Source: http://www.speakup.com.br
Language level: A2 Pre-Intermediate
Standard: British accent
Speaker: Jason Bermingham
Nikka Costa was child pop star during the early 1980s. She seemed to disappear soon after that, but in actual fact she has continued with her professional singing career.
Nikka Costa’s real name is Domenica Costa and she was born in Tokyo on June 4th, 1972. She came from a musical family: her father, Don Costa was a composer and arranger, and her mother, Terry Ray Costa, was a singer. Her parents were friends with Tony Renis, an accomplished singer and producer who was a big success in Europe. Renis recognised the Costa daughter’s talent and helped launch her career.
INTERNATIONAL HIT
Nikka’s most famous hit came in 1981, when she was just eight years old. “(Out Here) On My Own” was a big hit in Brazil, but also in many other countries. Indeed the only country where it wasn’t a hit was in the United States, where Nikka lived. The single wasn’t released there. This was because Nikka’s parents wanted their daughter to have a normal childhood and not be ruined by success. In the USA the song was recorded by Irene Cara.
A couple of years later tragedy struck: Nikka was only 11 when her father died. Nikka withdrew from music altogether, although she did make a return, as a teenager, at the Sanremo Festival in 1990. As part of a trio she sang “All for the Love.” The 1990s saw only album release, but Nikka seemed to make another comeback in 2001 with the album, Everybody’s Got Their Something. The little track was used for the TV series, Buffy, while another song, “Push & Pull,” was used for the soundtrack of the Johnny Deep Movie, Blow. Her album, 2005’s Can’t Never did Nothin’, was also well received and featured guest appearances from Prince and Lenny Kravutz. Her latest album, Pebble to a Pearl, was described by the critic David Wild as “her most direct and convincing music statement yet.”
FUNKY LADY
Like many artists today, Nikka Costa has not had a good relationship with record labels. She has said that being with a major label was like being “on the deck on the Titanic.” Today she has her own label and its name refers both to her musical style and to her attitude towards the record industry: it’s called “Go Funk Yourself Records.”
GLOSSARY
In actual fact: na realidade.
Hit: Sucesso
Childhood: Infância
Struck: golpeou, abalou.
Withdrew from music altogether: retirou-se totalmente da música.
The title track: A canção, título.
Soundtrack: Trilha Sonora.
Featured guest appearence: Contava com a contribuição de convidados.
Pebble to a Pearl: “De pedrinha à pérola.
Her most...musical statement yet: sua mais convicente produção musical até agora.
Record labels: Selos gravadoras.
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