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January 22, 2008 01:56 PM - Mississauga singer and songwriter Selyne Maia wants to be a pop star and she's one step closer to achieving her dream.
The 21-year-old university music student has made it to the final 12 in an international online video singing competition.
Maia submitted a video of herself singing a karaoke version of Alanis Morissette's You Learn for round two of the popvideo STAR competition two weeks ago.
You can log on to www.popvideostar.com and watch Maia's video performance of another Alanis favourite, That I Would Be Good, that she submitted for round three of the competition. All you have to do is register and you can vote as many times as you want.
Voting for round three begins tomorrow. The six finalists advancing to round four will be announced on popvideo STAR's live radio show on Saturday. You can listen to the show online at www.famemusic.co.za/Radio7.htm from 9-11 a.m. A repeat show will air from 3-5 p.m.
Popvideo STAR is a unique competition that invites contestants from around the world to upload videos of themselves performing cover songs to the website. Fans then log on to vote for their favourites.
Maia is the only Canadian contestant to have survived this far.
According to Maia's popvideo STAR profile, she is a music major at York University who began singing with various choirs at a young age.
Bryan Bedard, the co-creator of popvideo STAR, said the idea for this contest came to him after seeing the success of TV singing competitions like American Idol and Canadian Idol.
It also had to do with the YouTube phenomenon, he said, where many aspiring artists have the opportunity to share their music with others online.
"We wanted to create something that would be a platform for these talented artists to get noticed," Bedard said.
Unlike other music competitions where the winner usually gets a recording contract with a major record label, the popvideo STAR winner is awarded a promotional package to help kick start his or her music career.
The package includes a professionaly designed website with free hosting and advertising.
Bedard is confident Maia could well be this season's popvideo STAR.
"Unless something drastic changes, she's going to win," Bedard said.
Bedard says Maia does extremely well in each week's voting and has the highest number of new voters.
"She's the complete package. She's got personality, she's a pretty girl, she sings very well and she plays piano and writes her own songs," Bedard said.
This is only popvideo STAR's second season and last year's winner was Alberto Suarez from Miami, Florida.
The season's vote wraps up in four weeks.
http://mississauga.com/article/10483
- Tiffany Persaud
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Bio
Selyne Maia
Singer/Songwriter/Piano Teacher
As a disciplined player for over 15 years, Selyne has the
ability to captivate an audience with her calming voice,and soulful
music. Whether she is singing her own compositions, or playing
piano, Selyne strives to have new and inviting performances,
allowing the audience to sit back, relax, and have an enjoyable
evening.
Selyne began singing at a young age in various choirs, while
she plunked away on the piano keys at home on her own time. She
soon after began her lessons and wrote her first compositions. Selyne
is currently finishing her degree at York University as a music major.
She has been involved with several of York University choirs including Jazz Choir,
and Gospel Choir. Selyne has studied with various teachers such as
Catherine Wilson, Maria Farinha, and Adrean Farrugia.
Selyne began peforming on stage at a young age in various
theatrical settings. She currently plays local lounges where she receives
many positive responses,
"Selyne Maia is a talented musician from Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada. At 20 years old, her powerful voice
can touch your soul"
http://dho.ca/wp/2007/06/09/selyne-maia-up-and-coming-talent-in-mississauga
Aside from performing, Selyne has been teaching piano for
3 years. With a wide range of students, Selyne enjoys being able
to share her knowledge with others, and has pride in watching
her students perform in various recitals, and auditions.
Selyne enjoys her growing relationship with all that is
musical, and only wishes to continue her success for years
to come.
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