Malea McGuinness Malea McGuinness Malea McGuinness, a talented pop/rock singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, CA, has won the SingerUniverse “Best

Malea McGuinness

Malea McGuinness, a talented pop/rock singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, CA, has won the SingerUniverse “Best Vocalist Of The Month” Competition for January, for her song “Memories.” This song is included on McGuinness' second album, Close As Air, which she released independently in April 2010.

“Memories” is a heartfelt, mainsteam pop/AC ballad which provides a fine showcase for McGuinness' expressive, soulful vocal performance. This recording features a full musical arrangement, featuring string tracks and background vocal harmonies. "Memories" was produced by Jamie Candiloro at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles. Candiloro is a prominent producer/engineer who has worked with Ryan Adams, Willie Nelson and R.E.M.

McGuinness was born in Fort Hood, Texas, and then she moved with her grandparents to Long Island, NY (her father served in the Green Beret armed forces). She learned to play guitar and piano, and she was inspired by listening to such favorite artists as the Beatles, Sting and Linda Ronstadt. For college, McGuinness attended tha Manhattan School of Music, where she majored in Vocal Performance (classical & opera).

Following college, McGuinness decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue her music career. She started to attend songwriter circle events and began performing live. In 2006 she wrote & recorded her first album, True Believer. Then last year (2009), McGuinness began working on her second album Close As Air, with producer Michael Patterson. "I met Michael through a musician friend," recalled McGuinness. "I played him my songs, and he wound up re-recording these songs for me and it turned out great. We also worked together on my single 'Spinning,' and we'll be working more together."

Malea McGuinness performing live.

Since the release of Close As Air in April, McGuinness and her manager Doug Kaplan have been busy promoting her album and touring. They released "Spinning," which has attracted AAA airplay nationally. McGuinness has also been touring steadily in several states (mostly in the West and Midwest), and she has opened shows for the Counting Crows (at the Summerfest Music Festival in Milwaukee, in front of 10,000 people), Shawn Colvin and Toad The Wet Sprocket. Notably, she was also the opening artist for Kenny Loggins for seven shows on his recent tour, and she will be opening four more shows for Loggins this March. McGuinness will also be opening a show in February for rock band Vertical Horizon.

In addition to her touring, McGuinness has also been focusing on her songwriting, and collaborating with other writers. "I went to Nashville and wrote with (hit songwriter) Gary Burr and other songwriters," said McGuinness. 'It was a great experience co-writing in Nashville