Ness Factor 2024 contestant Rua Nicole Connell feels like she has already won after releasing charity single ‘Collide’ to raise funds for Highland Hospice
A Ness Factor 2024 contestant has released a single as part of her fundraising efforts – and says getting to this stage makes her feel like she has already won.
Rua Nicole Connell had studied music at the University of the Highlands and Islands before having to take a step back from performing due to family and health reasons.
Ness Factor, then, presented the perfect opportunity to return to the music world while raising money for Highland Hospice.
Based in Cromarty without a car, Ms Connell felt somewhat limited in what she would be able to organise in terms of fundraising, but leaned on the skills and connections she has to come up with a different idea.
She thought back to a song she wrote for her degree, called Collide, and decided to release it as a single after it took on new meaning over recent years.
“I was doing a music degree, and one of the things we had to do was write a song about a painting that resonated with us,” Ms Connell recalled.
“As I was passing a shop I saw this painting that I just really fell in love with – it was by an artist called Sarah Dunton, who is a local artist who does really colourful landscapes and pictures.
“It was her painting ‘Oil Rigs’, and I just fell in love with it. I started building the song from that.
“The song is a metaphor. On the painting there are two oil rigs silhouetted against a winter sunset, so there was a real juxtaposition of light and dark, and the loneliness of the oil rigs that were united by these kaleidoscopic waves and colours from the sunset.
“It was very much a metaphor for life really I suppose – embracing the good times and the bad times, and collectively helping one another through those times.
“That’s why I chose it to record and release, because it is very apt for my journey over the last few years and where I’ve been at mentally, emotionally and physically. It went hand in hand with that.”
All funds raised from the release of Collide will go towards Highland Hospice, even after Ness Factor is complete for 2024.
Having had it in the bank for years at this stage, it may feel strange for Ms Connell to finally put it out into the world.
However, rather than nerves she feels excited – and grateful to Ness Factor for reigniting her motivation to be creative in music.
“I let a couple of close friends hear it, and they just love it,” she added.
“For me it’s a big win. I have wanted to record my own music for quite a long time, but I suffered from a lack of motivation and not really having a goal to work towards, for various reasons.
“Sometimes it was mental health, sometimes it was my family situation, but what I’ve found with Ness Factor is that it’s not about me.
“I have these targets and deadlines, so I can’t slack off. I’ve had to be motivated, and that has allowed me to get myself in gear and get moving on some of the projects I wanted to be moving on.
“What I wanted to get out of Ness Factor has already happened. I’ve met a great bunch of people, made some really good friends, I’ve been able to do something great for a really worthwhile cause and been really motivated to do that.
“Sometimes it’s hard to push yourself out there when it’s just you, but having this drive has been fantastic.
“I really do consider myself as having won already. I don’t really see it as a competition, but I see myself as having gained tremendously already from the process. It’s been fantastic.”
