Gia Farrell

Gia Farrell (born Jeannie Bocchicchio on February 9, 1989 in Suffern, New York) is an American singer-songwriter. She is most known for her 2006 single "Hit Me Up" which was featured on the Happy Feet soundtrack in 2006.

Early life
Farrell was born in Suffern, New York to Italian American parents. At a young age she started singing, and began singing lessons at the age of 8. She continued to train her voice starring in a local production of Guys and Dolls and opening for Fat Joe, where she performed songs from Beyoncé and Mariah Carey.

At age 13, she had performed on Showtime At The Apollo being named one of their "Best Artists of the Year" as well as on Ed McMahon's Next Big Star and Star Search. When she was 15, her agent brought her to several music labels in order to try and get a record deal. In 2005, she signed with Atlantic Records. She later adopted her mother's maiden name as her stage name.

Farrell cites artists Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera as her biggest influences.

2006-2007
Farrell released her first single in January 2007, with the single "Hit Me Up". The song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Happy Feet.[2] It found moderate success internationally charting in various parts of Europe, topping the charts in Hungary and peaking at #6 in Australia. The single was used as the theme song for the second season of Germany's Next Topmodel. For the 2006 holiday season, Farrell's song "Christmas Everyday" was released on the Make-A-Wish Holiday CD sold at Bath & Body Works.

In April 2007 Farrell sang the US National Anthem at the Cincinnati Reds opening day baseball game. She rode on the float for the opening parade celebration and was accompanied by a flyover from four F-16 jets.

In December 2007, Farrell was dropped by Atlantic Records.

2009-present
In May 2009 she released a demo single "New Religion" which was accompanied with a music video, and wrote a message on her MySpace stating that she was recording new material. She also opened up a YouTube account and began recording acoustic cover versions of various artist singles in November 2009, such as "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga, "Party in the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus and "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson. So far her videos have reached 400,000+ views.

In October 2010, Farrell joined Miranda Cosgrove on her tour to promote her debut album, Sparks Fly. Farrell provides backup vocals.

Discography

 * Happy Feet: Music from the Motion Picture (Movie Soundtrack)