| Melissa Collins was born in the rural town of Martin, Kentucky. She sang in church and local festivals growing up. Collins’ first paying gig was singing at the Slone Mountain Squirrel Festival. Then, a family friend asked Collins to perform at a show for his good friend, George Jones. A ten-year old Collins finished her performance to thunderous applause and Jones’ manager asked the pre-teen to come on the road with them. Collins’ parents declined the opportunity and Jones continued his tour without her. Collins continued performing everywhere she could, and quickly became a favorite at parties, weddings and political fundraisers. A former pageant girl, Collins held the titles of Miss Central Kentucky and Miss Mountain Pride, both Miss America Scholarship Pageant preliminaries. After dropping out of college and trying to heal from her mother’s untimely death, Collins left the Bluegrass state in the rearview mirror for Dallas, TX. Shortly after arriving, she co- founded the all-girl group, Doris Daze. Their high-energy shows, catchy pop tunes and loyal following resulted in hefty CD sales and local radio play. After DD disbanded, Melissa joined pop/rock cover band, Shig Shag, as lead singer. With nothing to lose and a rekindled fire to pursue her dreams, Melissa moved west in the spring of 2009. In her yearlong residency she’s shared the stage with some of the industry’s finest musicians from Slash (Guns-N-Roses) to Denny Fongheiser (Tracy Chapman, Heart and the producer of Melissa’s three songs on Ourstage) to Scott Shriner (Weezer). Collins has been featured in several lifestyle publications, including The Evansville Courier, The Floyd County Times and was a featured musical guest on UKAwayFM in the Canary Islands, KISL, Catalina Island, CA and is in the rotation on small market radio stations from Kansas to North Carolina. As the winner of Season 1 of “So You Think You Can Sing,” Collins had the honor of opening for hot new pop artist, Orianthi, in April 2010 for Dinah Shore Weekend in Palm Springs. Collins’ critically acclaimed original songs have quickly become recognizable and crowd favorites at her live performances. She continues to write original music and performs live all across the country. Collins’ singles have worldwide distribution through iTunes. REVIEWS: “Melissa has the power voice of Janis Joplin and the soul-filled sound of Ma Rainey from Memphis’ Bealle Street gritty blues genre of many years ago. At once you know that this singer is on track to become one of the next legends. Her style is down-to-earth and timely yet classic. “ – MusicStew Review “I recently saw Melissa perform at The Viper Room. Simple, complicated, profound and CRAZY GOOD! More, more!” – Del Shores, American film director and producer, television writer and producer, playwright and actor. “A voice that pairs a range just short of Mariah Carey’s with the richness of Patsy Cline’s ignites the room. Toss in a little Whitney Houston and Reba McEntire and you have (Melissa) Collins.” – The Evansville Courier |
| My Music Heard |