The Woman in Me: N’Kenge is Bewitched and Ridin’ High!

Multi-talented vocalist N’Kenge may be making her Jazz debut with her lush, elegant and exquisitely rendered version of the Rodgers & Hart classic Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered, but she’s long been a giant in other arenas in the music industry.

A Tony, Emmy and Grammy-nominated artist, she’s headlined pop, opera and symphony concerts throughout the country, has appeared several times on Broadway and, thanks to her recent funky worldbeat single Goosebump Moment, a bona fide TikTok star with 233K+ views and 26M+ total TikTok followers reached.

Blessed with a five-octave range, N’Kenge brings perfect phrasing and an intense, emotional power to Bewitched that brings profound freshness to the lyrics. Furthermore, it is the lead single from her long overdue debut album CENTERSTAGE: LIVE FROM THE ELLA FITZGERALD FESTIVAL.

I sat down with N’Kenge and we discussed everything from her love for Ella and how she approached the recording of this new album, together with some breaking news on what comes next for her and, oh yeah, even her thoughts on penguins!

Being that Centerstage: Live from The Ella Fitzgerald Festival showcases your lush, elegant and exquisite five-octave range, whilst at the same time paying homage to a jazz art form that has shaped your life, did you approach your live set that day any differently to the other live shows you’ve undertaken? - “Thank you so much for the beautiful compliment. I did approach this differently, knowing that this was going to be a live recording. It was important for me to engage with the audience in a special way. I really wanted them to feel fully included and immersed with the music as well as hearing stories of some of these great jazz icons.”

Indeed, where there any obstacles along the way to getting this set performed, recorded and sent to manufacturing for CD/vinyl and, if so, how did you overcome them? - “I think the biggest obstacle was mixing and mastering it. We were so lucky to have Tony Shepperd from The Mix Factory do it. Since it was live, it was difficult to mix when some of the instrument sounds were spilling into the microphones so separating the horns from my vocal microphone for example was certainly challenging, but I was so amazed by the great work Tony did.”

As for the album, as a whole, I understand that it is being touted as one that is a wonderful encapsulation of an extraordinary concert, infused with songs that honor and celebrate Ella Fitzgerald’s monumental impact on the jazz world, so can you please explain just what all these musical accents within Ella’s artistry mean to you; within the context of how she came into your life, both thematically and musically - “Ella Fitzgerald was one of the first jazz vocalists I was introduced to as a young girl. I was immediately pulled into her web of song hi, hearing her artistry and I was always impressed by her amazing scatting. I am always in awe whenever I hear one of her recordings.”

Indeed, a lot of words and terms have already been used to describe your music over the years, but how would you yourself sum up your sound on this new live album ... and in just five (5) words? - “Fresh, Free, Musical Magic, Unique.”

Please tell us a little more about what these tracks noted below mean to you and how they came to be:

Bewitched - “There was a reason why I made this the first single. It was a very first jazz song I ever learned when I was 12 years old and fast-forward now to the present time, it was really beautiful coming full circle with the song and see how my interpretation of this song has evolved over the years.”

The Woman in Me - “I instantly fell in love this song when I first heard it. It is not just empowering for myself, but for others as well you need to be reminded of their worth.”

Goosebump Moment - “This is a song that I wrote with Preston Glass and it’s gone through many incarnations, but I’m very proud of this one as I Recorded it acoustically with my All-Star band.”

Minnie the Moocher - “I got assigned this song to sing when I did “3 more divas” and loved the concept of singing a song that was originally performed by Cab Callaway. He was an icon and bringing a new fresh interpretation to. It was a lot of fun.”

And was Centerstage: Live from The Ella Fitzgerald Festival always going to be the albums full name or was there another, perhaps shorter title that nearly won the race come the time to take your hands off the project? - “It was originally just going to be entitled CENTERSTAGE but I later thought it was important to have details on it, playing a live recording at the festival as part of the title.”

Having watched the video for Bewitched, I found it a very beautiful, masterfully shot work of musical art, so what can you tell us about the filming of the show and maybe any behind-the-scenes secrets? - “No secrets to tell unfortunately,” she laughs. “It was very important for me to capture video footage to accompany the live recording so all the videos were a companion to the recordings. It was a multi camera recording with the goal to capture the full essence of every aspect of the live performance.”

What would you like all the readers of this interview to know about the new album and what to expect? “I want the readers to know that I truly put my heart and soul into this recording. I also wanted to push the envelope when it came to the arrangements. I got to work with some of the best arrangers in the business.”

Being that we’re not called Exclusive Magazine for nothing, is there something you can tell us about what is upcoming next for you? - “Yes, absolutely. I am very excited to announce that a musical that I have been developing for many years, which got its premiere in concert at Carnegie Hall is now making its world premiere production in Feb 2026 at the Axelrod performing arts center in Deal, New Jersey. It is called “That’s Love! The Dorothy Dandridge “. I am playing the title role as well as directing it alongside with Broadway’s Christina Sajous. We have an amazing cast of 15 singer/dancers and an incredible creative team with Ray Mercer as choreographer, Book & Lyrics by Trey Ellis and Music & Lyrics by Shelton Becton.”

Book Tickets Here

And yes, we ask everyone we interview this very same question (as we are putting together a kid’s book). We here at Exclusive Magazine love Penguins and so we were wondering if you had any love for them and/or had a story of one (soft toy, zoo, chocolate bar, relative, etc.) that you could share with us? - “I adore penguins. My daughter Does as well. I have a stuffed animal and has been in the family for years that my daughter has and I hope it continues to get passed down.”

And finally, we asked N’Kenge to kindly provide a never-before-seen photograph of herself. One that perfectly personified their readiness for the world to hear her new musical endeavor. Perhaps even one that encapsulated who she was today. And kindly, this is what she sent.