Sonika

Sonika Keturah Jermina Mckie (born October 21, 1988), known simply as Sonika, is a Grenadian singer-songwriter and recording artist, based in the Eastern Caribbean island of Grenada.

Sonika wrote and recorded a Reggae single at the age of 16 in 2004, entering the studio for the very first time.

The song "I Love You" was produced by Rodney "Piper" Bartholomew, a Grenadian producer.

Sonika also entered several singing competitions, including the Digicel Rising Stars Competition and she represented Grenada in a regional Karaoke competition held in St. Kitts in 2006.

Sonika's original development pathway focused heavily on R&B.

Born in St. George's, Grenada, her professional career began when she was approached, by the Manager of Metronome Records, Nima Anvar, who had seen her performance on May 29, 2010 at the Grenada Best Talent Competition Final (an initiative of Wayne "Waggy T" Redhead and other local sponsors).

Shortly after this, Anvar offered Sonika an opportunity to be managed by him and to develop her career.

Sonika did not venture further into recording until 2010, when she wrote and recorded a Pop song, "Electrik", which was produced by Sandman in 2011 at his Aquarion Studios, featuring local rapper S God.

Both of those songs remained local and were not positioned for release to the outside market.

Sonika's first productions for international release were done with Metronome Records, when she began working with Anvar.

During 2011, Sonika accepted the offer.

Under Anvar's management, Sonika was introduced to an organized method for approaching her development as a serious artist.

In the process, Anvar pulled in a team of persons to develop Sonika into an international artist.

Team members at the inception included local talk show host of Chit Chat and media personality, Lexan Fletcher [originally a co-partner at Metronome Records], who assisted as an image consultant; Annette Moore, who advised on social media strategies and development; Hervin Hood, a Full Sail University Music & Entertainment Business alum, Anvar's then co-partner at Metronome Records who dealt with studio recording, assisted by Joshua "J-Beatz" Benjamin, a young sound engineer prodigy; Xpert Productions/Studio, which comprises John James and his brother Jason 'Xpert' James from the neighboring island of Carriacou; Sean "Fame" Nelson, a UK-based, Grenadian Music Producer; Samuel Ogilvie, who did the storyboarding for Sonika's music videos and who also assisted with the filming of videos and the video recording of several of her covers; Darryl Friday, a film school graduate, who filmed and edited Sonika's Gone Away music video, as well as other consultants, who assisted with image development and brand marketing.

In 2011 she began vocal coaching with an experienced classical, vocal coach in Grenada, Mrs. Valerie Daniel-Burkhardt, mother of former 2007 Ms. World semi-finalist Vivian Burkhardt.

Between 2011 and 2012 Sonika became immersed in writing her own songs, recording, taking music theory courses, doing regular vocal practice sessions, performing both her original music and covering popular artists, on a regular basis at various events, on the local circuit.

Nineteen (19) year old 2011 400m World Champion, Kirani James, an athlete from the western side of Grenada, was about to compete in the 2012 London Olympics.

Everyone believed that Kirani would win the 400m final race and he did, on August 6, breaking a national record and becoming the first Grenadian to ever win an Olympic medal and the first Grenadian to win an Olympic Gold Medal.

The country erupted into a state of festivity and there was a strong resurgence of National Pride.

During the Olympics, the Grenada Broadcasting Network introduced the freshly released "Please Don't Let It Go", as the theme song for the Olympics, due to the nature of the lyrics, which focused on holding on to one's dreams.

At the homecoming ceremony for Kirani James, in Grenada, Sonika performed "Please Don't Let It Go ", before a crowd of several thousands, who had gathered to celebrate with the Olympic Champion at the Grenada National Stadium, in St. George's. It was her biggest audience thus far, as a performer.

Between 2011 and 2012, Sonika established herself on the local and regional music scene as a talent to watch.

Although continuing to write her original music, she also continued to do YouTube covers, with one particular cover gaining considerable attention – Alicia Keys’ "Brand New Me".

The cover has since amassed over 20, 000 views.

To date, Sonika has released five singles between April 2012 and September 2013; she has sung to audiences both locally and internationally; released a music video for her first single, "Gone Away ", which went to No. 1 on Tempo Networks; is the first Grenadian artist to have a VEVO channel and recently filmed and is about to release a music video for "Please Don't Let It Go" (her second single).

Sonika is currently working on writing and recording more original singles and clearly defining her sound, style and image.

However, in 2012 Sonika moved on to seeking genre-specific coaching for R&B from a Los Angeles-based, Christian Rock artist and vocal coach, Ken Tamplin, thereby strengthening and defining her vocal range.

During 2012 all of Sonika's preparation and work started coming together with the release of her first original song, the self-penned R&B track "Gone Away".

Shortly after the song's release on iTunes, it was on heavy rotation on the Caribbean SuperStation and local radio stations.

Sonika did several interviews on TV and Radio and plans were made for the conceptualization and storyboarding of the music video for "Gone Away".

On August 27, 2012 the video was released on YouTube and was featured on Tempo Networks, where it speedily climbed to No. 1 on the charts and remained there for eight (8) consecutive weeks.

Shortly after, on September 10, 2012, Sonika became the first Grenadian to have access to a VEVO channel and her music video was then posted on that medium, having been previously released on Metronome Records’ YouTube channel.

At that point, Sonika continued to work to release her second self-penned song, "Please Don't Let It Go".

"Please Don't Let It Go" was released in July 2012, a month prior to an event that Grenadians had been anticipating for months.

The rest of 2012 was marked by with requests for performances, featuring "Please Don't Let It Go", at many of local events.

Consequently, that period became one of the most hectic and demanding periods for Sonika, in her still new career as a performer.

In 2013, due to pressing responsibilities Anvar handed management over to artist development associate, Annette Moore, who, together with consultant, Mike Adams, continued Sonika's development.

In 2013, Sonika got a referral from local head of the Grenada Football Association, Cheney Joseph, who, after hearing her original music and covers of popular artists, made a call to Enrique Sanz, General Secretary of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football [CONCACAF].

In 2015 Sonika and Moore parted ways, having also done so with Adams in 2013, when he migrated.

Corporate sponsors, including Smiths Grenada [Monica Smith]; Chalene's Beauty Salon & School of Cosmetology; Jus Fashion Grenada; Lima Es Photography [Salima Esmail]; Solana J. Boutique; Silhouette by Neisha LaTouche; Make-up Artist, Divya Armanani-Noel and others, all played a role in the image building and professional development of Sonika's career.