MySpace a place for friends

“It’s all in the music,” says singer/songwriter Marina Chello. For a young woman who was raised in a music-steeped household, music has been everything for as long as she can remember. As Marina prepares to release her debut album on Crazy Joint/Bad Boy Records, music is nothing less than her destiny.

There is significant excitement brewing around the young singer as she finishes recording her debut album, “What’s Done Is Done,” a heartache-heavy hybrid of next-level pop and R&B. Her single “Sideline” is already being picked up by Top 40 stations across the country and continues to gain momentum. The uptempo track, “What’s Done Is Done” produced by Mario Winans and Harve Pierre, as well as co-written by Marina Chello and Harve Pierre, has also been snapped up by DJs across the country. A flurry of glowing online profiles and reviews on sites including Elle Girl, Teen, Young Hollywood, Alloy, MySpace and Imeem, just to name a few, have solidified the buzz, as fans hurry to upload their own versions of her songs on YouTube. It’s all taken in stride by Marina, who has already crossed oceans to get to this point.

She was only 11 years old when she moved with her family to New York from Uzbekistan. Though her voice only carries the slightest hint of an accent now, at the time she didn’t speak a word of English. She found comfort in the pop music of the era. “I was introduced to a whole new world of music. I learned English by singing along to Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion—all the gorgeous voices.”

Marina was born with a unique appreciation for music, thanks to her father who fronted a rock band during her childhood in their native Russia. “We would watch concerts at home, and I always loved those divas in their beautiful dresses. I always told my mom that someday that was gonna be me.” The family soon realized that Marina’s singing was more than a childhood hobby, and she became deeply involved in voice classes. Being immersed in music eased the transition to a new country and new culture.

“I just enveloped myself in school. As early as I can remember I was always in music class, so I didn’t have time to really reflect on being in New York. It was tough learning a new language but it was beautiful at the same time.” After school, she began writing her own songs. Eventually she reached out to some notable producers via her MySpace page. One of them was legendary producer and Bad Boy Records President Harve Pierre, and he was impressed.

Laughing, Marina explains that when the pair met at Bad Boy headquarters, “I sang for him because he didn’t believe that it was me singing,” on the demos she had uploaded to her MySpace page. That meeting blossomed into the creative pairing that has brought her album to life. “What’s Done Is Done” will be the initial release on Pierre’s Crazy Joint label, an imprint of Bad Boy, with both Pierre and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs serving as executive producers.

“The album is really emotional, heartfelt music,” explains Marina, saying she often gleans inspiration from her own past relationships, or experiences that her friends, sisters and even her mom have lived through. That emotional connection has also created an intimate bond with her fans. As “Sideline” is making its way up the charts, fans have reached out to her to share that they relate to the soaring ballad. “They say ‘Sideline’ is like I’m telling their story,” says Marina, “It feels great that the song can help fans get through a sad situation in their lives.”

“I love to write my own music,” she enthuses. “I’ve been told that some of my songs make people cry. I want people to hear the album and fall in love with the music just like I did.” That deep emotional connection is present on all of the songs on Marina’s debut album, “What’s Done Is Done,” even the songs that she didn’t personally write. When Harve presented the Nasri Atway-penned “Sideline” to Marina, she knew it had to be a part of her debut album. “I started crying when I first listened to it,” she recalls, “and I don’t feel that way when I listen to music much these days. It was such a strong reaction that I felt if I can relate to it, a lot of other people will also relate to it.”

Her sound blends all the elements that have gone into the making of a young artist on the eve of great success – the inherently relatable songwriting that reflects a childhood glued to the radio, the passion of a young girl raised between two cultures, and the energy of collaborating with some of today’s most notable producers. With “What’s Done Is Done”, it’s clear that there’s a new voice on the scene, and as “Sideline” continues its climb up the charts, Marina is ready to take center stage.

Though love and loss has inspired countless big voices, Marina wants to be clear: “I have something new to give – I have a different point of view.” Since she’s grown up singing in several languages, including Russian, Spanish, and Italian, she brings a unique perspective to pop music. “I sound different because of my background, but I think people will hear comparisons to the great singers of today.” At the end of the day, though, “I still sound like me.”