Orianna

KITTIE drummer Mercedes Lander and former KITTIE bassist Tanya Candler laid down backing vocals this week on a new recording from Orianna, a 14-year-old singer/songwriter and entertainer from London, Ontario, Canada.

Orianna, whose real name is Nikki Whitehead, is working on her first CD with producers Moe Berg (a founding member of Canada’s THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS) and Matt Grady.

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Mercedes occasionally sits behind the kit for Candler‘s current band ALCOHOLLYS. - METAL4ALL.com

KITTIE drummer Mercedes Lander and former KITTIE bassist Tanya Candler laid down backing vocals this week on a new recording from Orianna, a 14-year-old singer/songwriter and entertainer from London, Ontario, Canada.

Orianna, whose real name is Nikki Whitehead, is working on her first CD with producers Moe Berg (a founding member of Canada’s THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS) and Matt Grady. - Focus-Bliss

Orianna's first single & music video Gonna Get Burned.

Orianna's brand of hot teen music takes youtube music video by storm. Her mix of folk, rock, roots & soul is blended into a genre of teen rock music she calls "gypsy rock" and is a new twist to the london, ontario music - DailyMotion

Orianna Releases First Official Video “Gonna Get Burned”
Submitted by pr@wiredflare on Jul 17, 2012 - 01:43 PM |



Orianna, a 14-year-old musician and songwriter from London, Ontario, has released her first official music video, "Gonna Get Burned."

WireService.ca Press Release - Fourteen-year-old music sensation Orianna is taking the London music scene by storm. Her first official video was released this week, and "Gonna Get Burned" is already making waves.

The video release follows Orianna's recent appearance at the Ladyfest London Music Festival and is leading up to the release of her first album, which is being recorded at the EMAC Studios and produced by Moe Berg, founder of Canada's The Pursuit of Happiness. Her new album is what she calls "gypsy rock," her own blend of Indie rock, folk music and soul.

Orianna, otherwise known as Nikki Whitehead, is a singer/songwriter from London, Ontario, whose father Nick Whitehead, formerly of the Juno Award winning Canadian folk group Black Creek, introduced Orianna to music even before she was born.

She has been performing on stage since the age of eight and is becoming known for her soulful, rich voice and her own unique musical style. The "Gonna Get Burned" video was shot in downtown London and produced by Cristina Lucarelli and John Cullen.

To find out more about Orianna or to watch her new video, visit http://www.facebook.com/oriannaofficial or http://www.youtube.com/oriannaofficialmusic. - Canadian Free Press

Singer songwriter Orianna sings her heart out on My Superman, a song she co-wrote with Londoner Steven Hardy. The 14-year-old performs Sunday at 5 p.m. at Norma Jean's. (MORRIS LAMONT, The London Free Press)

A young London rock "warrior" is in super voice for this week's Reaney's Pick video. Orianna -- Nikki Whitehead off-stage -- is heard singing My Superman, a song she co-wrote. "It's my middle name. It means 'golden warrior' in Celtic," she said of Orianna during Tuesday's video shoot.

The 14-year-old is part of the "rock band course" at Britown Music, a private London program run by Brian Nelles, who joins her on guitar for the video. She's to be part of the "rock band concert" on Sunday at Norma Jean's where she'll have a place in Blind Jefferson, a Britown student group.

Advisers suggested she use a stage name out of the ordinary, said her father, Nick Whitehead of London. That's how Orianna made its move from middle name to stage ID.

It's a busy time for the singer and songwriter. Orianna is also a student of London rocker Tanya Candler of the Alcohollys. She has been working on a video with one of its intended destinations being the Ellen DeGeneres-tied eleveneleven label, a haven for young performers. She's recording at EMAC studios in London with Matt Grady, Moe Berg and Rob Nation involved in the project.

There was an Orianna gig at Call the Office earlier this week, with Nelles, 30, a St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic secondary school and Wilfrid Laurier music grad, and others in the backup band.

"It's really exciting," she said of all the activity.

Orianna has other allies, such as award-winning London songwriter Steven Hardy. "I write a lot of my ballads with him," she said.

My Superman is among those co-writes.

"I wrote the song before Christmas for one of my friends," Orianna said.

Off-stage, she is a Grade 8 Montessori pupil and will attend Beal secondary school for Grade 9.

Back in the day, her father was part of bluegrass act Black Creek, winner of the 1975 Etrog award for the best original musical score at that year's Canadian film awards (Genies). Black Creek's music was part of the Jan Rubes-starring Lions for Breakfast.

His daughter's songwriting abilities have already far surpassed his, Nick Whitehead said Tuesday.

It's Nick Whitehead's guitar Nelles is playing during My Superman. - London Free Press

James Reaney, music critic for the London Free Press, selected Orianna as his, Pick-of-the-Week' this week. The video can be found at Reaney's Pick: http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2012/04/25/19678751.html
- London Free Press