Miriam Christine, R&B music from the Middle of the Mediterranean Sea in Europe

NEW YORK (www.miriamchristine.com) - This young, forward-looking and highly talented and versatile singer won the hearts of the Maltese audience when she represented Malta at the 1996 Eurovision song contest. She also obtained the appreciation of audiences all over Europe when she finished in the Top 10 in the same competition... and she's just getting started.

Born in Brazil but raised on the Mediterranean island of Gozo, Miriam Christine was destined to hit the big time. At the tender age of 6, she was introduced to singing and piano lessons. She took to listening to soul music but was also disposed to listening to various other styles- from Beethoven, Mozart, and such jazz greats as Marian McPartland, Oscar Peterson, Fats Waller and of course jazz singers like Billie Holliday and Nina Simone. Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross were also big inspirations as are latter day talents like Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, and Alicia Keys. She took all of those different genres of music and rolled them all into one, to create a style all her own.

The road to success wasn't an easy one. Raised in the small island of Gozo, she had an idyllic upbringing, but then this was in total contrast to the rhythm and blues ambiance of New York or Detroit or even San Francisco. On the other hand, it helped Miriam Christine to project a different approach to rhythm and blues. She took to singing and participated in various festivals before eventually winning the Song for Europe Festival and representing Malta in the 1996 Eurovision with the song 'In A Woman's Heart'. Yet, as any aspiring level-headed artiste can tell you, the Eurovision (despite a potential audience of 400 million viewers) isn't exactly the right career path for artistic integrity.
Miriam Christine was quite aware of such a situation and so she started to slowly but surely develop a new style. It meant a new musical direction as well as a new look. Her new direction addressed the music she loved so much and sought to discard the mainstream, predictable style she delivered with 'In a Woman's Heart' and her debut album 'Smile and Shine'.

It was now a question of soul, rhythm and blues and Afro-American styles which, after all, seem to be part of her psyche: the product of which is this album, 'Little Zee', which bravely explores personal themes with a universal appeal, as well as offering funk and soul infused R&B tunes that get under the skin.