Nikki Flores

Nikki - who comes from a culturally-mixed family (her father is Mexican and her mother American) - cites the musical standout "It's OK" (on which she accompanies herself at the piano with minimal accompaniment) as an example: "It's about believing in yourself no matter what happens. The title track, "This Girl" has a similar theme: it's about someone who's dealing with the problems that life brings but who's determined not to let any obstacles get in her way, not letting others discourage you." Just as positive is "I Got You" which she explains "is about a girl letting her guy know, 'hey, I'm going to be there for you.'"

There are several songs on This Girl that focus on one area of life that Nikki knows her peers will definitely relate to. The hypnotic "I Wanna Know You Like That" is, she says, "for girls like me who are shy! This girl really wants the guy she's just met to know all that she's thinking but she's just too shy to say..."

"Bad Boy" describes a situation "where a girl encounters a guy who might be cute...but who has some 'history'...and she knows better than to encourage him. I'm saying, 'You're standing a little too close to me and you don't even know me like that...' It's like, 'Did you think I'd fall for your game?'" Aware that like most young women of her age, Nikki admits to daydreaming about what could happen in a relationship and she expresses it in the song, "Dream," a showcase for her vocal skills, "Hey," Nikki laughs, "Sometimes a girl just likes to daydream!"

Nikki was signed to Epic Records in December 2003 after she was flown to New York for a live song audition in front of top Sony BMG music honchos during which she sang and accompanied herself at the piano. Nikki recalls, "After I sang them the first song I wrote when I was twelve, they turned to me and my mother and said, 'This is going to work out.' I couldn't react right there and then but when Mom and I excused ourselves to go outside for a moment, we just cried - and jumped up and down!"

Nikki benefited from the family's home studio and by age twelve had written her first song ("Cry") which would ultimately seal the deal in her signing to Epic Records some four years later. "It was funny because "Cry" had a very 'adult' kind of lyric to it and I was writing about feelings I hadn't experienced." A regular at local competitions, and talent shows, Nikki's first professional break came when she entered television legend Ed McMahon's "Next Big Star" contest in 2001.

That this multi-talented young artist finds herself on Sony BMG's roster of contemporary hitmakers is no surprise when considering her background. Inspired by her parents - who both sing and play keyboards - and her grandparents who built a reputation for their music performing at the Padua Hills Theatre in Claremont, Ca., Nikki recalls when she was just two years old. "My Mom left the room and I reached up to the keyboard and started playing scales. She thought it was my Dad, but then suddenly realized it was me who was playing! I was too young to remember but I think they were both like, 'wow!' During those first few years, I heard a lot of music...Journey, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder ...and when I got older, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston..."

"I've had a lot of creative freedom in making This Girl" Nikki says. "The fact that I've been able to write and/or co-write the songs has been so great. My life has changed dramatically since I signed my record deal. I've gone from worrying about boys and school to the album sequence!" Nikki's been doing independent home studies while completing the album and in between studio sessions, she's contributed time to support charities like D.A.R.E. (for drug abuse), Women in Focus, Unidas, and Navidad in El Barrio. "I'm very passionate about using my music as a way of making a difference," she says, adding that her live shows are "very energetic! I'm very free onstage...it's important to have fun when you're performing."

A fervent shopper who likes to go to movies and "date from time to time," Nikki's focus is very much on what lies ahead with the release of her first album. "I'm so thankful that I've had such supportive parents who have encouraged me with my music and I know there are a lot of other young girls who want to pursue their own musical goals. I want to be a role model. I hope I can help open doors for other young women and show them how important it is not to give up on your dreams."

An ardent admirer of the music of Alicia Keys and Mariah Carey, Nikki is looking forward to having her music heard worldwide. "I guess people are still surprised when they see me sit down at the piano. Maybe they don't expect me to play and sing the kind of songs I'm doing at my age or have a big voice to come of a small person!" With tracks like "Regret .. 99," a self-explanatory story of "how we sometimes don't realize what we have until it's gone" and the plaintive "Let It Go" which Nikki adds "is simply about getting out of a relationship when you're not happy being in it," This Girl is the perfect showcase for a young artist with cross-cultural appeal whose musicality belies her age. With a shy smile, Nikki adds, "All I'm doing is expressing myself with my music" and one listen to This Girl will leave listeners everywhere in no doubt that Nikki Flores is headed for stardom!