The Melisizwe Brothers are coming to Toronto!

BY: ALYSSA MAHADEO

Kids these days are born with phenomenal talent, and in the age of social media, it’s never been easier to showcase that talent to the world.

Mark James could have never foreseen his three sons becoming viral sensations, overnight.

“They all started music classes at the age of 4,” James explains. “But they come from a musical background in terms of Mom, she was a singer back in St. Vincent and I myself always dabbled in music as well.”

This family affair dubbed the Melisizwe Brothers include the multi-talented 15-year-old Marc, 12-year-old Seth and 11-year-old Zacary. “They started off just practicing what they had learned in music class in our basement,” James says.

The Brothers Marc, Seth and Zacary hail from Leduc Alberta, Canada with family roots in St. Vincent and The Grenadines. They shot to fame after their popular video of the song ‘I’ll Be There’ a cover of the song originally by The Jackson 5, gained over 60 million views worldwide with a huge concentration in Brazil South America, the United States, Europe, and Africa.

“We noticed in their music classes, that they were always ahead of everyone else,” James shares thinking it was cute as they were so young, and already showing so much potential. “We never thought in our wildest dreams that they would end up going viral with that one video seemingly overnight.”

James says that they got the news from a friend who sent them a link asking if those were his boys that had amassed so many videos on their cover. “By the time we saw it, the video had already gone viral.”

It was in November of 2016 that they were discovered by famous talk show host Ellen DeGeneres who loved them so much that she invited them on her show.

This trio of siblings has been musical guests on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Winners of Showtime at the Apollo, The Steve Show, Little Big Shots UK, and included in New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square. They have been guest performers on Americas Got Talent season 13, and most recently the youngest boy Zachary James has had the opportunity to be lead vocalist on the upcoming Netflix Series Motown Magic.

The brothers are unique in that Zacary, the youngest who is 11yrs old is the leader of the band vocally and musically displaying amazing capabilities and have been compared to the likes of Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. All three brothers play multiple instruments at a very high level and their musical journey started at the Leduc School of Music where they were identified for their giftedness and immediately fast-tracked into various music programs studying piano and singing and then adding other instruments of interest.

“Music comes very naturally to all of them, but especially Zacary,” James says. His son’s genius ability to deconstruct and hear sound is really what singles him out from the rest of the boys.

Despite Zacary’s potential, James says that it is important that they keep the boys together as a strong family unit. “It is a very big responsibility,” he admits.

“Yes, they have a lot of talent, but they are also human beings and they are still kids, so we have to make sure that the decisions that we make aren’t too long term that it will affect them for the rest of their lives.”

Aside from music the boys have other interests that their parents want to continue to encourage. Marc the oldest is passionate about writing and has almost completed his first novel at the age of 15. Seth who is 12 has a love for animation, and Zacary enjoys building model airplanes in his spare time.

Their group name ‘Melisizwe’ pronounced (Meh-Lee-Seize-Weh) is of African origin and means ‘leaders of the future.’ “Whenever you want to do something you always look for a name with a great meaning and a powerful meaning,” explains Seth.

The Melisizwe Brothers perform a variety of music, both contemporary as well as older music, most notably the Motown hits of music giants like Stevie Wonder and the Jackson Five. They also write their own music and collaborate with other musicians in the music industry, when they are not traveling around the world.

For boys so young they have unlimited potential and at their age, they have already had some of the most incredible opportunities that many do not get to experience in their lifetime. It’s all about encouraging and supporting these boys in all that they do, allowing them to reach their highest potential and inspire others along the way.

The Melisizwe Brothers will be performing at Toronto Centre For The Arts, on Friday, November 16th at 7:00 p.m. The brothers will perform “Heal the World and Hallelujah” with local youth choirs from Toronto, and they will also be joined by other local youth artists from the city.

For tickets call the box office at 416-250-3708 or at TicketMaster.ca and search for The Melisizwe Brothers. www.tocentre.com/events/melisizwe-brothers-concert