Manika Grace Ward (born August 2, 1993), who performs as Manika ( ), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, TV-Host and author.
Early life
Manika was born in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
to Grace Ward and Wallace Ward in 1993. She described herself in 2011 interview with ''
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area.
The ''Review-Journal'' ...
'' as "part Filipino, part Japanese, part Chinese, part Malaysian and part Spanish".
As a child, she taught herself to play the
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
and
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
. Aged 17, Manika graduated as valedictorian from
Henderson International School
Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...
in
Henderson, Nevada
Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Va ...
. At 15, she also wrote a book, ''The Exciting Adventures of Boo'' and donated proceeds to the ASPCA Animal Shelter.
Music and television career
Aged 17, music executive
Frank DiLeo
Frank Michael DiLeo (October 23, 1947 – August 24, 2011) was an American music industry executive and actor, known for his portrayal of gangster Tuddy Cicero in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas''. From 1984 to 1989, and again in 2009, he was ...
noticed her after she received several awards at
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
's National Performing Arts Festival. Under DiLeo's supervision, she released several singles. In 2009, she published "Boyz R Dumb". In 2011 she collaborated with rapper
Lil Twist
Christopher Lynn Moore (born January 11, 1993), better known by his stage name Lil Twist, is an American rapper from Dallas, Texas. He is signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment. Also in 2011, she worked with music coach CeCe Sammy, whom she met through a shared friend.
Her manager DiLeo died in 2011 after
cardiac surgery
Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to ...
. In 2012 she toured with
One Direction
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the gro ...
across North America as their opening act. In 2012 Manika also performed at
KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM (102.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a top 40 format. Owned by iHeartMedia, KIIS-FM is the origin of the conglome ...
's Wango Tango. In 2013, Manika published her debut album, ''Manika Double Album''; associated singles included "Good Girls" and "My Way".
In a 2011 interview with the magazine '' Latina'', she said her musical inspirations were
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, '' Let Go'' (2002), is the best-selling album of the 21 ...
,
Pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
, and
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two ...
.
In 2014, Manika released her fourth single "Vegas Party". She performed this song at Las Vegas nightclubs including Hakkasan nightclub at MGM Grand and Light nightclub at
Mandalay Bay
Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circ ...
. Manika's fifth single was released in 2015 "B.Y.O.Bugatti", which peaked at number 12 on the U.S. Hot Single Sales Chart by ''Billboard''. In 2015, Manika also performed on the main stage at the Wine Amplified music festival in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
.
Later that year she released a collaboration with rapper
Tyga
Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...
, "I Might Go Lesbian", which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Single Sales Chart. The title of the song has been retroactively changed, first to "I Might Go..." and later to "I Might Go (love a) Lesbian". In 2016 Manika released her single "How Can I Love" which charted higher than any of her other singles at number 7 in Billboard Sales. Manika is also the host for reality-TV series "Global Beauty Masters" (students) that airs on TLC TV network and
Discovery Life
Discovery Life is an American cable television network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on February 1, 2011 as Discovery Fit & Health, it was the result of the merger of Discovery Health Channel and FitTV (following the former's repla ...
, in the U.S., and in over 25 countries in North and South America including Mexico, Canada and
the Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
.
In 2016, Manika launched her own radio show "Manika's Love Line" on
Dash Radio
Dash Radio is a digital radio broadcasting platform with over 80 radio stations. These stations are curated by DJs, radio personalities, musicians, etc. The platform includes partner stations curated by Snoop Dogg, Kylie Jenner, Lil Wayne, Tech N9 ...
which airs every Sunday at 6pm PST / 9pm EST.
Manika is the TV host of The Look All Stars "The Social Corner", that airs on Sunday nights on
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
nationwide. The Look All Stars also stars
Tori Spelling
Victoria Davey Spelling (born May 16, 1973) is an American actress and author. Her first major role was Donna Martin on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', beginning in 1990. She has appeared in made for television films, including ''A Friend to Die Fo ...
.
Discography
Album
* ''MANIKA Double Album'' (2013)
EP
* ''The Middle of Hollywood''
Singles
* "Just Can't Let You Go (feat.
Lil Twist
Christopher Lynn Moore (born January 11, 1993), better known by his stage name Lil Twist, is an American rapper from Dallas, Texas. He is signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment. number 21 on Billboard Hot Single Sales
* "Good Girls" (2012)
* "My Way" (2013)
* "Vegas Party" (2014)
* "B.Y.O.Bugatti" (2015), number 12 on Billboard Hot Single Sales
* "I Might Go Lesbian (feat.
Tyga
Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...
)" (2015), number 15 on Billboard Hot Single Sales
* "How Can I Love" (2016), number 7 on Billboard Hot Single Sales