Yaniza is a Jewish, Dominican and Kittitian pop singer-songwriter from New York City. She sings in English and Spanish and usually has a huge smile on her face :) Yaniza's tunes bring joy and sunshine to its listeners through catchy lyrics over ukulele or acoustic guitar. Her self-directed music videos also captivate her audience through images of positivity, happiness, and hope.
Yaniza initially grew her fanbase by posting acoustic covers of pop songs on YouTube, which garnered tens of thousands of views and supporters across platforms. In 2020, Yaniza’s covers gained attention from celebrities and acclaimed music blogs. Glamour included Yaniza’s cover of Becky G’s song, “Mayores,” in their Fan Covers series on YouTube. The Latin Pop star raved about Yaniza’s harmonies and guitar skills, and said: “the overall vibe made me really happy, and her energy is also really happy. She also has a very contagious smile, which I love.” Colbie Caillat noticed Yaniza covering “Fallin’ For You” on Instagram and gave it a “like,” as did Sasha Sloan on Yaniza’s rendition of “Ready Yet.” PopSugar included Yaniza’s version of Taylor Swift & Bon Iver’s “exile” in a list of covers that they deemed “equally as heartbreaking as the original.”
Posting covers paved a path for Yaniza’s original songs to shine. Chill ukulele tune, “Fly Away (Free Bird),” produced by Gian Stone (Ariana Grande, Maroon 5) and mastered by Joe LaPorta (Shawn Mendes, Imagine Dragons), is Yaniza’s most popular song at 90,000 streams and counting. “Happiness,” from her album, “Secrets,” has a similar vibe and appeared in a commercial for Karisma Hotels, and on The Children’s Hour radio station. “Contigo,” Yaniza’s dangerously catchy bilingual/Spanglish bop, was played on radio stations as well. February 2021 met the crush confession single “i love you,” preceded by “Quarantine Bae” in 2020, which hilariously narrates the struggles of online dating during the pandemic. Yaniza’s other original titles include “Grateful” a tribute to her supportive parents, “Losing,” a heartbreak ballad, and LP “Sticks & Stones.” Gian Stone, Ben Rice, Harper James, Rafael “Come2Brazil” Fadul, Kornel Sylwester, Kurt Thum and Joe LaPorta were superstars in bringing these songs to fruition. Their musical talent, production, and engineering expertise combined with Yaniza’s melodies and lyrics have been praised by numerous music blog tastemakers, and continue to strike a cord with listeners across the globe.
Early on in her career, Yaniza frequented well-known live music venues around NYC, a favorite being Rockwood Music Hall, with guest appearances at B.B. King and Irving Plaza. She was named Artist of the Month twice at The Bitter End, and was a semi-finalist in the Celebration of Music Contest in 2019, and the NY Coffee Music Project Competition in 2017. Yaniza began branching out of NYC with Sofar Sounds performances in Philadelphia and Washington DC.
Yaniza continued to broaden her gig horizons with her first tour in 2019. She played local venues across the US, radio shows, and festivals, such as Musikfest, where Earth, Wind & Fire, The Chainsmokers, Phillip Phillips and many other household names headlined that same year. She signed with college booking agency, Degy Entertainment, in 2020 and has already played a number of events through them. Yaniza is also a passionate music educator. After teaching children for almost 15 years and earning a masters degree from Columbia University in 2020, she started her own music-lessons-business and saw immediate demand. As Yaniza continues to inspire young minds through music, she is actively booking more gigs and writing new bops with the goal of encouraging listeners to find joy in every day life.
The best way to keep up with Yaniza’s news is to follow her on Instagram @yaniza_music :)