Livin’ Joy isn’t just the name of the EuroDance group Tameko Star was part of in the 1990s. It’s how she approaches her own life and career.
“I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember – since I was a young girl. I feel like I was called to do this,” said Star, the singer-songwriter who now lives in Atlanta and is scheduled to perform at 12:40 p.m. June 24 at the Augusta Common as part of Augusta’s Pride Festival. “I’ve never done anything else. I can’t wait to wake up in the morning. I think that’s a blessing. Me being able to live out my dreams is such a blessing.”
Before Star had dreams of her own, her mother, Margaret had dreams of having a daughter who could sing and had dimples and a beauty mark.
It was a story she heard “all the time” when she was growing up, she said.
“Not just her but she had 11 brothers and sisters who also backed up her story,” she said. ‘She wanted to have this little girl who could sing and was very talented. The thing that got me the most was she almost ordered dimples and a beauty mark.”
The dimples were apparent from the beginning, but the beauty mark didn’t show up right away.
“When I was about three months old, she was washing my face and she told her sister to come look,” she said.
A tiny beauty mark was coming in near her lips.
That story galvanized the belief that she could do anything she set her mind to do.
“It’s a testament of what we can do with our minds,” she said. “We’re so gifted, and we don’t even know we’re that gifted.”
Star was part of a military family and grew up in Europe. As a child, she performed for audiences including family, friends and her stuffed animals. After high school, she moved to Italy and studied music and performance.
She got her big break during a live radio broadcast of her singing with a local band. It caught the attention of some Italian music producers, and as Tameka Starr, she became part of Livin’ Joy with Paolo and Gianni VisnadI from 1994-1999.
Her mom originally wanted to call her Tameko, so she later changed her name to honor her mother.
After her days with Livin’ Joy, she stepped away from being on the stage and started helping young people pursue their dreams. She had taught previously performing arts to children at a military base in Europe.
She moved to Atlanta, a place that felt like home, and opened Star House Entertainment. She’s also added producer, choreographer and playwright to her list of credits.
She’s recently recorded a new song that she wrote during the pandemic called Something Beautiful.
“It’s such a happy fun song,” she said.
During the pandemic, people were isolated and lonely.
“I wrote it to uplift our spirits. We could use a good happy-filled dance song,” she said. “It’s a happy song – just an escape if nothing else just in your mind.”
Something Beautiful will be part of an EP Star plans to release. She’ll also sing it Saturday.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
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