Manika (singer)
Manika
| |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Manika Ward |
| Born | August 2, 1993 |
| Origin | Las Vegas Valley, Nevada |
| Genres | pop, pop-rock, teen pop |
| Occupation(s) | singer, musician, composer, author, actress |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Wamaframa Records |
| Website | manika-music.com, [1], [2], [3] |
Manika (born Manika Ward on August 2, 1993) is a singer-songwriter, author, and actress.
From Vegas to Hollywood and (just a year into her musical career) Manika was already touring with One Direction on their North American Summer Tour as their opening act.
Bringing a fresh, edgy vibe to mainstream pop and unafraid to boldly speak her mind, 18-year-old Manika follows her breakout Top-40 pop hit "Just Can't Let You Go" featuring Young Money's Lil Twist with her second single "Good Girls".
Manika (pronounced Ma-NEE-ka) was discovered by Frank DiLeo, Michael Jackson's long-time manager. At that time, Manika— still a junior in high school— crammed her junior year and senior into one, graduated valedictorian, and three months later moved from her hometown Las Vegas to Hollywood. Manika's musical career quickly blossomed— she was soon approached by A-list producers, songwriters and choreographers (Soulshock, Qura Rankin, Kizzo, Evan Bogart, Kasia Livingston, Travis Payne, Tanisha Scott to name a few). That summer Manika headlined Pepsi's Shopt Til You Rock Tour. She then continued to tour and perform at events across the U.S. (such as the Hollywood Style Awards, nationally televised Hollywood Christmas Parade, Girl Scouts 100th Year Anniversary Tour, etc.). Manika's break-though EP "The Middle of Hollywood" is based on her experiences of moving out to Hollywood by herself at only 17-years old. Less than a year later, Manika was performing at sold-out arenas in over 20 cities with the most popular boy-band in the world — One Direction.
Prior to her musical success, at age 15 Manika wrote and published The Exciting Adventures of Boo, a fictional children’s book and donated all the proceeds from the first 750 copies to the ASPCA animal shelter. Manika also participated in writing workshops for children and visited children’s hospitals to read it to young cancer patients and their families. These activities are just the beginning of the many philanthropic goals that Manika intends to pursue.
Manika—whose mixed heritage includes Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, Filipino, Malaysian and Scottish–brings intelligence, wit and tons of emotional life experiences to her songs.
“I’ve always loved both writing and songwriting. The journey is fascinating to me. When I watch a live performance back on video, I think about how everything started from a simple emotion, feeling or story I wanted to tell. The next step is to play with song ideas, and then lay down instruments and vocals. Then it all takes shape and suddenly that simple spark has blossomed into something huge and powerful that people can enjoy.”