Karina Pasian (born July 18, 1991) is an American singer.

Life and career

Karina Pasian was born in New York City and is of Dominican descent. Her first language was Russian, and she can sing in six other languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Turkish, and French. Growing up in a musical family, she first began taking piano lessons at the age of three from her babysitter, and began classical piano training while in kindergarten. She began working with a vocal coach at the age of eight, and attended the

Professional Performing Arts School The Professional Performing Arts School, colloquially known as PPAS, is a public middle and high school in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. History PPAS was created in 1990 to meet the needs of two groups of students: those who wanted t ...

in New York City along with Taylor Momsen and

Mark Indelicato Mark Indelicato (born July 16, 1994) is an American actor, singer, fashion blogger, and photographer best known for his role in the ABC comedy series '' Ugly Betty'', as Justin Suarez, the fashion-obsessed nephew of series protagonist Bett ...

. In 2003, Pasian met Quincy Jones, who invited her and her family to his home in Bel Air, California. Soon after this, Pasian performed and won on '' Star Search''. She also performed at Quincy Jones' ''We Are The Future'' concert in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. On June 22, 2007, Pasian performed at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

for President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, in celebration of ''Black Music Month'', making her the first person of Dominican descent to perform there. Pasian became the subject of a bidding war, when she was 13, between three major record labels:

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Musi ...

, and Bad Boy Records. She chose

in 2006. Her first album '' First Love'' was released on August 19, 2008.First Love: Karina
Accessed May 22, 2008. The first single was "

16 @ War "16 @ War" is the debut single from Karina from her debut album ''First Love''. It is produced by Tricky Stewart and The-Dream Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer, ...

" which received some moderate airplay on Urban radio and BET. The album's second single, "Can't Find the Words" was more successful, charting at #88 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart. Later that year, the album received a nomination for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

Award in the category of "Best Contemporary R&B." Following her

nomination, she did some touring in addition to recording covers on her

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel. A digital single "Halo" (a cover of

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 ...

's hit single) was released in 2009. Additionally, she recorded a cover of

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

's hit single "Brokenhearted" with R&B singer Sammie the following year. It was never released until 2011, that Pasian released new material, with an EP titled ''Trips to Venus EP, Vol. 1 – Holiday Edition'' on December 12. It was led by the single "Perfectly Different" in addition to a holiday single " The Christmas Song" released that same month. In 2012, Pasian collaborated with

Skye Townsend Skylar Christan "Skye" Townsend (born September 1, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She has released two EPs, ''Vomit'' (2012) and ''Rocking Chairs'' (2015). Townsend joined the main cast of ''A Black Lady Sketch Show'' in 2021. Music car ...

and Chris O'Bannon on the single "Go Fish" which resulted in a music video shot and directed by Robert Townsend in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The following year, she released the digital single "Fall In Love Again", which was to lead off her next EP ''Trips to Venus EP, Vol. 2'', which was slated for release but then pulled. A "Special Edition" of Vol. 1 was later released to iTunes and other digital services on April 29, 2014, which removed " The Christmas Song" and included an acoustic version of her song "Slow Motion", which appeared on her debut. Later that year, she released a digital single "Solitaire" independently. In 2015, she signed with Universal Music Classics and released the single/video "Love Right Next to You" which received dance remixes in 2016. It's the lead single off her forthcoming EP ''Parallel World''. In 2020, she released her album "Something Warm To Wear" In 2021 Pasian took part in the 8th season of the TV talent show La Voz, Spanish version of

The Voice (American TV series) ''The Voice'' is an American singing reality competition television series broadcast on NBC. It premiered during the spring television cycle on April 26, 2011. Based on the original ''The Voice of Holland'' and part of ''The Voice'' franchise ...

. Her coach was

Alejandro Sanz Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, better known as Alejandro Sanz (; born 18 December 1968), is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. Sanz has won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He has received the Latin Grammy for Latin Grammy Awar ...

. Coincidentally, Pasian had worked as a singer in the Sanz's band during a number of tours. Karina Pasian was one of the four singers who performed in the final programme in December 2021, but not the winner.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Other charted songs

References

External links

Official Twitter
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pasian, Karina 1991 births Def Jam Recordings artists American singers of Dominican Republic descent American people of Armenian descent Living people Rhythm and blues pianists American rhythm and blues singers American child singers Hispanic and Latino American women singers Singers from New York (state) People from New York City 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American singers