Christina Smith describes herself as a “palm tree in the snow,” referring to both her Caribbean and Canadian roots that ground her to this day.
The Toronto opera singer can only be described as one-of-a-kind, and has her unique vocal ability to thank – a talent she says she picked up as a toddler.
“Opera chose me and to this day I don’t know why. I started when I was about two years old where I would sing in my mom’s apartment,” Smith told Now Toronto in an interview.
Smith said her mom soon understood she had a prodigy on her hands after realizing Smith was matching classical notes and pitches with ease.
Years later, along with many attempts to hit notes like Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson, Smith gave up trying.
That was until a trip to Jamaica changed her life forever and she met with a vocal coach.
“She said, ‘you can sing, you’re just singing the wrong material,’” Smith shared.
Eventually, she would be assigned classical music and opera, and would sing in a language she didn’t understand, but says somehow it felt right, and she finally felt at home.
“It felt so right for me, physically in my voice and my body it felt like who I was meant to be.”
Her next hurdle, outside the language barrier, was her look. Smith is an island girl who also spent much of her life in the Great North, and does not look like your typical opera singer.
“People always get surprised about that. Yes, I am a young Black woman in this genre but I like to wear that proudly,” she said.
“I will never be a traditional opera singer, and I love that.”
Smith would eventually find out how much others loved her unconventional take too after making her debut appearance on “Canada’s Got Talent” in 2022.
She shares how she had to take a day off from her job in insurance and head to Niagara Falls to begin filming.
“From 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next day. It was just the most incredible experience just being able to see so many talented people on our own soil. These were people who were doing their thing well, in Canada,” Smith said.
“Howie [Mandel] had some choice words about me being a young Black woman in opera but it was all love. The advice [the judges] gave me on the show I did take that moving forward.”
Smith is no longer a stranger to Canadian TV after she scored a spot on CBC’s “Family Feud” this year alongside her family.
“It was nice doing a Caribbean Family Feud edition,” she shared, referring to having gone head-to-head with another Caribbean family on the show.
For Smith, her identity means the world, especially having grown up in survival mode whether in Jamaica or here at home in Scarborough.
“My roots are everything to me. I get emotional when I talk about it because I remember having light get cut off while I was trying to do homework. I remember being at school and having lockdowns because of political warfare. I also remember having one pair of jeans coming back to Canada. That’s where my strength comes from,” she said.
Today, she puts that strength into her music. Her latest single, “Half Past L8”, which was released last month, is upbeat in nature but stays true to her original sounds thanks to powerful opera adlibs.
“As much as classical music is the heart of what I do, you have to be able to do so many other things. My advice for any Black girl or woman who wants to be an opera singer is to not let anybody else control your narrative. Your story is so important and it’s important that you tell it.”
