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Listen to Giana Nguyen talk about her music & about visiting Orange County California

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About Giana Nguyen

Thank you for listening. That is what you need to know about Giana Nguyen. The odds are good that she will literally thank you for listening if given the chance, but more importantly, this sense of gratitude and genuine excitement to be making music is imbued throughout her work. Much akin to fellow singer/songwriters like Sara Bareilles, Colbie Caillat, and Sarah McLachlan, Giana’s piano-based pop/acoustic rock sound is the way she’s chosen to let you know who she is, where she’s been, and what she’s learned.

Though she studied and taught classical piano and sang in choirs while growing up in Orange County, CA, the golden state was not the beginning of her journey. Giana was born in Saigon, during the post-Vietnam War era. During the first 5 years of her life, Giana’s parents did their best to shelter her from the harsh realities of a nation marked by fear and fighting. But eventually, she fled with her father in a massive wave of Vietnamese citizens who decided to create a better life beyond their homeland. Being a child refugee in Southern California is a whole different kind of fight, and the challenges that Giana overcame from that point on made her strong in character and spirit yet generous of heart.

How she came to be established in her true passion of a career of making music, however, was a different path than expected. She had a very brief flirtation with the spark of songwriting within her at age 14, when she wrote her first 2 songs. Just as quickly as the spark ignited, though, it was made to wait. “I guess you could say I started with Plan B for familial and personal obligations, and chose a more practical career path in the health care industry, before circling back to Plan A, which was music.” After earning her B.S. degree in HealthCare Administration and working a good handful of years in a field far removed from the musical passion inside her, she decided to return to “Plan A” and began apprehending her dreams as a songwriter/performer and music business entrepreneur.

Her debut EP, For Now, is a major milestone in Giana’s career. Featuring 6 original songs that epitomize the best of singer/songwriter acoustic pop and showcase her clear, evocative voice, For Now beautifully and immediately pulls her fans right up close to the heart of a woman. “I’m a sucker for romance, so it’s no surprise that most of my songs are about falling in love, being in love, and falling out of love.” Her songwriting and vocal performances, both perfectly-pitched for today’s Top 40 market, communicate perspective and wisdom while sonically tipping the hat to her musical paragon Sara Bareilles. “Yep, I admit it,” she shares with a laugh. “I’m sort of a crazy Sara fan.”

Giana is more than just a sucker for love, though. Embodying a balance of passion and practicality, she is a savvy woman who is poised to blend her creative talents with her business skills to push her forward in this profession. In addition to her music work, she is also committed to volunteerism and charity work, particularly with CHOC Children’s, a pediatric hospital in Orange County, CA. “I want to continually grow as an artist and as a person, and not just because I’m only 5’2”,” Giana proclaims with a wink and a smile. Short on height, perhaps, but certainly not on vision and commitment to her art. “I feel like I’m having a second coming of age, with renewed spirit and excitement for what lies ahead. It’s like waking from a dream and finally giving myself a chance to live it out.”

One often finds their destiny on the path they take to avoid it, and it’s been a long and unique journey for Giana Nguyen as she found her way to the life and career she has now. A war. A boat. A new life in a new land. A Plan B and a Plan A and a second start for a first passion. More than most musicians, she knows the precious value of what she has because, for so long, she had something else. In life, she has experienced obstacles that most never will, but hers is not a story of pity or sappy sentiment. It is one of strength, and self-possession, and gratitude. “For the longest time, I didn’t dare to embrace my artistry. But ultimately, the truth came out and the songs in me wanted to be heard. Thank you for listening.”

Music on the Album: For Now

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