Nikka Costa

Biography

Domenica "Nikka" Costa (born June 4, 1972) is an American singer whose music combines elements of pop, soul, and blues. She began her career as a child singer in the early 1980s. She is the daughter of music producer Don Costa.

Early life

Nikka Costa was born in Tokyo, Japan to Italian-American parents. She was exposed to music from childhood, often surrounded by well-known artists as she traveled with her father, producer and musician Don Costa.
At age five, Nikka recorded a single with Hawaiian singer Don Ho. At age nine, she recorded an album with her father accompanying on guitar, and performed with Frank Sinatra on the White House lawn. Also at age nine, she recorded the song "(Out Here) on My Own×(Out Here) On My Own1981 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1(Out Here) On My Own3:312Chained To Be Blues2:22" (from the movie Fame) with her father. The single reached No. 1 in Italy, No. 72 in Germany, No. 7 in Switzerland, No. 32 in the Netherlands, and No. 13 in the Flanders region of Belgium.,. The album Nikka Costa was released (outside of the U.S.) in 1981. Her second album, Fairy Tales (cuentos de hadas)×Fairy Tales (Cuentos De Hadas)1983 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1First Love3:38A2I Believe in Fairy Tales3:15A3Without You3:09A4My Boyfriend's Back2:57A5Morning Comes3:00A6He's My Clown3:44B1Stay Daddy Stay3:52B2Trick or Treat2:57B3Time on My Side3:22B4Candy Man3:12B5Someone Who Needs Me3:40B6Tomorrow3:10, was released in 1983. Don Costa died of a heart attack shortly after the album was recorded. The pop album Here I Am... Yes, It's Me (Loca Tentación) was released in 1989.

Adult career

In the early 1990s Costa transitioned away from pop music to soul. She married Australian producer/songwriter Justin Stanley and moved to his home country; the couple eventually had 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 in Sydney.
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." After touring with Sugarbone, she signed to the Mushroom Records label in Australia. In 1996, she released the album Butterfly Rocket×Butterfly Rocket10 April 1996 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Get Off My Sunshine4:122Flowers4:293Come Clean3:564Master Blaster5:165In This Life3:586Treat Her Right5:057Meltdown5:148I Do Believe4:209Black Seed3:4410Grab Hold4:2411Who's Loving You4:27 in Australia, which earned her a nomination for the ARIA Music Award for "Breakthrough Artist" in that same year, and "Best Female Artist" the following year, in 1997.
In 2000, Costa's song "Like a Feather×Like a Feather2001 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Like a Feather (radio edit)3:322Heaven Sinner4:023Hope It Felt Good (live)4:19" was featured in a Tommy Hilfiger television advertising campaign. That exposure, coupled with the track's music video, helped her gain a foothold in the U.S. music industry. The album Everybody Got Their Something×Everybody Got Their Something22 May 2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Like a Feather3:552So Have I for You5:103Tug of War4:324Everybody Got Their Something4:215Nothing4:146Nikka What?0:267Hope It Felt Good3:538Some Kind of Beautiful3:059Nikka Who?0:4310Just Because3:4811Push & Pull5:2612Corners of My Mind10:37 was released in 2001 and entered the charts at No. 120 on the Billboard 200. The title track and "Like a Feather" were radio hits, reaching no. 53 in the United Kingdom. In 2002, Costa was the opening act for Britney Spears' Dream Within a Dream Tour in the US and Canada. In 2005, Costa released the album can'tneverdidnothin'×can'tneverdidnothin'2004 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Till I Get to You3:172can'tneverdidnothin'3:103Fooled Ya Baby4:334I Gotta Know4:465Around the World5:226Swing It Around3:157Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter3:468On & On2:549Happy in the Morning3:3410Hey Love4:0211Fatherless Child7:12. She toured with Lenny Kravitz, who also performed on the record. In 2006, she and her husband Justin Stanley recorded and performed the theme to the short-lived CBS sitcom Courting Alex.
Costa was a guest singer on Mark Ronson. Her song "Push & Pull×Push & Pull2001 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Push & Pull (Single Version)3:512Push & Pull (Call Out Hook)0:15" (from the album Everybody Got Their Something) was included on the soundtrack of the 2001 movie Blow. The track "Everybody Got Their Something" was used in the soundtrack of the 2009 movie All About Steve. Her song "Stuck To You×Stuck To You2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Stuck to You (Dave Audé Radio edit)3:452Stuck to You (Dave Audé remix)8:023Stuck to You (Dave Audé Club Dub)7:114Stuck to You (Dave Audé Mix Show)6:285Stuck to You (Richard Vission edit)3:406Stuck to You (Richard Vission remix)5:457Stuck to You (Tommie Sunshine's Disco 3000 Re-Rub)7:418Stuck to You (Album Version)3:43" (from the album Pebble to a Pearl×Pebble to a Pearl14 October 2008 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Stuck to You3:432Can't Please Everybody5:063Pebble to a Pearl4:304Someone for Everyone3:475Cry Baby5:106Keep Wanting More4:487Keep Pushin'3:468Love to Love You Less4:269Without Love4:2410Damn I Said It First6:5211Loving You5:2812Bullets in the Sky4:3713The Denial Twist2:49) appeared in an episode of Grey's Anatomy (season five) and in The Peanuts Movie.
Costa signed with Stax Records in 2008. She released the studio album Pebble to a Pearl on 14 October 2008. In 2010, she released the single "Ching Ching Ching×Ching Ching Ching24 May 2010 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Ching Ching Ching3:30" in Europe, a notable genre change from soul/funk to electro-pop. The single reached No. 69 in Germany, making it Costa's first single to chart in Germany since "On My Own" in 1981. A new EP titled Pro Whoa was released in 2011. Costa co-wrote the song "Diamonds Made from Rain" on Eric Clapton's 2010 album Clapton. The album Nikka & Strings: Underneath and in Between×Underneath and In Between2 June 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Nothing Compares 2 U5:202Ain’t That Peculiar3:283Love to Love You Less4:354Come Rain or Come Shine3:535Cry to Me2:406Arms Around You3:247Headfirst5:208Lover You Should’ve Come Over6:449Silver Tongue4:2210Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying3:4111Stormy Weather4:57, consisting of covers of rock standards, was released on 2 June 2017.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association.