Alina
Encyclopedia
Alina Smith is an American
/Russia
n pop
singer, songwriter
and pianist
.
to a Russian
mother who was a teacher
, actress and opera
singer and an American
father. Alina was a prodigy
, reading and writing by age two; singing by three; speaking English
by four; and writing poetry and stories by five.
At the age of six, Alina had a choice between a scholarship
to a renowned music academy and a prized invitation to the famed Vaganovsky Ballet School. The decision in favor of a musical education was made. While at the academy, Alina was the youngest singer invited into the choir “Aurora” and the only one honored with a solo performance; touring Europe
with songs in Russian
, French
, German
, Spanish
and Latin
.
Alina finished writing her first novel by age thirteen, and the next year began composing
and performing original music
.
. Barely in the United States a matter of months, she formed, wrote for and helped choreograph a trio named “Enspyre”. She performed with the group for nearly a year before taking off on a solo
career. Her creativity flourished by being exposed to different genres of music, with her original catalog containing more than a hundred compositions.
Alina's clips on YouTube
and MySpace
have gained well over a million hits and a growing fan base. In a multi-round competition at a major Las Vegas talent show, she won first place. After open mic performances at Ashford & Simpson
’s Sugar Bar in New York, the club’s owners honored Alina by inviting her to return as a regular. Along with her backing band, she performs regularly at music clubs in Southern California, having appeared at Room 5, Genghis Cohen, the Mint, the Dakota Lounge, Trip, O'Brien's, Cafe Cordiale, Hotel Cafe, the Pasadena Civic Center and Pi on the Sunset Strip (where she runs a Friday night songwriter round, "Alina and Friends").
In December, 2007, Alina was named Vocalist of the Month by the website SingerUniverse.com.
In May, 2009, Alina was chosen to perform Alan Roy Scott's "Love Is The Answer" in Beijing at a concert broadcast throughout China on the country's primary television network, CCTV, as part of a first presentation for the international Summer student Olympic ("Universiade") games scheduled to be held in Shenzhen, China in August, 2011.
In August, 2009, Alina won a singer-songwriter competition sponsored by NineWest with her original song, "Unspoken".
In February, 2010, Alina, along with her backing band, performed two original songs and, determined by audience voting, won first place out of hundreds of competing Southern California musicians in KTLA-TV (Channel 5)'s "Battle of the Bands" contest.
Alina has had several connections with Japan, starting with having her cover of Michael Jackson
's "You Are Not Alone" released in that country in 2010 on a Jackson tribute CD issued by a major Japanese music publisher, Watanabe. Later that year, Sony Japan picked her composition "Fallin' 4 U" to be the debut single from the artist Aisha, which had the dual distinction of including a verse of her lyrics translated into Japanese by Minnie P, along with a rap contribution from Darryl McDaniels
of Run DMC. In April, 2011, Alina's own production of her song "Kissing Tree" was selected for a compilation CD released to raise relief funds after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Aisha and DMC performed "Fallin' 4 U" in Central Park, New York City, in June, 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
/Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
.
Early life
Alina Smith was born and raised in St. Petersburg, RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to a Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
mother who was a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, actress and opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer and an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
father. Alina was a prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
, reading and writing by age two; singing by three; speaking English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by four; and writing poetry and stories by five.
At the age of six, Alina had a choice between a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to a renowned music academy and a prized invitation to the famed Vaganovsky Ballet School. The decision in favor of a musical education was made. While at the academy, Alina was the youngest singer invited into the choir “Aurora” and the only one honored with a solo performance; touring Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with songs in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
.
Alina finished writing her first novel by age thirteen, and the next year began composing
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
and performing original music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
.
Music career
Alina's life changed upon moving to AmericaUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Barely in the United States a matter of months, she formed, wrote for and helped choreograph a trio named “Enspyre”. She performed with the group for nearly a year before taking off on a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career. Her creativity flourished by being exposed to different genres of music, with her original catalog containing more than a hundred compositions.
Alina's clips on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
have gained well over a million hits and a growing fan base. In a multi-round competition at a major Las Vegas talent show, she won first place. After open mic performances at Ashford & Simpson
Ashford & Simpson
Nickolas Ashford , and Valerie Simpson , were a husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists....
’s Sugar Bar in New York, the club’s owners honored Alina by inviting her to return as a regular. Along with her backing band, she performs regularly at music clubs in Southern California, having appeared at Room 5, Genghis Cohen, the Mint, the Dakota Lounge, Trip, O'Brien's, Cafe Cordiale, Hotel Cafe, the Pasadena Civic Center and Pi on the Sunset Strip (where she runs a Friday night songwriter round, "Alina and Friends").
In December, 2007, Alina was named Vocalist of the Month by the website SingerUniverse.com.
In May, 2009, Alina was chosen to perform Alan Roy Scott's "Love Is The Answer" in Beijing at a concert broadcast throughout China on the country's primary television network, CCTV, as part of a first presentation for the international Summer student Olympic ("Universiade") games scheduled to be held in Shenzhen, China in August, 2011.
In August, 2009, Alina won a singer-songwriter competition sponsored by NineWest with her original song, "Unspoken".
In February, 2010, Alina, along with her backing band, performed two original songs and, determined by audience voting, won first place out of hundreds of competing Southern California musicians in KTLA-TV (Channel 5)'s "Battle of the Bands" contest.
Alina has had several connections with Japan, starting with having her cover of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's "You Are Not Alone" released in that country in 2010 on a Jackson tribute CD issued by a major Japanese music publisher, Watanabe. Later that year, Sony Japan picked her composition "Fallin' 4 U" to be the debut single from the artist Aisha, which had the dual distinction of including a verse of her lyrics translated into Japanese by Minnie P, along with a rap contribution from Darryl McDaniels
Darryl McDaniels
-Video game appearances:*The Warriors - Scopes*Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - Himself- External links :* * * * * http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/12/entertainment/la-et-people-speak12-2009dec12...
of Run DMC. In April, 2011, Alina's own production of her song "Kissing Tree" was selected for a compilation CD released to raise relief funds after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Aisha and DMC performed "Fallin' 4 U" in Central Park, New York City, in June, 2011.