Alyssa Bonagura

Alyssa Bonagura
Bonagura in 2019 with The Sisterhood
Background information
Born (1988-04-01) April 1, 1988 (age 36)
Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.
GenresCountry, pop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician, producer, audio engineer
Instrument(s)Guitar, piano, bass, mandolin, accordion, dulcimer
Years active1998–present
Websitealyssabonagura.com

Alyssa Bonagura (born April 1, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter.

Early life and career

Alyssa Bonagura is from Franklin, Tennessee. She is the daughter of singers Michael Bonagura and Kathie Baillie of Baillie & the Boys.[1] She has been singing since the age of 2 and is a multi-instrumentalist.[2] At the age of 10, she was asked by Kenny Rogers to sing a duet with him on his Christmas album Christmas From The Heart. She was awarded the Sennheiser Scholarship which allowed her to graduate from Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts with a degree in sound technology in 2009.[3] She performed back up vocals in "That Old Glass Case" on her mother's 2006 album Love's Funny That Way. While studying in England from 2006 to 2009, she became a temporary member of Pete Wylie and The Mighty Wah! and played at such events as the 2007 Queens Variety Show in Liverpool, England at the Empire Theatre, and Knowsley Hall Music Festival alongside acts such as The Who, The Coral, and The Thrills. She performed at the 2008 European Capital of Culture event, Liverpool: the Musical – the event which inaugurated Liverpool's new Echo Arena with Ringo Starr.

In 2010, Bonagura signed with Rondor Music International (A division of Universal Music) as a songwriter and has successfully written songs for Raquel Castro's debut single "Diary".[4] In 2011, Sarah Jarosz released a single that she co-wrote with Bonagura called "Run Away." She's also co-written the song "Keeping Secrets" with Tyler Ward on his 2012 album Hello. Love. Heartbreak. and "Like U" for Kaya Jones.

She has produced artists including Jo Dee Messina and Jessie James Decker. Bonagura co-wrote, produced, and was featured on the song "Unbreakable",[5] the first song Messina has released since her split from a major label. Jessie James' version of Bonagura's song "Nothing More To Say" was featured on Perez Hilton's blog site in 2010.[6]

In 2012, her song "I Make My Own Sunshine" was used in a Lowe's commercial. Her debut album Love Hard was released on October 30, 2012.[7]

Penned by Bonagura, her father Michael, and Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, the single, "This Christmas", is the title-track of Nelson's album and marks their first return on a Billboard chart in more than 20 years. "This Christmas" debuted at #22 on the Adult Contemporary chart on December 12, 2015.[8][9]

On March 13, 2016, Bonagura performed with bandmate Ruby Stewart at the CMC Rocks festival in Queensland, Australia. Billing themselves as The Sisterhood, the two had been working together for a year after Rod Stewart told them, "you two should start a band, your voices are good together." The two performed a one-hour set with backing by the Morgan Evans band.[10]

Discography

Albums

  • 2008 Before the Breaking (EP)
  • 2010 The English Diaries
  • 2012 Love Hard
  • 2016 Road Less Traveled[11]

Singles

  • 2011 "Killing Me" (feat. Tyler Wilkinson)
  • 2012 "I Make My Own Sunshine"
  • 2012 "Nothing More to Say"
  • 2021 "New Wings"
  • 2022 "Other Side of the World"[12]

Music videos

Year Title Director
2016 "Rebel"[13] Dallas Wilson

As a writer and producer

Year Artist Album Song
2021 Jessie James Decker The Woman I've Become (EP) "I Need A Man"
2019 The Sisterhood N/A "Get Up and Go"
"Bullet"
Jessie James Decker "Roots And Wings"
2017 Southern Girl City Lights (Epic) "Another Dumb Love Song"
"Girl Like Me"
"Flip My Hair"
Gold (Epic) "Gold"
2016 Steven Tyler We're All Somebody from Somewhere (Dot Records) "I Make My Own Sunshine"
2015 Jana Kramer Thirty One (Warner Bros. Records) "Circles"
Jessie James Decker N/A "Lights Down Low"
2014 Comin' Home (19 Recordings) "Rain on the Roof of This Car"
"Diary"
"Momma Wrote You A Lullaby"
Jo Dee Messina Me (Dreambound) "Not Dead Yet"
"He's Messed Up"
Tyler Hilton Indian Summer (Hooptie Tune Records) "I Want To Be in Love So Bad"
Morgan Evans Morgan Evans (Warner Music Australasia) "Tornado"
"I Wanna Go"
"Best of Me"
"Best I Never Had"
2013 Tyler Ward Hello. Love. Heartbreak. (Sony Music Entertainment) "Keeping Secrets"
Jo Dee Messina N/A "Unbreakable"[a]
Sarah Jarosz Build Me Up From Bones (Sugar Hill Records) "Gone Too Soon"
2012 Chelsea Basham N/A "I Make My Own Sunshine"
2011 Sarah Jarosz Follow Me Down (Sugar Hill Records) "Run Away"
Isabelle Boulay Les grands espaces (Disques Chic Musique) "All I Want Is Love"
Jessie James Decker N/A "Nothing More To Say"[b]

Notes

  1. ^ iTunes single
  2. ^ Unreleased single (featured on Perez Hilton's website)

References

  1. ^ Sean Spillane (April 6, 2007). "Baillie comes home". Connecticut Post.
  2. ^ Lori Shaw-Cohen (January 12, 2003). "Direction gives wings to teens' goals". The Tennessean. p. W.7.
  3. ^ Evans, Jim (December 9, 2008). "With a little help from Sennheiser". L&Si Online. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  4. ^ Gamboa, Glenn (February 2, 2012). "A super Sunday for Raquel Castro". Newsday. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  5. ^ "MESSINA MAKES MUSIC WITH TWITTER".
  6. ^ "Listen To This: Christina Aguilera Should Have Recorded THIS!". Perezhilton.com. June 29, 2010.
  7. ^ Music News Desk (October 22, 2012). "Singer-Songwriter Alyssa Bonagura's Debut Album to Be Released, 10/30". Love Hard. TalkTunesworld online. Retrieved November 16, 2012. The album includes the song "I Make My Own Sunshine," which received national attention when it was used in a Lowe's commercial earlier this year.
  8. ^ Trust, Gary (December 3, 2015). "Matthew & Gunnar Nelson Return to Billboard's Charts After 20 Years". Billboard magazine. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  9. ^ Stephen L. Betts. "Matthew and Gunnar Nelson Ready 'This Christmas' Holiday Album". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  10. ^ Darren Cartwrigh (March 10, 2016). "Rod Stewart's daughter plays CMC Rocks". Yahoo.com. Australia: Seven News. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  11. ^ "Alyssa Bonagura Takes Listeners on a "Road Less Traveled" with Exclusive iTunes release". PLA Media. September 23, 2016. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  12. ^ Goldstein, Tiffany (June 23, 2022). "Alyssa Bonagura Proves That Distance Can't Come Between Love in "Other Side of the World"". CMT. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  13. ^ "CMT : Videos : Alyssa Bonagura : Rebel". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on September 26, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
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