Nikka Costa | |
|---|---|
| Born | Domenica Costa (1972-06-04)4 June 1972 (age 53) |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, acoustic guitar, organ, keyboards |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Mushroom,Stax,Virgin |
| Website | www |
Domenica "Nikka"Costa (born June 4, 1972) is an American singer whose music combines elements ofpop,soul, andblues. She also had a career as a child singer starting in the early 1980s. She is the daughter of music producerDon Costa.
Nikka Costa was born in Tokyo, Japan toItalian-American parents. She was musically-inspired from childhood, often surrounded by famous and talented artists as she traveled the world with her father, the well-known producer and musicianDon Costa.
At age five, Nikka recorded a single with Hawaiian singerDon Ho. In early 1981, two Italian producers, Danny B. Besquet andTony Renis, were working with her father on his albumDon Costa Plays the Beatles [it] when they were inspired to record an album featuring Nikka's vocals, with her father accompanying on guitar. The album would go on to be well-received in Europe, and Costa became known as a child star. At age 9, Costa sang withFrank Sinatra in an appearance on the lawn of theWhite House.[1]
In 1981, Costa's career as a primary recording artist began when she recorded the song "(Out Here) On My Own" (from the movieFame), featuring her father Don Costa. The single reached No. 72 in Germany,[2] No. 7 in Switzerland,[3] No. 32 in the Netherlands,[4] No. 13 in the Flanders region of Belgium.,[5] and No. 1 in Italy. The albumNikka Costa was released, outside of the U.S., in 1981. Costa would subsequently tour the world. Her second album,Fairy Tales (cuentos de hadas), was released in 1983. Don Costa died of a heart attack shortly after the album was recorded. The pop albumHere I Am... Yes, It's Me was released to fulfill a contractual obligation in 1989.
After graduating from high school, Costa decided to move away from pop music and towardsR&B,funk andsoul, being especially influenced byMotown artists.
In the early 1990s, while already a music business veteran, Costa transitioned away from her childhood ofpop music to a more mature soul style. She married Australian producer/songwriterJustin Stanley and moved to his home country; the couple would eventually have a daughter named Sugar McQueen. While in Australia, Costa began writing songs and formed a "happy funk" band called Little Mona & the Shag Daddies, which broke up after four gigs inSydney.
At age 22, Costa's next venture was a band called Sugarbone, which toured Australia in 1994; of the experience, Costa related that "It was really scary to unveil it, but the reaction was good. It helped my confidence."[6] After touring with Sugarbone, she signed to theMushroom Records label in Australia. In 1996, she released the albumButterfly Rocket in Australia, which earned her a nomination for theARIA Music Award for "Breakthrough Artist" in that same year, and "Best Female Artist" the following year, in 1997.[7]
In 2000, Costa's song "Like a Feather" was featured in aTommy Hilfiger televisionadvertising campaign. That exposure, coupled with the track's music video, helped gain her a foothold in the U.S. music industry. The albumEverybody Got Their Something was released in 2001 and entered the charts at No. 120 on theBillboard 200.[8] The title track and "Like a Feather" were radio hits, although the latter did peak at No. 53 in the United Kingdom.[9] In 2002, Costa was the opening act forBritney Spears'Dream Within a Dream Tour in the US and Canada. In 2005, Costa released the albumcan'tneverdidnothin'. She toured withLenny Kravitz, who also performed on the record. In 2006, she and her husband Justin Stanley recorded and performed the theme to the short-livedCBS sitcomCourting Alex starringJenna Elfman.
Costa was a guest singer onMark Ronson (who has produced several of her songs)’s albumHere Comes the Fuzz. Her song "Push & Pull" (from the albumEverybody Got Their Something) was included on the soundtrack of the 2001 movieBlow, starringJohnny Depp. The track "Everybody Got Their Something" was used in the soundtrack of the 2009 movieAll About Steve starringSandra Bullock andBradley Cooper. Her song "Stuck To You" (from the albumPebble to a Pearl) appeared in an episode ofGrey's Anatomy (season five) and inThe Peanuts Movie.
Costa is currently signed withStax Records.[10] She released the studio albumPebble to a Pearl on 14 October 2008. In 2010, she released the single "Ching Ching Ching" in Europe. The song is notable from a genre change fromsoul/funk toelectro-pop. The single reached No. 69 in Germany,[11] making it Costa's first single to chart in Germany since "On My Own" in 1981. A new EP titledPro Whoa was released in 2011. Costa co-wrote the song "Diamonds Made from Rain" onEric Clapton's 2010 albumClapton. The albumNikka & Strings: Underneath and in Between, consisting of covers of rock standards, was released on 2 June 2017.[12]
TheARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by theAustralian Recording Industry Association. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Master Blaster" | Breakthrough Artist - Single | Nominated | [13] |
| 1997 | "Get Off My Sunshine" | Best Female Artist | Nominated |
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