Gia Farrell (born Jeannie Bocchicchio, February 9, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and make-up artist. Her 2006 single " Hit Me Up" was featured on the '' Happy Feet'' soundtrack in 2006 and climbed the charts internationally. In 2015, she released a single under the artist name "Bokeeks" titled "Smile". She's currently working on her first commercial album after leaving

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

in 2008.

Early life

Gia was born in Suffern, New York to Italian-American parents. She began singing lessons at the age of eight. She continued to train her voice, and appeared in a local production of '' Guys and Dolls'' and opened for

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

, where she performed songs from

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

and

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

. At age 13, she had performed on '' Showtime at the Apollo'' being named one of their "Best Artists of the Year" as well as on Ed McMahon's ''Next Big Star'' and '' Star Search''. In 2005 at 16 years old she signed with

. She later adopted her grandmother's maiden name as her stage name. Farrell cites artists Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera as her biggest influences.

2005–2007

Farrell released her first single, "Hit Me Up", in January 2007. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie '' Happy Feet''. It found moderate success internationally charting in various parts of Europe, topping the charts in Hungary and peaking at No. 6 in Australia. The single was used as the theme song for the second season of '' Germany's Next Topmodel''. For the 2006 holiday season, Farrell's song "Christmas Everyday" was released on the Make-A-Wish Holiday CD sold at

Bath & Body Works Bath & Body Works, LLC. is an American retail store chain that sells soaps, lotions, fragrances, and candles. It was founded in 1990 in New Albany, Ohio and has since expanded across 6 continents. In 1997, it was the largest bath shop chain in ...

. In 2007 she recorded three songs "You'll be Sorry", "Can & Cannot Do" and "Stupid For You", however none were officially released as part of a CD or album. This was due to Gia Farrell leaving her label Atlantic Records because they did not release her album due to a change in internal staff and management. During this time in her early career, Gia had several managers and handlers including Doug Davis son of the legendary Clive Davis. After parting ways with Doug, Gia was forced to find new management. Gia's new manager was an unscrupulous individual who attempted to derail her career, steal her money and keep her in the dark. Unfortunately, he was successful at straining her relationship with her label. After a lengthy court battle and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, Gia won a court case against her manager and permanently parted ways with him. In April 2007 Farrell rode on the float for the opening parade celebration at the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

opening day baseball game and sang the

US National Anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the ...

. In December 2008 Farrell left Atlantic Records.

2009–2011

In May 2009 she released a demo single "New Religion" which was accompanied with a music video. Gia began posting random YouTube videos of original and cover songs. her videos had reached 600,000+ views. In January 2011, Farrell joined Miranda Cosgrove on her tour to promote her debut album, '' Sparks Fly''. In mid June 2011, Farrell joined in a cover for Adele's " Rolling in the Deep" with The All Ways band. She also appeared on the eleventh season of ''American Idol'' as Jeannie Bocchicchio but was unable to complete the season due to having been previously signed to Atlantic records.

Discography

Note: Only six songs from her "Gia Farrell" album leaked on the internet. Christmas Everyday and Hit Me Up had already released commercially for purchase online.

From the unreleased "Gia Farrell" album

* Christmas Everyday – 2006 * You'll Be Sorry – 2006 * Got Me Like Oh! song originally by '' Sertab Erener'' – 2006 * Hit Me Up from '' Happy Feet'' – 2007 * Stupid For You – 2007 * Obvious – 2007 * I Been Hopin' – 2007 * Can & Cannot Do – 2007 * Next – 2007 * Real – 2007 * So Wrong – 2007 * Do You Know What It's Like? – 2007 * I Was Ready – 2007 * Girl Like Me – 2007 * Flashback – 2007 * Don't Make Me Break Your Heart – 2007 * Over You – 2007 * Outta My Mind – 2007 * Let's Go – 2007 * Wait and See – 2007

Other sample songs

* New Religion – 2009 * Oh Holy Night – 2009 * The Christmas Song – 2009

With Blackbird

* Can't Make Somebody Love You – 2014 * Goodbye – 2014

As Bokeeks

* Smile (2015) * Christmas Love (2015)

2017–18

* Original Sin (2017) * Love Is Gone (2017) * You'll Be Sorry (2017 version) * Rhythm and Sex (2017) * What'd You Say (2017) * Into The Ground (2018)