Although it has been ten years since she got her break in the industry as the second runner up in the 2006 season of Rising Stars, Nickeisha Barnes is not giving up on her dreams to achieve global success.

“I know my fans want to hear from me. I can’t wait for them to be able to just turn on the radio and hear my songs regularly,” she told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Similarly to her Rising Star counterpart, Noddy Virtue, Barnes believes that radio stations are sometimes unwilling to play songs from artists who they don’t think are established enough.

“I used to hear that I needed material, and even when I started recording and releasing them, I still wasn’t getting anywhere. Right now I’m just challenging myself to use other media to get my material out there,” Barnes said. “I’m very focused in pushing my music on social media platforms. I’m not giving up. I’m gonna keep using my talent.”

Stating that she allowed the situation to “get the better of me”, Barnes said she took a short break from music. “I’m where God needs me to be. I needed to learn some lessons, to face certain obstacles and trials in order to be the better writer, singer, performer that I am today. I needed those setbacks. Had I gotten my big break back then, I wouldn’t have appreciated it back then.”

Nickeishia Barnes

Barnes currently holds a 9-5 job, but is adamant that music is her career.”

Five years ago, music was like my ‘Joe Grind’. It was secondary. I have a job because music is not paying my bills right now, but I know that my job is only gonna add to my value in my career,” she stated.

After releasing her debut album in 2013, which received great rotation in the European market, Barnes is gearing up to release her sophomore album, Layers of My Soul, later this year. The first album, Wounded in Love, did really well. I got very good response for it in Europe, and that proved to me that people want to hear from me,” she said.