Manika Grace Ward (born August 2, 1993), known professionally as Manika ( ), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, TV-Host, and author.

Early life and education

Manika was born in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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 and guitar. 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 2nd most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with 317,610 residents. The city is part of the Las Vegas Valley. Henderson is nota ...

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with 317,610 residents. The city is part of the Las Vegas V ...

. At 15, she also wrote a book, ''The Exciting Adventures of Boo'' and donated proceeds to the ASPCA Animal Shelter.

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 Mi ...

noticed her after she received several awards at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

'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 signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, an imprint of Republic Records in 2010.

on "Just Can't Let You Go". Also in 2011, she worked with music coach

CeCe Sammy CeCe Sammy-Lightfoot (born 30 May 1977) is a British vocal and performance coach, singer-songwriter and television presenter. She has appeared on various television shows, including ''S Club Search'' (2001), ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''American ...

, whom she met through a shared friend. Her manager DiLeo died in 2011 after cardiac surgery. In 2012 she toured with

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

across North America as their opening act. In 2012 Manika also performed at

KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "102.7 KIIS FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format. Owned by i ...

Wango Tango iHeartRadio Wango Tango, commonly referred to as simply Wango Tango, is an annual day-long concert produced by local Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM. The concert series has been staged at various venues around southern California including Dod ...

. 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 Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

'', she said her musical inspirations were

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. 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, p ...

, and

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...

. 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 operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circus Enterprises and complete ...

. 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

. Later that year she released a collaboration with rapper

Tyga Micheal Ray 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 the Discovery Health Channel and FitTV, following the former's ...

, in the U.S., and in over 25 countries in North and South America including Mexico, Canada and

the Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America to the west, a ...

. In 2016, Manika launched her own radio show "Manika's Love Line" on

Dash Radio Litt Live (stylized as LITT Live, formerly Dash Radio) is a digital radio broadcasting platform with 44 radio stations. These stations are curated by DJs, radio personalities, musicians, etc. The platform includes partner stations curated by Sn ...

. Manika is the TV host of The Look All Stars "The Social Corner", on

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

. The Look All Stars also stars

Tori Spelling Victoria Davey Spelling (born May 16, 1973) is an American actress. Her first major role was Donna Martin (character), Donna Martin on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', from 1990 to 2000. She has appeared in made-for-television films, including ''A Fri ...

Discography

Album

* ''MANIKA Double Album'' (2013)

EP

* ''The Middle of Hollywood''

Singles

* "Just Can't Let You Go (feat.

)" (2011), 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 Micheal Ray StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson

)" (2015), number 15 on Billboard Hot Single Sales * "How Can I Love" (2016), number 7 on Billboard Hot Single Sales

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manika 1993 births Living people American women songwriters Musicians from Las Vegas Songwriters from Nevada Writers from Las Vegas American women pop singers American musicians of Filipino descent American women musicians of Japanese descent American musicians of Chinese descent American people of Malaysian descent American people of Spanish descent 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers