Local Artist Spotlight: Mia Giovina

Tik Tok has proved its ability to invigorate musicians. That energy is evident in Mia Giovina, a 19-year-old New Jersey singer-songwriter who has spread her song rewrites to her 100,000 Tik Tok followers. For this month’s Local Artist Spotlight, we dive into her creative journey to music.

Her covers put a new spin on popular songs by offering an alternate perspective. Her rewrite of the Plain White T’s “Hey There Delilah” is from the point of view of Delilah’s old friend (rather than the original lover’s POV), with altered lyrics that tell a new story, for example. Mia broke down her process for reimagining her favorite songs and ours as well as what inspires her original songs! 

Philly PR Girl: What has been your journey with music?

Mia Giovina: Music is in my blood. My mom is a very gifted songwriter and my dad is an incredible musician. When I was in fifth grade, I auditioned for the musical The King and I and was cast as one of the king’s children! Being in that show made me fall in love with musical theatre. I thought that it was something I wanted to pursue as a career until freshman year of highschool. My two best friends moved away the month before school started and I was kind of forced to go through everything alone. I ended up turning to music as something to lean on.

I started an instagram account where I posted singing covers, I performed at a local coffee shop every Wednesday, and I began writing my own songs! I realized I wanted to pursue becoming an artist. From then on, I continued posting covers online and I performed whenever I could. I would spend my Friday nights gigging out at bars and restaurants! Once it was time for me to pick a college to go to, I knew I would rather spend that time and money on my career. Music has been pretty much all I’ve thought about ever since!

PPRG:What is your process for creating a rewrite?

MG: Step one is choosing the song I want to rewrite! I tend to rewrite songs that I’m listening to nonstop at that time. If I’m writing from the other point of view, I think it’s really important to have a solid understanding of the meaning of the song. I actually do a lot of research on lyric analysis before I begin the rewrite. Once I have the concept, I just start writing! Lyrics can take anywhere from twenty minutes to three hours to finish, depending on how focused or inspired I’m feeling that day. After lyrics I work on production. I use a program called Logic Pro x to lay down whatever instruments feel right with the song, and then add my vocals on top. Once the musical aspect of it is complete, I record a video to go along with it, edit it on iMovie, and then it’s ready for Tik Tok! 

PPRG: Who are your biggest musical influences, in addition to the artists whose songs you’ve re-worked?

MG: Harry Styles and Taylor Swift are my biggest musical influences but I’ve also recently become a huge fan of Phoebe Bridgers and Lizzy McAlpine! Phoebe and Lizzy have such a beautiful, conversational tone to their music that makes a song feel so relatable even if you haven’t been in a similar situation. They’re raw, real, and simple, yet mind blowing. 

PPRG: Will we be hearing more full-length Mia Giovina original songs in the future?

MG: Yes! I’ll hopefully be releasing my first song sometime in February, if everything works out! For a long time, my answer to this question was that I’m just waiting for the perfect song to come along. With this being my first release ever, I was stuck in this cycle of feeling like nothing I wrote would be good enough. Until one Sunday afternoon, I wrote the song. I instantly felt it was something special. Looking back I’m so glad I never settled for anything less than this song. 

PPRG:: Where do you get your inspiration for your original music?

MG: I think a lot of my best songs come from genuine emotion. The song I’m releasing soon is basically my brain in song form. You don’t necessarily need to go through a huge breakup or a mental breakdown to write a really good song. I write a lot of my songs from other people’s perspectives or about other people’s lives. As long as the emotion is real, you can write a song about almost anything.

PPRG: You hit your stride during COVID-19 on Tik Tok!  What goals do you have for in-person performances once they are allowed to resume? How can people continue to support you online?

MG: The online support that I’ve gotten during these past few months has blown my mind. I have been dreaming my entire life for a life like this. My supporters never fail to let me know how much my music means to them and I hope they know that they mean just as much to me. Once it’s safe, it would be an absolute dream to be able to see all of them in person and perform for them. I can just picture all of us screaming my Harry Styles rewrites in a room together. 

PPRG: How has Philly and its music scene inspired you and impacted your approach to music?

MG: My senior year of high school, I sang in the World Cafe Live open mic night almost every time they had it. In fact, the first time I ever played the guitar in front of people was at World Cafe Live! To watch so many passionate artists get up on that stage every night was beyond inspiring and made me want to work that much harder to be just like them.

There you have it! An amazing journey with Mia! Philly PR Girl loves featuring local talent from the music and art scene. There are so many talented individuals right in our own backyard that we have yet to learn about. To read more of the local talent we spotlight, check out our blog