Nikki Yanofsky can’t keep her Little Secret

There is no way Montreal’s jazz sweetheart Nikki Yanoksky can keep quiet about her JUNO-nominated album, Little Secret.

The record might be the singer’s third effort, but it really stands as her true debut.

“The whole album is a coming of age for me, coming out with who I am as an artist. Rather than singing jazz standards, it’s more like songs rooted in jazz that really represent me,” Nikki says.

The 20-year-old rose to fame covering jazz classics and at age 12 she became the youngest performer to ever headline the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

Nikki went on to accomplish more in her teen years than some artists do in a lifetime.

The kid-wonder sang with Stevie Wonder, collaborated with will.i.am, performed by Herbie Hancock’s side at the Montreux Jazz Festival and joined Tony Bennett, Barry Manilow, Donna Summer, Gloria Estefan and the cast of Glee in the spotlight of Barbra Streisand’s 2011 Grammy tribute event.

And then there’s “I Believe.”

In 2010, Nikki landed vocal duties for the official theme song of the Winter Olympics. The anthem peaked at No.1 on the charts and the grand honor of representing Canada and the Vancouver games sent the girl’s career forward in one mighty bound.

“That song helped me get out there and get some eyes on what I’m doing,” she adds.

Well, Nikki has been getting the attention of all the right people, famed music man Quincy Jones included.

The legendary producer, acclaimed for his work with superstars Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin, saw Nikki’s potential and promise, and signed on as Little Secret’s executive producer.

“Quincy’s been such a great mentor and friend. The amount of wisdom and experience that this man has is crazy,” Nikki says. “Being in the studio, working on this album and being able to learn from him is a dream come true.”

From the sound of the fresh pop infused jazz originals that make up Nikki’s Little Secret and the couple of standards thrown into the mix (including a reboot of Louis Armstrong’s “Jeepers Creepers”), this budding superstar has found confidence, maturity and her own direction.

“Hopefully this album will help me get to where I want to go,” Nikki says.

And for now, that’s straight to the JUNO Awards.

Nikki’s Little Secret is nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the 2015 JUNO Awards. Click here for a complete list of the nominees. Tune in to the event on Sunday, March 15 on CTV.

Get Little Secret on iTunes now.

Nikki is already working on new music and you can follow her on twitter and facebook for updates.

Posted by Marc Andrew on Jan 30 2015. Filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.