Lisa Manis

Imitating Reba McEntire at 4 years of age, writing her own songs since she was eleven ( her first penned inspirationally by Grandma and horses), this Pickering-raised talent was first discovered at a Canada Day karaoke show. Her choice of song? The Power of Love by Celine Dion. She was only 6 years old.

Shania Twain’s vocal coach, Ian Garrett was one of the first to help train this spectacular voice. This led into commercial work for such brands as KFC, Rice Krispies and Aleve. Lisa's love of country music led her to participate in country music competitions at Toronto's CNE and Simcoe's Canadian Country Open Singing contest where she place first and second respectively. Her continued love of performing launched her into Musical Theatre and she shined in Oliver at the Princess of Wales Theatre from October 1999 to January 2000, and at The Elgin Theatre in Peter Pan for the November 2000 to January 2001 run. Stratford talent scouts were blown away and she became one of the leads in The Sound of Music for the February 2001 to November 2001 season. She was only eleven years old.

Lisa thought being a regular kid might suit her after spending years on stages, so she took a break, finished high school but there was still the urge to be a performer. During that time, she continued her vocal training with top vocal coach Elaine Overholt who further trained this enchanting voice. She also attracted the interest of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Rock to sing the national anthem at some of their games. CBC’s “Celine: The Movie” highlighted Lisa's talent when she performed as the voice of the younger Celine which aired in October 2008. Country radio station KX96 had a competition that fall, Lisa was the runner up and decided what others knew all along, that singing was what she was meant for.

The result of her training with Elaine, and honing her songwriting skills landed her recording time with Juno Award winning producer Greg Kavanagh (Kavanagh Music) at the helm and on guitars. Other fine musicians were Gary Craig - drums, Russ Boswell - bass, Burke Carroll - steel guitar, and Rob Gusevs - piano, organ. Tracks such as “Not Today” and “Shoulda Known Better” will undoubtedly catapult Lisa into the upper echelons of female singers. A full album will be forthcoming with 25 self penned songs ready to choose from. Lisa recently performed at Hugh's Room in Toronto as one of four artists in the Discoveries showcase. Her summer will be spent with further recording, releasing a single and some performances.