9-year-old Francis McComie teams up with Orange Sky's Nigel Rojas for Rise Up

Francis Ju-long McComie is only nine but already has a song on radio with local musician Nigel Rojas from the band Orange Sky.

The song, Rise Up, reminds people to stay positive even if they may feel sad because of covid19.

“Working with Nigel was an awesome experience. He is one of those musicians who inspires me a lot with his music,” said Francis who wrote the song with his dad, Anthony McComie, at their Belmont home.

A standard three student at Sacred Heart Boys' RC School, Francis got the opportunity to work with Rojas when his dad asked him to appear on the song.

Francis’s dad is a friend of Rojas.

The song has already received airplay on several radio stations.

“Hearing my song on the radio, I was really proud as I worked very hard to practise the guitar and sing. I am very happy to be able to share my song with the world.”

To promote the song, Francis recently did a primetime interview and performance on TTT.

A music video for the song is currently in the works.

On the song, Francis is a vocalist and guitarist.

Francis started playing the electric and acoustic guitar in March 2020 when his father encouraged him to do so.

“My dad inspired me to play the guitar. He was the one who asked me if I wanted to play the guitar and I said yes."

So far, Francis can play reggae, pop, adult contemporary, heavy metal, gospel, and soca on the guitar.

To keep his skills fresh, he plays the guitar for at least 50 minutes every day.

When it comes to singing, Francis is trained to develop his vocal talents as a student at Angels School of Music in Cascade.

Joining the school last year, Francis also does music theory with his tutor Christine Cardinez.

But this is not Francis' first music school.

In 2019, he joined Woodruff School of Music, where his teacher was Reynold Woodruff.

“I did my first Christmas concert at my first music school in 2019. I sang Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley," Francis told Newsday Kids.

“My second concert was in my school’s Carnival celebrations. I sang a calypso but unfortunately I did not win.”

While Francis was sad he did not win the calypso competition, he decided to work harder and do better the next time around.

His motto is always to work towards being better than the day before.

It's no surprise Francis has a love for music and performing.

Growing up in a musically gifted family, Francis regularly saw his dad and other family members playing different instruments including the guitar.

Francis is now doing his singing classes online, but he is enjoying learning to perform songs from the Lion King.

When he is not busy with singing or playing the guitar, you can find Francis painting which is something he has always enjoyed.

“I started painting when I was five years old. I paint forests and waterfalls.

“I stopped painting in 2020 to focus on music but just a few days ago I started back to paint for fun.”

Francis relaxes by playing with his sister Kimlee, who is seven, and spending time with his dogs, Fuzzy and Ozzy.

Francis and Kimlee put on concerts together, play board games and other games like tic tac toe.

Though he is not sure what he wants to be when he grows up just yet, Francis is sure that he'll love music forever.