Kina Grannis (born August 4, 1985) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter of half-Japanese, English, French, Welsh, and Irish descent. Kina graduated in 2007 from the University of Southern California with a degree in Social Sciences with a concentration in Psychology.
Grannis was the winner of the Doritos Crash The Super Bowl contest.[1] Her progress in the competition was recently covered in the Orange County Register[2] and the Wall Street Journal.[3]
Grannis' music can also be heard in the upcoming feature film Glass City slated for release spring 2008.
Biography
Early life and career beginnings
Kina Grannis grew up in Mission Viejo and was exposed to music at an early age, listening to the likes of James Taylor and K's Choice, among others.
She attended Newhart Middle School from 1997 through 1999 after which she attended Capistrano Valley High School from 1999 to 2003, and afterwards attended USC. At the age of 15, she began to focus primarily on guitar, and continued throughout high school into college.
During Grannis' sophomore year at USC (2006), she was selected by the Thornton School of Music to produce a six-song EP, titled sincerely, me.citation needed That same year, she came out with two more EPs, each with nine songs. They were released a day apart, One More In the Attic, and In Memory of the Singing Bridge.
Solo career
In early 2007, she recorded a song for Rachael Lawrence and Deborah Ellen that would later be featured in an episode of General Hospital, entitled "Ours to Keep"citation needed Grannis' recording of "Ours to Keep" has since been featured on General Hospital regularly.citation needed After graduating from USC in May 2007, Grannis relocated to Austin to sing and record with a band, planning to return to Los Angeles (and her solo gig) during the winter of 2007-2008. During the winter and spring period, on the advice of a friend, she entered the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Contest and after making it to the final rounds, won a record deal with Interscope Records. Currently, Grannis is working with Interscope Records to produce a new album that will be released late 2008.citation needed
Personal life
Grannis has two sisters named Misa and Emi, both of whom have occasionally been featured on her videoblog. Her father Gordon is a chiropractor[4] and her mother Trish is a graphic designer. An avid supporter of cancer research, Grannis has also performed at several Relay For Life functions over the years.citation needed
Discography
Albums
- Blindly
- Highlighted in Green
- Next Time
- Try
- Another Day
- People
- Living In Dreams
- Why Can't I?
- Never Never
- Some Days
- What Is Said
- In Theory
- Wandering and Wondering
- Running Away
- Missing You
- Walk On
- Down and Gone (the Blue Song)
- Too Soon
- Breathe Honesty
- Don't Cry
- Night
- !
- Memory
- untitled
Singles
- Message From Your Heart
- Gotta Digg
Notable media appearances
- On September 24, 2007, the song Ours To Keep, written by Deborah Ellen and Rachel Lawrence and sung by Kina, debuted on the ABC soap opera General Hospital as the theme song of characters Elizabeth and Jason, aka "Liason" [5][6]
- On January 4, 2008, Kina's video Gotta Digg was featured on the popular podcast Diggnation hosted by Digg founder Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht[7]
- On January 21, 2008, Kina was featured on Fox News about her involvement in the Doritos contest.[8]
- On February 3, 2008, Doritos commissioned music video "Message From Your Heart" by Kina received 60 seconds of airtime during Super Bowl XLII, and is officially signed by Interscope Records.
- On February 4, 2008, a front page Yahoo article analyzing commercial advertisements aired during the Super Bowl mentioned Kina Grannis and the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Contest. [9]
- On February 5, 2008, Good Day LA on Fox 11 featured a story about Kina's Crash the Super Bowl experience. [10]
- On February 24, 2008, Kina sang the national anthem for the Auto Club 500 NASCAR race in Fontana, California.
References
External links
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