Nichola Birjoo, 36, submitted her original song ‘It’s Not Easy’ to the Timbaland x Orbiiit Global Talent Search and has progressed to the next round
Nichola Birjoo will now battle it out for public votes in a bid to record with US rapper Timbaland(Image: Submitted)
A mum-of-two is hoping to swap the Hull karaoke scene for Hollywood stardom as she progresses to the next round of a global talent search, which could see her scoop a $100,000 USD cash prize. Nichola Birjoo is a mum of two and has always been a singer.
The East Hull local has reached the next stage of a competition run by US rapper Timbaland. The Timbaland Global Search is a hunt for talent across the world which sees the public vote for their favourite acts in rounds. The top prize not only involves cash – the winner also gets a chance to record with the rapper and appear on his next record.
Nichola, 36, is neurodivergent and was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. Her song, It’s Not Easy, was written about struggling to live with the undiagnosed condition for many years. Nichola, who is also mum to Kieshka, 13, says she now sees elements of herself in her 11-year-old son Oskar, who himself is neurodivergent. She is well-known on Hull’s bar and pub scene, but entered the worldwide competition after seeing it advertised on TikTok. She said: “Before TikTok, I’d never heard of it before, but I’m not a stranger to singing. I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember.
“I have had to put what I wanted as a career on the back burner. It’s a hard industry to get into. I was always too much for people. I’m either too loud or too quiet. I didn’t perceive the world as other people did. When I was eight or nine I started putting lyrics together. I found comfort in music.”
Nichola says being a neurodivergent adult with a neurodivergent child can be “overwhelming” sometimes, and doing music through TikTok has been a joy for her. “The song is about being diagnosed late with ADHD and autism and how people don’t understand. It’s me singing in my kitchen, there’s no music, nothing else whatsoever. I don’t know how to produce music because my voice is my instrument.”
When the competition, called Timbaland X Orbiiit Global Talent Search, came up on TikTok, Nichola sent her kitchen recording of It’s Not Easy in, and was shortlisted. The contestants are whittled down in rounds of voting – and it’s all decided by the public. Round one of voting starts at 10pm on Tuesday and ends on August 31.
“Surely Hull will get behind a Hull girl,” she said. “I thought I won’t get anywhere in this competition, and then I said ‘no Nichola, just put yourself out there’. It has to be your own original music of any genre. I thought I’ve got a few songs up my sleeve but this is one of the newest ones.” She said many women are now being diagnosed as neurodivergent in adulthood as their conditions often were misdiagnosed in the past. “Women used to get depression diagnoses,” she said. “It’s easier to diagnose boys. I’m constantly battling with myself in my head. One part of me wants consistency and the other wants spontaneity. My hyper focus is my music. I sing wherever I go, in the shower, in the street, my kids tell me to shut up, my neighbours hate me!
“It did feel good to be shortlisted considering the entry was literally me in the kitchen. I wouldn’t say it’s my absolute best singing, more like I’ll give it a go. It’s got no music to it, just my vocals. Considering some of the people that are in there, I’m proud that I’ve got this far.” Nichola, who used to work as a holiday rep before having her children, describes herself as “crazy, Hull born and bred, chaotic, with no filter.”
“I hope I can get somewhere in it,” she said. “Even if I don’t get past this first round, it won’t stop me. When you’re younger and you listen to music, you listen for the beat, for the base. When you’re older and you’ve got life experiences, you listen to the lyrics. In the last 10 years there has been a hell of a lot of adult women being diagnosed with ADHD and autism. A diagnosis is not a cure, but it makes the puzzle pieces fit. Now, I see myself in my son.”
The voting is now open and the public has until August 31 to vote for Nichola’s song. She says winning the cash prize would be “life changing” but if she doesn’t make it to the end, she will “carry on spitting lyrics, writing songs and being a neurodivergent spicy parent”.
To vote for Nichola, visit the voting page here. Voting opens at 10pm on Tuesday. Follow her on TikTok @queenbirjoo or on Facebook.
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