Ben Thapa

Ben Thapa
Ben Thapa in 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Ben Vishala Thapa
Born	(1982-03-02) 2 March 1982
Genres	Classical Easy listening Operatic pop Vocal
Occupations	Tenor singer
Years active	2004–present

Ben Vishala Thapa (born 2 March 1982) is an English singer, formerly a tenor in G4.^[1]

Born in Cambridge, Thapa was raised by a single mother from the age of four after his father was deported back to India when his work visa expired. He entered foster care when he was eleven when his mother lost her battle to care for her children following her struggle with arthritis.^{[2] [3]} It was during this time Thapa started singing lessons and sang in his local church choir, and played the clarinet in an orchestra while at Hills Road Sixth Form College. He studied at Royal Northern College of Music for a year before transferring to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he graduated from in 2004.

While completing his course at Guildhall, Thapa auditioned for the first series of The X Factor with his G4 bandmates Jon Ansell, Matt Stiff, and Mike Christie where they reached the final but lost out to Steve Brookstein. Due to their popularity on the show they were soon approached by Sony BMG, and the group released three albums.^[4] As he had perfect pitch, Thapa's other role in G4 was ensuring that the other members were in the right key during their performances.^[5] The group split in 2007, with Thapa stating: "I am not a team player. I don't want to be Ben from G4 any more".^[6]

Since the split of G4 in 2007, Thapa has worked with the National Chamber Choir of Ireland,^[7] and in 2009 released the album Songs of My Childhood.^[8] Thapa has also starred in the Scottish Opera's production of Kátya Kabanová.^[9]

External links

• G4 section at The ClassicalX

References