“Living in a digital world, I’m still a sucker and lover of physical record stores. I have hundreds of records, lined up alphabetically in two dedicated record cabinets. I’m the same way with books, I love the feeling of holding the physical product in my hands.”
“I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Alanis Morissette, P!nk, Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson. When I was 17 years-old Frank DiLeo (Michael Jackson’s long-time manager) discovered me through some competitions and some videos of my music I had posted online. I was so nervous to meet him, especially since I grew up listening to Michael Jackson. He flew down to Las Vegas to meet with me and decided to come out of retirement to manage ‘one last big act!’
I feel like I have two very different personalities—there’s the Manika who is very outgoing, who loves to perform on stage, and goes to award shows. And there’s the Manika who likes to just sit at home in her PJs and listen to records all day. I feel like the songwriter Manika is the latter, whereas the performer Manika is the first.
With everything going on in the world right now—from my hometown Las Vegas shooting, the disastrous hurricanes and terrorist attacks—I feel like our country and people are so divided. It’s incredibly sad and scary to think that not that long ago, I performed on the exact same stage as the Las Vegas Music Festival where the shooting occurred. It breaks my heart watching all these horrible things happening in the news.
That’s why I decided to write and release my new song, “Thank You For Your Service,” dedicated to our amazing veterans and military members. I wanted to make this song all about the amazing, brave men and women who are risking their lives everyday to give us our safety and freedom. In fact, I am donating all my money from sales of the song to the following non-profit charities: Homes For Our Troops, Operation Homefront, and Wounded Warrior Project.”
—Manika
Manika is donating all proceeds from her new single “Thank You for Your Service” to the non-profit charities noted above. “Thank You for Your Service” can be purchased here.
