Artist Bio
Pop singer/songwriter/pianist Andrea Pais is a homegrown phenomenon, a musical success story that could only happen in the modern world of social networking. Her heartfelt song performances, posted on Youtube from her Maryland home, have attracted over two million views.
The roots of Andrea's artistry began in her birth city of Belgaum in India. Her father, an enthusiastic fan of American jazz and R&B artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James, encouraged Andrea to enter local singing contests. Winning the competitions, along with piano lessons encouraged by her parents, grew Andrea's interest in music composition and songwriting. Inspired by the recordings of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, at age 15 she wrote her first pop song called "Hold Me."
Young Andrea's quest for her music dreams was not a smooth path. She took piano lessons from a very old school, traditionalist piano instructor. Though considered one of the best in the area, the teacher discouraged Andrea from listening to jazz and soul music and led her to concentrate on sight reading and classical music, overlooking her natural instinct for improvisation and playing by ear. The local choir director mistook Andrea's non-traditional style for out-of-tune singing and gave the main vocal parts to other ensemble members. But perhaps the biggest obstacle was the culture of India itself, which favored tunes from Bollywood musicals and traditional Carnatic music (familiar to Ravi Shankar fans), rather than the American soul-based vocal phrasing and rhythms Andrea embraced.
From her teachers to her schoolmates to the general community, Andrea received little encouragement for her performance aspirations in her home country. She was pushed to pursue a more stable career, developing a side interest in physics into an electrical engineering bachelors degree. But still she pursued a second life in music as best she could - playing keyboards for a Bollywood music band in engineering school; singing as Minnie Mouse for an Indian-language Disney-style TV channel; and earning a classical music diploma from the Trinity College of Music in London.
A turning point occurred when Andrea was accepted as masters degree candidate at the University of Cincinnati. Moving to the USA, she met Steve, a medical student who would become her fiancee. Steve knew a stunning voice when he heard it, and encouraged her to record and post some videos of her singing on YouTube. On a simple makeshift TV "set" in her bedroom, equipped with a low-tech laptop webcam, she performed the Rose Royce hit "Wishing On A Star."
Reaction by the Youtube community was instant, enthusiastic, and overwhelming. Andrea continued to regularly post videos on the social network site, building an online following with over two million hits and counting. Receiving long-overdue attention that she never enjoyed in her home country.
Andrea currently balances a career working as a biomedical research engineer with her other persona - virtual pop songstress. She is also an ambassador for the United Aid for Africa, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to build playgrounds and fund school supplies for impoverished children in Africa.
Moondogy