Rio's Bio

Born and raised in Seoul, Rio was influenced and inspired by the music of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and several other African American R&B artists. Singing and dancing from the age of five, Rio was determined to follow in the footsteps of Michael Jackson and she steadfastly set her sights and goal on becoming a singer. Throughout her ‘all girl school’ years in Seoul, Rio was described by her friends as “the girl who performed like Whitney Houston”. She choreographed her own dance routines and regularly performed at YMCA school events in front of several thousand cheering fans. Despite plans to the attend Julliard School of Music in New York and continue straight into a musical career, Rio chose to complete her English tertiary studies in St Louis, Missouri, before returning to Asia. Now living in Hong Kong, Rio has recorded vocalist demo tracks with Schtung Music and Uptown Music.

At the beginning of 2003, Rio recorded her first original song demo, ‘So Glad I Met You’, which was written and composed by award winning American musician, Tom Gunn of Bali Lau Entertainment.

Multiple platinum awarded Pop/R&B producer and songwriter Dinesh Wicks then got hold of Rio’s demos and loved her voice. He immediately asked that she come to Australia to write and record with him and the resulting songs are some of the most exciting in Asia today

Rio completed production on her first 4 track EP with Mayday Music in Sydney. The EP was mixed by Danesh and mastered at 301 Studios. Rio played a significant role in contributing to the concept and style of the songs.

Her singing style is characterized by her unique ad lib skills and a strong vocal range, which is best suited to R&B Pop.

as of Jan. 3 - 2004