ARTIST ON OUR RADAR: Debi Nova
Already a massive star in her native Costa Rica, with six Grammy Award nominations and a number one dance single under her belt, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Debi Nova is ready to make her mark on the rest of the world. The dictionary defines Nova as “a star a thousand times brighter than others” and it’s a fitting description for music’s luminous newcomer (watch her EPK above).
“I started taking piano lessons at four and by the time I was twelve I knew I wanted to pursue a career in music” stated Debi.
A resident of Costa Rica and the U.S., who has split her time between the two countries the last seven years, the twenty four year old Nova, is a stunning high-spirited brunette with a powerhouse voice and hip shaking dance moves to match. Born in the Costa Rican capital city of San Jose, Nova began playing piano at age four, at the urging of her mother, whose family members all play an instrument. Nova studied classical piano throughout her teens and fronted her first band at 13. At 14, she joined the Costa Rican band Gandhi and got her first experience performing on the big stage when the group opened for such arts as Deep Purple, Aterciopelados and Mana.
She honed her vocal technique during a five week program at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and eventually moved to Los Angeles, at 17, to study voice at the LA Music Academy in Pasadena. After which she entered UCLA’s Ethnomusicology and Jazz Studies program intending to complete her degree. But fate intervened in the form of an invitation from legendary Brazilian artist Sergio Mendes to be the featured vocalist on his critically acclaimed album “Timeless,” and accompany him on his US and Japanese tour. Not long after Nova signed her first publishing deal.
Debi continued working on developing her sound, collaborating with various writers and producers. It was in one of these sessions where she met Ricky Martin who after hearing her sing, asked her to join him on his world tour “Life” as well as appearing in his video of “Que mas Da.” Check out the video below:
“The experience with Ricky was amazing, being on stage every night, traveling, and feeling the energy from the audience, inspired new ideas for songwriting” Debi explains.
Debi Nova’s sultry vocals have already been featured on the albums of mega platinum selling Grammy Award winning artists Ricky Martin, Sergio Mendes, Sean Paul, and the Black Eyed Peas as well as jazz greats Norman Brown and Boney James. In March 2010, Decca Records will release Nova’s debut album “Luna Nueva.” The album is an electrifying combination of irresistible Latin rhythms and potent pop smarts that showcases this vivacious artists considerable musical gifts (she plays piano, guitar, bass and more) as well as her rich Latina heritage. It’s a genre-defying blend that anyone can enjoy, whether they’re Anglo or Latino, young or old, straight or gay, and proof positive that pop music really is a universal language.
For more Debi Nova, visit DebiNova.com.
Tags: Artist on our radar, Debi Nova, Decca Records, Latin Music, Pop Music
