The long-cherished dream of the New York-Utrecht singer/songwriter Melynda has become reality with the launch of her debut album ‘AFTERMATH‘.

The album title refers to the recent years of her life, in which Melynda worked hard to stay positive after the sudden death of her great love on their tenth wedding anniversary. The seven songs, plus an acoustic bonus track, have a beautiful jazzy sound that Melynda describes as Rock ‘n B – a mix between rock and RnB.

They’re about survival, struggle, love and the strength to stay on your feet after your world collapses. What kept Melynda on her feet were her three young daughters, but also her passion for singing. Her loss became the incentive to pursue her dream.

Her dreams continued taking shape in 2015 with her participation in The voice of Holland, surviving numerous behind-the-scenes rounds to finally make it onto television with a blind audition. She even received a personal message from the amazing Ilse de Lange, whose touching ballad “I still cry” she sang in the audition.

Dancing in the aftermath
Melynda – who as a teenager attended the famous New York ‘Fame’ high school – rediscovered her love for writing songs in 2009 when she started co-writing with musician, conductor and friend David de Geus.

Melynda: “‘Aftermath’ refers to what’s left after a violent storm. After my husband died I was determined to keep fighting and enjoy life, to literally keep ‘dancing in the aftermath’, as my lyrics say.”

In addition to that country-inspired title song is the beautiful ballad ‘Nothing‘, while the song ‘My city’ is a tribute to her hometown New York, with a guest appearance by underground hip-hop artist Sabac Red from the legendary group Non Phixion.

A New York girl
Originally from New York, Melynda has been singing as long as she can remember. At 13 she won a spot at the famous LaGuardia High School for Music, Art & the Performing Arts, known around the world as the ‘Fame’ school. The study vocal music laid the foundation for Melynda’s jazzy ‘rock ‘n B’ sound.

Melynda was also a member of the prestigious CityKids Repertory Company, where she studied closely under Academy Award nominee Jamal Joseph and performed alongside alumni including Donald Faison (Scrubs, Clueless), Malik Yoba (Empire, Alphas, New York Undercover) and Dash Mihok (Ray Donovan, Romeo & Juliet).

Highlights include performing at Radio City Music Hall for President Bill Clinton, a CityKids primetime TV special hosted by Demi Moore, the Arsenio Hall Show, and countless other shows ranging from Larry King Live to a two-week tour of high schools in Ohio.

Singing in Holland
Upon coming to the Netherlands, Melynda experimented with flamenco dancing but decided she missed music too much, so she joined vocal group Divina Close Harmony. She spent a spectacular seven years with the group filled with great shows, awards and the recording of the CD ‘Golden’, on which she had the honor to sing the title track.

In 2011 she traded ensemble singing for a spot as lead (female) singer of cover band Little Sister and happily does that next to her solo work.

Endless love
Melynda first came to the Netherlands in the late 90s, spending four months in Utrecht as an exchange student at the School of Journalism. She fell in love with Stephan, one of the few Dutch students in the international group. Melynda must return to New York to finish her studies, but when she’s done decides to buy a one-way ticket back to the Netherlands to be with Stephan. They marry, have three gorgeous daughters and spend a total of 17 extremely happy years together before Stephan dies of a heart attack at age 43 on 5 July 2013 on their tenth wedding anniversary.