Nikka Costa

Nikka Costa was born in Tokyo, Japan to Italian-American parents. She was musically-inspired from childhood, often surrounded by famous and talented artists as she traveled the world with her father, the well-known producer and musician Don Costa.

At age five, Nikka recorded a single with Hawaiian singer Don Ho. In early 1981, two Italian producers, Danny B. Besquet and Tony Renis, were working with her father on his album Don Costa Plays the Beatles[1] when they were inspired to record an album featuring Nikka’s vocals, with her father accompanying on guitar. The album would go on to be well-received in Europe, and Costa became known as a child star. At age 9, Costa sang with Frank Sinatra in an appearance on the lawn of the White House.[2]

In 1981, Costa's career as a primary recording artist began when she recorded the song "(Out Here) On My Own" (from the movie Fame), featuring her father Don Costa. The single reached No. 72 in Germany,[3] No. 7 in Switzerland,[4] No. 32 in the Netherlands,[5] No. 13 in the Flanders region of Belgium.,[6] and No. 1 in Italy. The album Nikka Costa was released, outside of the U.S., in 1981. Costa would subsequently tour the world. Her second album, Fairy Tales (cuentos de hadas), was released in 1983. Don Costa died of a heart attack shortly after the album was recorded. The pop album Here I Am... Yes, It's Me was released to fulfill a contractual obligation in 1989.

After graduating from high school, Costa decided to move away from pop music and towards R&B, funk and soul, being especially influenced by Motown artists.

In the early 1990s, while already a music business veteran, Costa transitioned away from her childhood of pop music to a more mature soul style. She married Australian producer/songwriter Justin Stanley and moved to his home country; the couple would eventually have a daughter named Sugar McQueen. While in Australia, Costa began writing songs and formed a "happy funk" band called Little Mona & the Shag Daddies, which broke up after four gigs in Sydney.

At age 22, Costa's next venture was a band called Sugarbone, which toured Australia in 1994; of the experience, Costa related that "It was really scary to unveil it, but the reaction was good. It helped my confidence."[7] After touring with Sugarbone, she signed to the Mushroom Records label in Australia. In 1996, she released the album Butterfly Rocket in Australia, which earned her a nomination for the ARIA Music Award for “Breakthrough Artist” in that same year, and “Best Female Artist” the following year, in 1997.[8]

In 2000, Costa's song "Like a Feather" was featured in a Tommy Hilfiger television advertising campaign. That exposure, coupled with the track's music video, helped gain her a foothold in the U.S. music industry. The album Everybody Got Their Something was released in 2001 and entered the charts at No. 120 on the Billboard 200.[9] The title track and "Like a Feather" were radio hits, although the latter did peak at No. 53 in the United Kingdom.[10] In 2002, Costa was the opening act for Britney Spears' Dream Within a Dream Tour in the US and Canada. In 2005, Costa released the album can'tneverdidnothin'. She toured with Lenny Kravitz, who also performed on the record. In 2006, she and her husband Justin Stanley recorded and performed the theme to the short-lived CBS sitcom Courting Alex starring Jenna Elfman.

Costa was a guest singer on Mark Ronson (who has produced several of her songs)’s album Here Comes the Fuzz. Her song "Push & Pull" (from the album Everybody Got Their Something) was included on the soundtrack of the 2001 movie Blow, starring Johnny Depp. The track "Everybody Got Their Something" was used in the soundtrack of the 2009 movie All About Steve starring Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. Her song "Stuck To You" (from the album Pebble to a Pearl) appeared in an episode of Grey's Anatomy (season five) and in The Peanuts Movie.

Costa is currently signed with Stax Records.[11] She released the studio album Pebble to a Pearl on 14 October 2008. In 2010, she released the single "Ching Ching Ching" in Europe. The song is notable from a genre change from soul/funk to electro-pop. The single reached No. 69 in Germany,[12] making it Costa's first single to chart in Germany since "On My Own" in 1981. A new EP titled Pro Whoa was released in 2011. Costa co-wrote the song "Diamonds Made from Rain" on Eric Clapton's 2010 album Clapton. The album Nikka & Strings: Underneath and in Between, consisting of covers of rock standards, was released on 2 June 2017.[13]

• Nikka Costa (1981)
• Fairy Tales (1983)
• Here I Am... Yes, It's Me (1989)
• Butterfly Rocket (1996)
• Everybody Got Their Something (2001)
• Can'tneverdidnothin' (2005)
• Pebble to a Pearl (2008)
• Nikka & Strings, Underneath and in Between (2017)