Already a massive star in her native Costa Rica, with six Grammy Award nominations and a number one dance single under her belt, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Debi Nova is ready to make her mark on the rest of the world. In April 2010, Decca Records will release Nova’s debut album “Luna Nueva” The album is an electrifying combination of irresistible Latin rhythms and potent pop smarts that showcases this vivacious artists considerable musical gifts (she plays piano, guitar, bass and more) as well as her rich Latina heritage. It’s a genre-defying blend that anyone can enjoy, whether they’re Anglo or Latino, young or old, straight or gay, and proof positive that pop music really is a universal language.
A resident of Costa Rica and the U.S., who has split her time between the two countries the last seven years, the twenty four year old Nova, is a stunning high-spirited brunette with a powerhouse voice and hip shaking dance moves to match. Born in the Costa Rican capital city of San Jose, Nova began playing piano at age four, at the urging of her mother, whose family members all play an instrument. Nova studied classical piano throughout her teens and fronted her first band at 13. At 14 she joined the Costa Rican band Gandhi and got her first experience performing on the big stage when the group opened for such arts as Deep Purple, Aterciopelados and Mana. She honed her vocal technique during a five week program at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and eventually moved to Los Angeles to study voice at the LA Music Academy in Pasadena. After which she entered UCLA’s Ethnomusicology and Jazz Studies program intending to complete her degree. But fate intervened in the form of an invitation from legendary Brazilian artist Sergio Mendes to be the featured vocalist on his critically acclaimed album “Timeless,” and accompany him on his US and Japanese tour. Not long after Nova signed her first publishing deal.
In addition to Mendes, Nova has been a featured vocalist on albums by Ricky Martin, Black Eyed Peas, Sean Paul and Mark Ronson, to name a few. She has also toured with Martin. As a songwriter, Nova has written hits songs for Belinda and RBD, two of Latin Americas biggest artists. She has been nominated for six Grammys and had a number one hit in Latin American and on the US dance charts with “One Rhythm.”
Produced by multi-Grammy nominated producers, Marius de Vries and Gustavo Santaolalla, “Luna Nueva” is a labor of love, long in the making, which not only showcases Nova’s electrifying vocals and musicianship, but her songwriting talents as well. The first single is the playful soca/hip-hop inspired “Drummer Boy.”
Videos
Drummer Boy (Official Music Video)
Luna Nueva EPK
Full acoustic version of Drummer Boy as featured on:
Debi Nova
