Music has always been a part of Danika’s life in various ways. Since she was five she’s been in front of a piano. “It didn’t take me long to discover that I could put notes together in any way I wanted to create my own original songs.”

By thirteen, Danika was recording her songs in the studio and had been selected as finalist in a songwriting competition. However, high school and college led her to focus primarily on dance and academics. Now, while nearing the completion of her PhD, she has traveled full-circle back to where she started, with music.

A series of traumatic personal events, including the death of her father and a relationship betrayal ending in a broken heart led Danika to re-evaluate her life goals. When at rock bottom she turned to music. Danika began writing down her feelings in song format and spending hours a day playing guitar as a way of clearing her mind. Music became her escape from the reality of her shattered life. Danika believes that even though personally trying situations seem to be impossible to endure while in the midst of them, eventually time will prevail and one emerges as either broken or stronger. “I hope that my songs will help others in the midst of difficult circumstances to emerge stronger. ”Life experiences, the influence of her dad, and her passion for music have shaped Danika into the writer and artist she has become today.

So, what about back when Danika was a kid? Well, she grew up as the 4th kid out of 5 in Eastern Iowa. Danika says,“I was a little rag-a-muffin who tromped around in hand me down clothes and spent every free minute doing building projects with my dad or creating anything from fashions to songs and dances.” Danika sang show tunes around the house with her younger brother and tagged around after her older brothers and sister trying to be cool. As a teen she tried sports briefly, discovered“ I’d rather be singing,” then turned to the arts where she did community theatre, dance, and choir. She was fortunate enough to grow up in a home where her parents had all the love and support in the world for their kids.

Back to the present time, Danika was eventually reunited with long time family friend Paul Hamilton, a veteran in the music business. “We’d spend hours writing and recording in his studio." In the summer of 2009, after months of writing, they began work on her debut album titled “Second Chances.” For Danika this process was a learning experience like never before. Debut album “Second Chances” is a collection of life experiences expressed through song. Danika’s songs are packed full of emotions that parallel many women’s lives. “Women are emotional beings. We feel love, sadness, hope, loneliness…we feel everything.”

Some songs on "Second Chances” make a listener want to crank up the volume and sing along, while others lend themselves to a quiet peaceful reflection of their life. Danika says, "I’m hoping someone will walk away from a concert or listening to my music and take something meaningful away with them. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.