sing. Doing vocal warm-ups is also very important.”

Glancing at his chunky Ben 10 watch, Connor explained: “I always admired my mom when she sang, and I’ve followed in her footsteps since I was five. I often start singing randomly in class, and my classmates love it — they always ask me to sing.”

His proud mom Gaynor Fritz adds: “I knew he was going to be a good singer when he first started as a tiny tot. The first moment I experienced his talent was when he sang cover songs from the children’s movie Frozen.”

Rising star in the local music scene

Connor is steadily carving a name for himself in the local music scene. He went viral after a video of him singing at a Spur inside a Cape Town mall garnered more than 83k views. In the clip, he performs his rendition of Beyoncé’s Listen from the Dreamgirls movie.

Where to see Connor live this December

• 13 December – ATKV Goudini Spa
• 14 December – Malay Choir Competition, Cape Town City Hall
• 16 December – Unity on the Square with Loukmaan Adams and Mujahid George, Greenmarket Square
• 21 December – The Living Lekker Festival, Kenwyn