Mia Rio
When you think of Brazil, you think of beauty with a tropical touch. Now add pure love to the mix. Born in one of today's most powerful cities in the world, Rio de Janeiro, Mia Rio grew up in a family of artists, military and entrepreneurs. Rio was raised all over Brazil, making her love for people grow as she learned new ways of thinking and living. Languages and cultures have always been part of her life and it was by watching American television and translating songs by American artists that Mia learned how to write music and sing in English.
Early in life, Mia believed that touching lives was her purpose in life. Nothing better than doing it through music. Her career began at the young age of 12 years old, singing musicals at her home church back home, participating in choirs and worship teams with a weekly crowd of almost 7,000 people.
Attending University of Brasília (UnB), one of the top 5 universities in her country as an Advertising major, Mia was torn between making music and making ads. Trained to be an advertiser, she decided to apply her skills towards her music goals. She started a band with her best friend and created all their promotional materials. Practicing out of her garage on a military base, the band lacked enough resources and opportunities to move forward. Mia's big break was yet to come.
Moving to the United States and living in an amish county in the name of love, a music career seemed an impossible dream. Using Myspace, Mia had her first opportunity to show her sound and message to the world. She wrote her very first Pop/R&B songs to beats, posting the home recordings on her Myspace page. After meeting Douglas Rogers, a Virginia Beach producer who donated her a few old tracks, Mia then showcased her talent in professionally recorded tracks, gaining attention from independent record labels from all over the country after a whopping 100,000 page views.
Influenced by a wide range of artists such as Whitney Houston, George Benson, Simply Red, Jon Secada, Phil Collins, Hillsong and Crystal Lewis, Mia Rio created a style that was unique for the times. Being contacted by Delbert Harris, CEO of Javo/SoSouth Records, who found the talent on Myspace, Mia became the first Pop/R&B recording artist for the label under her birth name Michelle Paulino.
With only an EP promoted locally titled Spring Time, Mia attracted audiences far and wide in 2008 as her very first single that carries the same name as the EP made it to over 20 national radio stations, to the biggest radio station in Trinidad & Tobago and to radio stations in the UK in less than a month of its release with no minimal promotion. The singer then signed with Seattle-based CHP Media Group in 2011, releasing her debut album In The Making late 2012 with a strong inspirational Pop/R&B influence and a flair of Hip Hop, still under her birth name.
Major rebranding happened in 2017 in the artist's career and Mia Rio was born. Moving to Atlanta, GA, Mia found her own voice. The artist now has an internationally appealing Pop sound and has found a way to embrace her Latina roots while combining her favorite genres and keeping her lyrical content positive. She believes Pop music is ready to evolve sonically and from its "sex sells" formula and wants to present more meaningful messages with effective appeal. Partnering with Born Genius Records, Mia's new EP The Dynamite Effect is ready to be an agent of change by showcasing the classy side of a tropical Pop queen.
