‘I Never Felt That I Don’t Belong In Malta’ – X Factor Singer Sean Kamati
Sean Kamati shot to local fame this year after competing in X Factor Malta, and the Namibian singer has now opened about his experience living in the country.
“Regarding the comments about me leaving the show because I’m not Maltese – yes, I saw them. But let me tell you something… I never, ever felt like I don’t belong in Malta. Before or after the show,” Sean told The Expatriates of Malta.
He highlighted an experience with a Maltese Bolt cab driver who recognised him from the show.
“One day I ordered a Bolt and the Maltese driver could not stop looking at his back mirror. After a while he summoned the courage and carefully asked ‘Are you Sean? The singer from X factor?’. And I just smiled and said ‘yeah, you’re completely right’.”
“Let me tell you, the man flipped. He started calling his family members saying ‘you’re never going to believe who I’m driving right now. Sean! Sean from X Factor! Your favourite from the show! Turn on your camera, you’ll see him!’ And that moment, ahh… that moment brought so much joy to me.”
“I felt so much love and support and acceptance. One can’t really describe it. But it was extremely memorable for many reasons.”
The singer has been living in Malta since 2021 and his story has been published by The Expatriates of Malta, a Facebook page started by Barbara Lipovsek to create bridges of compassion and understanding between Maltese locals and expats.
Sean left Namibia due to a “lack of artistic motivation” in the African country and originally moved to the UK to pursue a music career, but the COVID-19 pandemic put a spanner in the works.
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While in the UK, Sean met his (now ex) partner and after a year they decided to move to Gozo together.
“I fell in love with Malta the second I arrived here,” he said. “I mean – what is there not to love? The weather, the sea, the warmth of Maltese people and their party-like nature. And Gozo? It’s a real paradise on Earth if you ask me.”
Sean landed a job in catering and started performing at small venues around Malta before eventually applying to compete on X Factor Malta. Despite suffering from bronchitis during the live shows, he soldiered on and ended up in sixth place.
The singer also opened up about a horrific experience in Namibia when doctors found out he was bleeding in his brain.
“Ultimately a scary operation was needed and I vividly remember going to Cape Town for the seven-hour procedure with my mom and dad. I wasn’t too freaked out, but one day before the operation, when I saw my dad taking millions of photos of me, I had a sudden realisation that maybe I might not survive this.”
“And I got scared. But not for me. I was scared for my family as I didn’t want them to suffer such an extreme loss in their lives.”
However, surviving the ordeal gave Sean a fresh perspective on life and he said he learned to value himself more.
“It made me more confident in living my life on my own terms, and made me realise music is my home. It always was. And it always will be.”
Did you follow Sean’s journey on X Factor Malta?
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