Due to the overwhelming humanitarian need that occurred after a catastrophic earthquake leveled most of Haiti in 2010, a former nurse, Su Charles, now known as SuCh, made a life-changing decision.
And while caring for people would remain her focus, she now uses her voice as her primary tool for healing.
“I started singing at the age of three in church. It’s something that I’ve always loved to do. After aiding people during the earthquake and witnessing the loss of life I decided to make a change,” she said. “I realized that life is short and I needed to do what I was called to do.”
Born in America to two Haitian immigrants SuCh says deciding to leave her lucrative job as a nurse to pursue her singing career came with much backlash.
“I loved being a nurse but I know that singing is my purpose in life,” she said. “Everything I loved about being a nurse I still do now as a singer. Of course I got stares and ridiculed for changing careers but I knew what was best for me so I did not let anyone change my vision for my life.”
After trying out for American Idol back in 2012 and receiving three yes’s with a golden ticket to Hollywood, SuCh was eliminated at the end of the week.
“Getting that far confirmed that singing is what I’m supposed to do,” she said.
SuCh went on to perform at the Aurora Fox Arts Center in Aurora, Colo., in 2013 as Celie in “The Color Purple” in which she received rave reviews and earned several awards.
“Her rich voice takes possession of Celie’s many wounds but also carries in its soulfulness the possibility of future triumphs,” said one reviewer, Lisa Kennedy from The Denver Post Newspaper.
In the U.S., she would strike gold with her first single “Sugar Maple” which celebrated an impressive run, in rotation on several radio stations, including iHeart Radio, WYBC, Music Choice and Sirius XM’s Heart & Soul. Her album, “Trial and Error,” peaked at #46 on the iTunes R&B charts and #2 on the Amazon R&B charts in the first week of its release.
On Sept. 24, SuCh invited the audience to savor her sensual hour-long performance at the City Winery in Northwest, promoting her new CD, “Wide Nose Full lips” as part of her international tour.
One fan shared his positive response to her performance.
“She is energetic and very entertaining and her voice is clear and sultry,” said LeRoy Burney of Prince George County. “Her singing gave me hope and new life,”
On stage, SuCh explained that growing up her grandmother used to pinch her nose claiming that it was too wide and instilling a deep level of self-hate into her granddaughter for not having more European facial features.
Now, she feels differently as the lyrics in her songs on her new CD confirm.
“I started to love who I am for what I am. And I know that am beautiful just the way God made me. I am beautiful,” she told her audience last month here in the District, “and I’m perfect just the way I am.”
Her fans agree.
“I loved how she sings about such a sensitive and serious subject matter,” said Susan Wright of Prince George’s County. “My sister got the lips but I got the wide nose. It took me awhile to come around to my nose but now I love me. It’s not my job to make someone else love me.”
SuCh’s new album ‘Wide Nose Full lips’ on SoundCloud is about self-awareness, Black love and women’s empowerment she says.
“I want people to be empowered after listening to my music and comfortable in their own skin. I want to continue to take care of people the way I did when I was a nurse,” she added.
For more information, visit www.iamsuch.com.