Adult Career
While already a music business veteran, in the early 1990s Costa transitioned away from childhood pop to mature soul. She married Australian producer/songwriter Justin Stanley and moved to his country. (Costa and Stanley now have a daughter named Sugar McQueen.) While in Australia, Costa began writing her own songs and formed a "happy funk" band called Little Mona & The Shag Daddies, which broke up after four gigs in Sydney. Costa's next venture was a band called Sugarbone, which toured Australia in 1994. Costa describes the experience as "It was really scary to unveil it but the reaction was good. It helped my confidence." After Sugarbone, she signed to the Mushroom label in Australia. In 1996 Costa released the album Butterfly Rocket in Australia, which reached the Top 20. The record led to a nomination for ARIA Music Awards Breakthrough Artist in 1996 and Best Female Artist in 1997.
In 2000, Costa's song "Like A Feather" was featured in a Tommy Hilfiger television advertising campaign. That exposure coupled with the track's music video helped launch her U.S. music career. The album Everybody Got Their Something was released in 2001 and reached #120 on the Billboard 200. The title track and "Like a Feather" were radio hits, although the latter did peak at #53 in the United Kingdom. In 2005, Costa released the album can'tneverdidnothin'. She toured with Lenny Kravitz who also performed on the record. In 2006 she and her husband Justin recorded and performed the theme to the short-lived CBS sitcom "Courting Alex", which starred Jenna Elfman.
Costa was a guest singer on Mark Ronson's album Here Comes the Fuzz. Ronson has produced some of Costa's songs. Her song "Push & Pull" from the album Everybody Got Their Something is included in the soundtrack of the 2001 movie Blow starring Johnny Depp. Her song "Everybody Got Their Something", was used in the soundtrack of the 2009 movie All About Steve starring Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. Her song "Stuck To You" from the album Pebble to a Pearl was used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy in season five.
Costa is currently signed with Stax Records. Her latest studio album Pebble to a Pearl was released on October 14, 2008. In 2010 she released the single "Ching Ching Ching" in Europe. The song is notable from a genre change from soul/funk to electro-pop. The single reached #77 in Germany, making it Costa's first single to chart in Germany since "On My Own" in 1981. A new album titled PRO★WHOA! was set for release in late 2010 but has been delayed until early 2011. Costa co-wrote the song "Diamonds Made from Rain" on Eric Clapton's 2010 album Clapton.
Costa sings a reinterpreted version of the INXS hit "Kick", on the INXS album Original Sin, digitally released in Australia in October 2010, and in the United States in April 2011.
Read more about this topic: Nikka Costa
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