CANDID CONVERSATION WITH MALEA McGUINNESS Thursday, May 10, 2007

Singer/songwriter Malea McGuinness bears a genuine authenticity that’s been missing from the mainstream, and demonstrates how creativity can come from our darkest hours. Her debut album, True Believer, is already receiving support from XM Satellite Radio and AAA stations across the country. Malea’s vocals provide nuanced depth to her musical narratives. For example, her ballad, “Sweet Light,” was written for, and is dedicated to, the troops fighting in Iraq. Born on an army base in Ft. Hood, Texas to a Green Beret father and Korean mother, Malea was taken away to live with her grandparents in Islip, New York at the age of six. She was encouraged to study opera by her high school music teacher, and spent years excelling at exclusive conservatories. . She soon landed a co-starring role as Tuptim in the Broadway revival of “The King and I” with Lou Diamond Phillips. Fueled with the desire to write and record her own songs, Malea moved to Los Angeles and began performing li