Tinatin

TINATIN

“Let every border that divides become a meeting of hearts and minds
Every flag we salute fly with the gentle wind of gratitude.

Singer/songwriter Tinatin, named by Billboard Magazine as one of the "fresh faces to keep an eye out for in 2008," is adding final touches to her debut album with a number of the industry's top producers and scribes on both sides of the Atlantic, including Christopher Neil (also executive producer and vocal producer), Peter Adams & Jane Ryall, FAB, Eliot Kennedy, Ben 'Jammin' Robbins, Arnie Roman, Russ DeSalvo, Ayhan Sahin, Marc Russell & Dave Scheuer of the Ric Wake Entertainment Group, and legendary saxophonist/composer Chico Freeman. She was most recently featured in a special issue of Billboard's Best Bets '08 as one of the hot and rising "Faces to Watch" for the year ahead

Tinatin, whose song "Wild" was heralded as a 2007 year-end Top 10 Critic's Pick by Billboard Magazine and her first self-penned composition “Connected” has recently been voted as the finalist of the John Lennon Song Contest in the Pop Category (executive panel of judges included Al Jarreau, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, The Black-Eyed Peas, John Legend, etc.) was not even 4 years old when she started singing. While most kids her age were croaking nursery rhymes, she was perfecting her own rendition of "We Are the World." An old video recorded by her doting parents shows the youngster in a studio wearing giant headsets, singing in tune with the song—but entirely making up her own lyrics. "I was too young to know the words, but I was obsessed with the song," she says. "I wanted to sing it all the time." It was that childish fixation with one song that fueled what would become Tinatin's calling and career.

At a young age, Tinatin, who was born in Georgia, then a part of the Soviet Union, was also painting, writing and fluently speaking six languages. "I had to focus on one thing and singing was the natural choice. I felt like I was in my true element when I sang," she says of the decision.

Today, the 23-year-old's career is on the verge of catapulting into mainstream success. Her first single, "We Are the Peoples," co-written with FAB and Arnie Roman, has been released on iTunes. It is based on the United Nations charter, a bureaucratic post-war document explaining the purpose of the UN. "I really wanted to do something different, to make a difference, no matter how small, through my music." She hopes that the song will spread the message of the international organization, one she believes has become less honored over the years.

"We the Peoples" was recently reviewed by Billboard senior correspondent Chuck Taylor, who called it "a penultimate, contemporary anthem honoring the mission of the United Nations, perhaps more relevant than ever, given the flux of worldwide politics… a resonant affirmation that politics actually have potential to unite."

Collaborator Sahin describes Tinatin's upcoming full-length project: "She has a contemporary sound with a classical and jazz edge, not at all mainstream. Her voice is very soft and it just floats over the music," he says. Sahin also believes that coming from a different culture helped her develop a unique sound.

Tinatin's music career began in earnest in 1998 when she auditioned with Professor Luigi Alva at La Scala and was offered the distinction of being offered a place at the Academy. At 14, she began classical vocal lessons with renowned Maestro Gocha Bezhuashvili, who has worked with La Scala, The Metropolitan Opera and Covent Garden. In the summer of 1998, Tinatin was invited to open the 1st Festival of Russian Films in Cannes and was then asked by the Mayor of Nice to close the annual Carnival of Flowers with her version of Jacques Brel's "Quand On N'A Que L'Amour." TV interviews and special performances by Tinatin were broadcast on France's leading television and radio stations.

Three years later, she relocated to London to study journalism—and while there, launched her first promotional tour, organized by Event One, Jeff Chegwin and Yegor Shishkovsky, the latter of whom is a widely popular Russian-born journalist and radio personality. Live performances and TV/radio interviews with Tinatin were featured on BBC, Channel 5 and ITV's "London Tonight," where Capital FM's Neil "Doctor" Fox referred to her "really fantastic and beautiful voice. She's unbelievable. It's a voice that you would want people to put money behind."

Tinatin recounts, "One of the highlights of my early days came when I was asked by my all-time heroes, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, to perform 'A Piece of Sky' from 'Yentl' at the Creative Arts Awards honoring Marilyn, who alongside her husband, wrote some of the most touching and beautiful lyrics that I was brought up listening to." That performance marked her American debut, where she was presented to Mayor Rudi Giuliani and consummate Broadway composer Cy Coleman by the legendary conductor, arranger and composer Marvin Hamlisch, and accompanied by jazz pianist great Mike Renzi.

Described by Neil—the creative force behind Celine Dion, Mike & the Mechanics and Sheena Easton—as an artist with an "outstanding voice for people who want to make great music," Tinatin stands as a young, charismatic artist with the talent and moxie to forge one of the choice debut albums of the year

For more information, please visit: www.myspace.com/tinatinmusi