The “Art of Soca” featuring David Rudder, Shadow and Kevin Lyttle

Kevin Lyttle
Atlantic recording artist Kevin Lyttle is proving a new one of music's most important tenets: that just one person, with one daring idea, can convert an entire world full of listeners, fans, and musicians.

With its irrepressible beat, sweet melody, and a vocal performance that's at once mellow, intense, and inviting, Kevin Lyttle's smash single, "Turn Me On" - recorded in a local studio on the island of St. Vincent - is the biggest soca hit to emerge from the Caribbean in 20 years. His eclectic and innovative fusion of music - traditional soca, American R&B, and Jamaican dancehall - set the entire West Indies on fire, and has boomed across dance floors worldwide in a phenomenal two-year run. For Kevin Lyttle, 26, its massive and still-growing popularity has been a living lesson in music's ability to unite and inspire.

"Everybody's searching for something new; that's the way of the world," observes Lyttle. "I'm trying to be an ambassador for a music that's been underestimated. My main focus is to take soca music where it's never been before, so people can hear our music, our deep culture. It's important for people to know where I come from."

Since Kevin's signing with Atlantic in the fall of 2003, "Turn Me On" has been on an absolute chart tear globally, and at this writing the single is nearing the million mark in international sales. It hit #2 in the UK, where it stayed in the top ten for a remarkable seven weeks. It had a ten-week run in the #1 spot in Denmark, while ranking at #2 in Germany, Holland, and Norway, #3 in Australia and Switzerland, #4 in Italy, and #5 in Sweden. It also rose to #3 on the Music & Media pan-European singles chart. "Turn Me On" has garnered top-five radio airplay in numerous countries, including France - where it hit #1, Germany, Denmark, Singapore, Belgium, Slovakia, and Austria. The single has so far been certified platinum in Australia; gold in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and Switzerland; and silver in the UK and France.

Kevin was first inspired by music as a seven-year-old, sitting on his mother's shoulders watching local Calypsonians competing for the title of Road March King in the yearly St. Vincent Carnival. At the same time, he cites the North American awards shows and televised performances - Michael Jackson's moonwalk and "Billie Jean" in particular - that transfixed an entire generation of R&B and rap artists. "I've been influenced by all genres of music," says Lyttle. "I have a love for every form of art."

From his primary school days, young Kevin was encouraged by his mother and uncle in voice, dance, and acting. His pursuit of international success, he says, is a means of giving honor to the lifelong sacrifices of his mother, Janice, who raised him with modest means in St. Vincent. Lyttle wrote his first original song at 14, and participated in song competitions and cultural exchange programs, representing St. Vincent throughout the Caribbean.

"'Shower Me With Your Love' by Surface was the first song I ever performed onstage," Kevin recalls. "I was so nervous that I switched the verses around, but the girls were carrying on too much for anyone to notice. I worked for years, practicing my vocals and coaching myself from books to improve my range, trying to sing more like Michael Jackson or Stevie Wonder. I wanted to be able to represent myself onstage on that level."

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