Manika (singer)
Manika
| |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Manika Ward |
| Born | August 2, 1993 |
| Origin | Las Vegas, 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 an American singer-songwriter, author, and actress of Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, Filipino, Malaysian and Scottish descent.
Moving from Las Vegas to Hollywood, just a year into her musical career, Manika was already touring with One Direction on their North American Up All Night Tour as their opening act.
Bringing a fresh, edgy vibe to mainstream pop and unafraid to boldly speak her mind, Manika followed 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 most recently released her third single "My Way"— a sneak peek from her much-anticipated upcoming debut album.
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 (such as Soulshock, Qura Rankin, Kizzo, E. Kidd Bogart, Kasia Livingston, Travis Payne, and Tanisha Scott). 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). 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 her book to young cancer patients and their families. These activities are just the beginning of the many philanthropic goals that Manika intends to pursue.
Manika brings intelligence, wit and tons of emotional life experiences to her songs. "I’ve always loved both writing and songwriting," she says, "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.”