Soca songbird, Buffy, loses voice

She took the music industry by storm, quickly rising to stardom, gaining fans in T&T and abroad. But Buffy’s dream ended as quickly as it began when a year-and-a-half ago she lost her voice. Her sudden absence has been a mystery to many of her fans as she made an impression in the soca arena. At her workplace at Courts, High Street, San Fernando, yesterday, 25-year-old Buffy (real name Chrystal Cuffy) in a husky voice said it hurt her that she could not sing anymore.  

 

Her only alternative, since medication has stopped being effective, is surgery but there’s a real risk she might lose her voice permanently. Buffy said her voice went without warning. She said: “About a year-and-a-half ago I woke up one morning and realised my voice was sounding kind of hoarse. I took some medication, thinking I had a sore throat but it did not work. “I went to a doctor and it came back for about a month, then it left again.” She said she went to two specialists. Her voice came back for a few days then it went completely. “I was not even able to speak. I could talk now a little but I cannot sing. I sound as though I am tone deaf,” she added.

 

The doctors said her vocal cords were inflamed due to “overuse.” “But the thing is when my voice went I was not even singing,” she said. Buffy, the mother of a nine-month-old girl, said the doctors also told her stress could have been a contributing factor. “My husband and I broke up and it is a really difficult time for me,” she said.

 

Buffy, who shot into the spotlight in 2010 with “Anything” followed with her other hit, “Come Over”, said: “I feel hurt, hurt, hurt. That’s all I can say because this is something I love doing.  “All my fans keep asking me what’s going on and I don’t have an explanation to give them because I don’t know. Is only by the grace of God I am able to speak.” Sporting a brave smile that did not reflect the forlorn look in her eyes, Buffy said she was composing songs and was even considering going into entertainment management.

 

She is praying that by some miracle her voice will return and she can “jump out” for 2K13 Carnival. Buffy said she was considering going to New York before the end of the year to undergo an operation. Describing Buffy’s predicament as sad, co-worker Shivonne Woodley said her absence was a big loss to the local music industry.