i got home from a long day of work and settled in for
an evening of listening to some music and a little relax-
ation, when unexpectedly, i got a call to do an interview
with one of our talented local artists. Sineta Roker's
voice is bright and bubbly which is not what you would
expect, after hearing her belt her song "as if" in her sul-
try alto voice. her sound is reminiscent of Toni Brax-
ton, and her lyrics tell the story of break ups, moving
on, and starting over again. She is a local starlet who
is destined to outshine the rest. She gifted me with the
chorus of "Give it To Me Right" and i was blown away
by her raw talent.
Sineta is originally from Thousand oaks, California
and migrated to St. Louis after high school. She credits
her inspiration to the original diva, Whitney houston.
She describes her style as a mixture of Pop, R&B, and
Rock, and believes her sound is unlike many of today's
mainstream artists who either fall into the categories
of R&B or neo soul. She's crooned the national an-
them many times at an array of sporting events around
the country and She's also headlined at the hard Rock
Café here in St. Louis. Most notably, she was a con-
testant on american idol during season 6 and earned
herself a ticket to hollywood, beating out thousands
of other promising hopefuls. She even admits that,
Jordan Sparks, the season 6 winner, along with aretha
franklin are two artists who's sound overwhelm her
with emotion.
When i asked what she is listening to right now, she
responds intently, "i like real music....real singers....
with real voices. My son and i were in the car listening
to the radio and i realized that every song was about
sex, and not just about sex, but had the word `sex' in
the name of the song!" i chimed in agreeing, what hap-
pened to the music? There was a time when we had
love songs; when we were told that a house was not a
home when no one was there to hold you tight. So it's
not surprising when she says she's listening to Marc
Broussard, Jazmine Sullivan, and Melanie fiona, art-
ists that represent the same passion that she produces
through her music.
i asked if she wrote her own music, and in a very ear-
nest tone she responded, "every one of my songs
are true, it's all based on my life's events, and what i
do is write down everything i'm feeling....then, with
John Glasgow's help, my co-writer, we turn it into lyr-
45
V.1.3