Bringing stereo love to the Falls
Saint-Ignace is a tiny village of 600 people in New Brunswick not known for its celebrities. Its most famous former residents might be two childhood friends who split a $15 million lottery win in 2008.
It’s not a town you expect a dance diva to prosper in, which is why Mia Martina knew she had to leave at 16. Otherwise, she’d be playing local weddings for the rest of her life.
“I probably sang at everyone’s wedding,” she says with a laugh. “At some point, I had a little fan base. I said, ‘You know mom, I want to go and pursue my dream.’ And my mom’s like, ‘You’re 16 years old, you can’t leave unless you’re going to university or something.’”
For years, Martina’s mother drove her across town and into nearby Moncton for dance lessons, preparing for a career in music. Now, they were at the crossroads.
Solution? Martina moved to Ottawa to study at Carleton University. After getting her masters in psychology, she answered an ad for an intern position at CP Records, giving her a foot in the door of the industry she’d been chasing since she was a kid.
After a year as an intern, she started singing back-up for other artists and was soon signed herself.
Seven years later, she had a Top 10 Canadian hit with a cover version of Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina’s Stereo Love, a sultry dance track which earned her a Dance Single of the Year nomination at the Juno Awards.
More hits followed, followed by more Juno nominations and international tours.
All of which means, nearly 20 years into her career, nothing has happened overnight for Martina. For which she is grateful.
“I definitely started from the
ground up,” says the 29-year-old singer who performs and DJs at Club Se7en in Niagara Falls Sept. 16. “Really built from there and learned a lot along the way. But I’m blessed for that, because now at least I know how everything works.”
Martina cruises into Niagara Falls riding a new single, Sooner or Later featuring hip hop star Kent Jones. She plans to perform a handful of songs and spin a few more behind the DJ booth, starting at midnight.
“I love doing that, it’s always fun,” she says. “How can it not be fun? A room full of people with good energy.
“I do music for a living, so it’s always fun to mix it up with artists that I like. Get everybody dancing.”
She recorded the new single about a year ago with producer Don Corleon, who has worked with Rihanna, Nikki Minaj and Sean Paul. “We just fell in love with it and wrote the song really quickly,” she says. “And he’s like, ‘I think Kent Jones would be perfect for this record, so let’s make it happen.’”
Fans waiting for a new Martina video were rewarded Aug. 15. And no sooner was the video uploaded to YouTube than the crude, sometimes vicious comments followed. It’s a part of the business Martina has learned to shut out.
“My job is to entertain and make people feel good,” she says. “If you choose to not like me … it doesn’t really matter to me. I do this for myself, and I believe in myself. I don’t try to harm anyone, ever.
“I don’t really care. I don’t really take it that seriously. I am who I am, and I’m not going to change for anybody.”