Castlegar musician Christina Amelio is making sound waves that are being heard not just locally, but on radios around the world. Amelio's accomplishments keep adding up into what is becoming a blossoming musical career.
Musically, the singer/songwriter uses the name Nina Amelio, but most locals still call her Christina. Amelio has just released a new single. "Savage Love" was recorded in Toronto with Zedd Records, and like her previous single "Who Do You Think You Are," was co-written with Mark Zubek.
"The recording went great, like last time," she said. "I really enjoy working with Mark Zubek and definitely will continue working with him." "Savage Love" is a top 40 song with a vocal emphasis and edgier sound than her last single.
Amelio received funding to assist with producing the single through a FACTOR (Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) grant. Receiving the grant involved a long process of applications and submitting samples of her work along with listing and proving performances and media-related exposure as well as a critique of her social media and website. Amelio plans to apply for even larger grants from FACTOR, hoping in the future to win grants that would help with the recording of another single and then an entire album.
"Savage Love" has been seeing airplay not just in Canada, but overseas as well, especially in the UK.
While in Toronto recording "Savage Love," Amelio was offered a recording contract with a label based in Atlanta. After considering the offer and looking at the other things she had going on at the time, including her participation in some international songwriting competitions, she decided to turn the offer down. "In the long run, I didn't see it being the right choice for my career," said Amelio.
Amelio is currently competing in two songwriting competitions — the International Songwriting Competition and Unsigned Only, in which she made the semi-finals last year with her song "Who Do You Think You Are" in the vocal performance and pop top 40 categories.
Last year also saw Amelio make it as far as the top ten in the final regional round of the CBC's Searchlight competition.
In September, Amelio signed with Amurco, a full-service licensing company in London, England that provides royalty-free content for commercial use including films, television, commercials and games. The company will add her music to their catalog and pitch it to clients.
Currently, Amelio has been selected by a management company out of Seattle and is working on a contract with them for future management services. "I feel a bit in limbo right now, because things are really happening but nothing is signed," explained Amelio.
Amelio has always loved to sing, but didn't start thinking about it as a career choice until she chose to showcase singing as her talent during Miss Revelstoke and Miss BC Ambassador pageants during high school. After spending her high school years in Revelstoke, she moved back to her hometown of Castlegar, attending Selkirk College and spending some time learning from voice instructor Cheryl Hodge before changing directions and teaming up with Supercat Studios owner Yanive Feiner.
"We started writing music together and recording and working together," said Amelio, "I want to thank him for taking a chance on me being a vocal teacher, giving me my first writing and recording experience and believing in me." Amelio also includes her mother, Lillian Evin, and all the support she has offered through the years in the list of things she is thankful for.
Even though still young at 26, Amelio has gained a maturity that has seen her ideas of success change.
"My ultimate goal used to be being signed to a major label," she said. "But now, it's just being happy and successful wherever my music takes me. Being happy is my definition of success. It doesn't matter if ten million people hear my song or ten people hear my song, I am always going to sing and make music, because it is just part of who I am."
Meanwhile, Amelio is still giving vocal lessons at Supercats Studio in Castlegar and working at her day job, while she works at and waits for the next opportunity. Her music can be found at ninaamelio.com.