Guess what? Just came across another California-based singer that the world will soon come to know on a first-name basis. Her name is Giana Nguyen. But once she’s in the world’s spotlight, everyone will just call her “Giana”.
Did I say “world spotlight”? Indeed I did. Ms. Nguyen can easily capture the devotion of a world audience with her “clear, evocative voice”. When I heard her sing for the first time, unplugged, the sound of her voice was remarkably “clear”. As far as “evocative”: synonyms for this word include suggestive, reminiscent, and resonant.
- Suggestive – that is to say, stirring mental associations.
- Reminiscent – awakening memories or recalling the past.
- Resonant - deep, clear, and continuing to sound or ring.
So instead of 3 words, the one word – “evocative” was the perfect choice to describe Giana’s distinctive sound.
Yes, I extracted the quote from her biography at her official website, Giana Nguyen: Singer / Songwriter, because I kao tow to the author of her biography. There is no way anyone could have described her singing any better than that.
In the music industry, independent music, is a term often shortened to “indie music” or "indie", that describes artists who are independent from major commercial record labels and use the D.I.Y. (Do-It-Yourself) approach to distributing their music to the public. American Idol passed twice on the opportunity to introduce Ms. Nguyen and take credit for discovering her. But she’s perfectly OK with that. Why wouldn’t she be? She’s confident in her musical gifts and knows that she can network and promote herself independently. Ms. Nguyen is wise to take the D.I.Y. approach to market her tremendous talents. Although auditioning for American Idol was a worthwhile and enjoyable experience, it cemented her decision to chart her course by way of the indie music scene. Independent music is a much more effective means of advancing her career and accomplishing her aspirations. She is well on her way to becoming a winning artist with global and international appeal.
Ms. Nguyen’s musical influences include songstresses Sara Bareilles and Sarah McLachan. She has successfully experimented with ballads, musicals, and new wave; however, her music is mainly categorized as pop, pop/rock, adult contemporary, acoustic. Though surely artists represented under “world music” would be happy to welcome her into their fold.
Currently Ms. Nguyen showcases her talent by booking shows in the Southern California area. But there is absolutely no reason for restricting her artistry to American audiences. European, Asian, Australian and other music lovers around the world over will no doubt go “Gaga” over her. (Excuse the pun.) Through her conscientious and practical independent promotion efforts, Ms. Nguyen, is building her bridge from Southern California to various other parts of the globe.
- At her website, GianaNguyen.com, you will find her detailed biography, information about her recent album release, her blog, links, photos, and videos.
- Visit her Facebook fan page, Facebook.com/GianaNguyen.
- She just started TWEETING! Her Twitter account is Twitter.com/GianaNguyen.
- She is officially listed on the artist roster for Living Room Concerts via Slowbizz.com, a global house concerts network.
- Music Distribution: Independently produced and distributed with Artisans Label, her debut solo EP, “For Now”, was released February 22, 2011. “For Now” features six original songs and showcases both her singing and song writing abilities. Her music is available via her official website, Facebook, iTunes, and Amazon.com.
This debut effort is a solo project. Ms. Nguyen is definitely independent. She stands on her own two feet, but she has also collaborated with established pop artists in the Vietnamese-American music scene. It would be so awesome if other established American and non-American artists would invite her to collaborate with them. I envision her paired with the likes of Peter Gabriel, Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli. I can also picture her performing a solo and being accompanied by Carlos Santana, Yanni or David Foster. I can see Prince encouraging her artist development and affirming to her that the indie music promotion vehicle is the way to go.
Ms. Nguyen was born in Saigon, during the post-Vietnam War era. She immigrated to Southern California when she was just a young child. She has studied and taught classical piano and sang in choirs while growing up in Orange County, CA. If you are intrigued and want to know more about Ms. Nguyen’s background and experience or you want to delve into her psyche, and find out what led her to embark upon a now full-time musical career, you might want to read her interview with Thuy Vo Dang. This interview took place in August 2010, right before the release of her EP, “For Now”. Click the “Notes” link on her Facebook fan page. Thuy Vo Dang, Ph. D., is an ethnic studies professor and is well versed in the Vietnamese community and their immersion in American culture. She is also Ms. Nguyen’s childhood friend and has always supported her friend every step of the way in fulfilling her dreams.
Additionally, ReverbNation.com, the leading online music-marketing platform used by approximately 1.4 million artists, presents her detailed artist profile - bio, music, songs, lyrics, videos, etc. at ReverbNation/GianaNguyenMusic.
Subscribe to GianaNguyenMusic's Channel on YouTube so you can view and share Ms. Nguyen’s videos with family, friends and the world. To listen to her entire EP, go to her Facebook fan page and click on the link labeled “Giana’s Artist Profile”.
A recent press release characterized Ms. Nguyen as “Orange County’s Hidden Gem”. Well the O.C. won’t be able to be hide her for much longer.
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Sources:
"Orange County’s Hidden Gem, Giana Nguyen, to Release Debut Solo Album, 'For Now'." Press Release Distribution - Submit Press Releases Online - PRWeb. Web. 27 May 2011.
"‘G’ Is for Go-Gettter: The Making of a Vietnamese American Singer-Songwriter | DiaCRITICS." DiaCRITICS | Covering All Things Related to the Arts of the Vietnamese at Home and in the Diaspora. Web. 27 May 2011.
"Giana Nguyen | Irvine, CA | Pop / Adult Contemporary / Acoustic | Music, Lyrics, Songs, and Videos." ReverbNation. Web. 27 May 2011.
"The Good, Bad, But No Ugly - Episode 252." Ed's Mixed Bag - ~A Weekly Music Podcast~ Music & Variety from Sunny Florida. Ed Ovett, 08 June 2011. Web. 09 June 2011.
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Special thanks to Sutie101 Editor Cindy McGlynn for reviewing this article.
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UPDATES:
Jan 2012
GOOD NEWS FOR GIANA! Since the publication of this article she signed an agreement with Discovery Communications (parent company to TV channels such as Discovery Channel, TLC, Investigation Discovery, the new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), Discovery Fit & Health, the Military Channel, Planet Green, Animal Planet, and more) to have all 6 of the songs from my E.P. included in their music library. That means, we may soon be hearing her songs (in the background music) on a TV show! Yeah! That's a HAPPY WAY TO START OFF 2012!!
Feb 2012
The official music video for Giana’s song "Twister" is in the works! Award winning filmmaker, Stephane Gauger ("Saigon Electric", "Owl and the Sparrow") will be directing this video in partnership with the production team from One World Media Group. Check out the announcement video!
Treathyl Fox - Renaissance woman Independent Investor. Home Business Entrepreneur. Freelance Writer. Articles cover diverse topics. (aka Cmoneyspinner)
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