Nuntita Khampiranon ( th, นันทิตา ฆัมภิรานนท์; ; born December 20, 1983), or nickname Art (อาร์ต), stage name Bell (เบลล์) and usually known as Bell Nuntita, is a Thai

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

actress, singer, entertainer, and radio DJ. Nuntita was part of a TV show called ''Venus Flytrap Search for the Missing Puzzle'' in 2007. As one of twelve contestants, she competed to take the place of two former cast members. Nuntita and another contestant named Mew won the competition and became part of the

Kathoey ''Kathoey'' or ''katoey'' ( th, กะเทย; ) is an identity used by some people in Thailand, whose identities in English may be best described as transgender women in some cases, or effeminate gay men in other cases. Transgender w ...

band ''Venus Flytrap''. She became popular after a performance during her audition on ''

Thailand's Got Talent ''Thailand's Got Talent'' ไทยแลนด์ก็อตทาเลนต์ (also known as ''TGT''), is a Thai reality television series on the television network, and part of the global British ''Got Talent'' series. It is a talent sho ...

'' and became a YouTube hit when she first performed singing as a girl, and the crowd was amazed when she switched to a masculine voice.

Personal life

Although

transsexuality Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...

is fairly well-accepted in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, life as Bell was not exactly easy. In a Thai TV interview, she said it was very difficult to explain her gender identity to her family. As the only child of a military father, she faced many challenges to be accepted. However, today her family has accepted her and she is happy. She has

absolute pitch Absolute pitch (AP), often called perfect pitch, is a rare ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of a reference tone. AP may be demonstrated using linguistic labeling ("naming" a note), associating ...

''Thailand's Got Talent''

Nuntita was convinced to audition for ''

'' by Anucha "Chi" Lanprasert, a talent scout. It was Nuntita's idea to surprise the crowd by first singing in a middleweight

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typical ...

voice before switching to a masculine baritone midway through the audition. In an April episode of the show, the judges picked Nuntita to be one of 48 semi-finalists. She received the second most votes in the semi-final round, and was thus subject to the three judges' determining votes. She passed to the final round by receiving "yes" votes from two of the three judges. Her first remixed song on the show's audition stage was a combination of "Yahk Roo Tae Mai Yahk Taam" by Calories Blah Blah and "Unlovable" by MILD, two popular Thai tunes. The three-minute song displayed Nuntita's choice of song style, mixing different genres and vocal ranges. After Nuntita's audition video appeared on YouTube and other sites, the video quickly went viral. She is sometimes dubbed as Thailand's version of Scottish singer

Susan Boyle Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer. She rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the third series of ''Britain's Got Talent'', singing " I Dreamed a Dream" from '. Boyle's debut studio album, ''I D ...

. Nuntita appeared on multiple Thai talk shows and had many nationally televised performances. She has appeared in TV shows such as ''Mum Show'' hosted by

Petchtai Wongkamlao Petchtai Wongkamlao, ( th, เพ็ชรทาย วงษ์คำเหลา, , ; born on June 24, 1965, in Yasothon province, Thailand, is a Thai comedian, actor and film director. He is best known in Thailand by his stage name, Mum Jokmok ...

where she spoke of her gender transition. She said she participated in the army conscription lottery but did not draw the commission to enlist in Thailand's army. Nuntita also performed the full versions of "Yahk Roo Tae Mai Yahk Taam" and "Unloveable" at a promotional event for Miss Tiffany Universe, Thailand's

transsexual Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignm ...

beauty pageant. TV shows and other publicity outlets commonly interviewed her about her reaction to the sudden fame. Bell was also featured on the front cover of Who Weekly Magazine. In July 2011, she held a one-night concert for her fans in Singapore.

Discography

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Filmography

Film

References

External links

Official site

Official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuntita, Bell 1983 births Got Talent contestants Bell Nuntita Living people Bell Nuntita Bell Nuntita Bell Nuntita Bell Nuntita Bell Nuntita Contraltos Baritones LGBT DJs Transgender singers Transgender women musicians Sony BMG artists Bell Nuntita Bell Nuntita Transgender actresses