Erika David

Erika David, 19, went from being an education major at UNLV to the newest talent discovery after winning the Colgate MaxFresh talent competition on MYSPACE. Ever since she performed in a talent show when she was seven, Erika dreamed about becoming a famous singer and now she's getting her chance.

Like many new singers, Erika admits to having a little stage freight. "I love to sing but I freak out a bit when I have to perform in front of a lot of people. My twin, who would have been the more daring one had she been alive, pushes me to take a chance because the outcome could be good," she stated in an interview.

Erika was born a twin who died when they were just 14 months old. "It's strange but all my life I still felt very connected to my twin spiritually. She helps me conquer my fears," Erika said.

More than 70,000 MYSPACE users voted to narrow down the pool to just five semi-finalists. People voted for Erika's rendition of the Alicia Keys hit "IF I Ain't Got You," which won her the entire competition. "I performed the song at talent shows so I knew I could do it. It took me four takes to get my audition tape to where I felt it was good and then I sent it in and said a prayer," she said.

A panel of three judges, Bryan-Michael Cox (Grammy winning producer), Danyel Smith (editor-in-chief of Vibe Magazine) and Tito El Bambino (Latin singing superstar) weighed in and made the final decision on the winner. The judges felt that Erika is so fresh and new because "she's an Asian girl who can sing R&B."

Her prize for winning the video competition is a professional recording session and video production, which features an original song written and produced my Cox and a gig to perform at the pre-part for New York City's most popular concert event, Z100 FM's Jingle Ball. - Associated Content

Fortunately, one Las Vegas FilAm student defied this stereotype. In fact, she recorded her rendition of the Alicia Keys hit single If I Ain’t Got You and submitted it to a competition online, and won big.

Last month, Erika David was declared as the winner of Colgate’s MaxFresh Karaoke Contest. The 19-year-old education major at UNLV won a trip to New York City, where she recorded a demo with Grammy award-winning songwriter/record producer, Bryan-Michael Cox, and the opportunity to perform at the Z100 Jingle Ball pre-party, an annual concert hosted at the Madison Square Garden this December.

“The whole experience was really awesome and I had a really great time,” David told the Asian Journal after her studio recording session in Manhattan. The whirlwind experience also afforded had David having a photo-shoot and some press interviews.

David said she found out about the online competition two days before the deadline so she had no time to prepare well. She knew she had to join the competition so she recorded her performance and sent it at once.

She was eventually voted into the top five by MySpace users. A panel of judges, which included Cox himself, made the final decision.

“That video I submitted wasn’t the one I really wanted to send in, but I had sung it so many times already,” she said.

David can be considered as one of the internet’s rising stars. She is the 45th most subscribed musician on YouTube, with more than a million views, and the three tracks posted on her MySpace profile have been listened to more than 30,000 times.

“I am glad she won. She is the next fresh thing to happen. She’s a great artist. I’m keeping it real,” Cox said in a video taken in the recording studio posted in David’s site.

Erika said that she started singing when she was a very young kid, and her dad used to ask her a lot to sing during family gatherings and parties. She also joined talent shows when she was in elementary school, made it to the choir when she was in junior high and said that she loved the stage and performing.

In college, she auditioned and performed in various programs and shows. She also discovered YouTube and MySpace and decided to share her talent for the rest of the world to see.

Originally from Fremont, California, Erika and her family moved to Las Vegas six years ago. She considers Keyshia Cole, Amy Winehouse and Alicia Keys as her favorites because of their individuality.

Erika hopes to pursue a professional career in singing and she thinks that given the opportunity, she will be able to fulfill her dreams. In the meantime, she intends to finish her education course at the UNLV while waiting for her big break to come. Becoming a teacher is also one of her dreams because as she said, she adores kids.

Her message to the younger ones who also dream of making it in the music industry?

“The Internet is really big. Putting your stuff out there is the biggest thing and getting everybody’s feedback is great because you can learn from it. If you believe in something, just go for it. As long as you believe in yourself, something good will happen. Always have a positive attitude,” Erika said.

Erika David’s songs and profile may be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/user/ekaiann. - Asian Journal Online