Christina Maria Rieder (born 13 March 1986), better known by their stage name Rykka (), is a Swiss-Canadian singer and songwriter from Vancouver, British Columbia, whose songs have been featured on TV, and who has been nominated for several music awards both in British Columbia, and across Canada. On May 12, 2016, Rykka represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm with the song "The Last of Our Kind", performing in the second semi-final of the event.
Life and career.
Early years.
Rykka was born Christina Maria Rieder in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Christina began guitar lessons at age 15, then performed at local community festivals. During their two-year program at Vancouver Community College, Christina studied voice with Paula Kremer, while also busking around Vancouver's Granville Island.
In 2009, Christina moved to Toronto to record their third independent album "Straight Line" under the performing name “Christina Maria”. The album was produced with the help of several Canadian producers such as David Baxter, Russel Broom, and Ryan Guldemond of Mother Mother.
In 2010, Christina's album "Straight Line" was released in Switzerland under Little Jig Records. Rykka stayed and performed both in Switzerland and in Germany, highlighted by a performance on "Sat.1 Frühstücksfernsehen"; a German television channel boasting an average audience of 1 million viewers. Christina later received a nomination for Demotape Clinic at M4Music in Switzerland.
2012–2013: "Kodiak".
Christina released an album Kodiak in 2012. It marked a significant change in their musical career, since Christina formally changed their stage name from Christina Maria to Rykka. The record was produced by Ryan Guldemond of Mother Mother, engineered by Shawn Penner, mixed by Warne Livesey and mastered by Andy VanDette. It was released that year in Switzerland by Little Jig Records.
2013–present: Other work.
In 2013, Rykka released their fourth studio album "Kodiak" under Vissen Record in Canada, following a release of the same album in Switzerland the year before. Later in 2013, Rykka won $100,000.00 in BC's Peak Performance Project.
Rykka played a slot in BC's well-known Squamish Valley Music Festival (2014), opening for another Peak Performance Project winner, We Are the City. Rykka represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "The Last of Our Kind" (written by Rykka, Jeff Dawson, Mike James, and Warne Livesey) after winning "ESC 2016 – Die Entscheidungsshow". Rykka placed 18th (last) in the second semifinal of Eurovision 2016, scoring 28 points.
Personal life.
Rykka splits their time between Zürich in Switzerland and their hometown of Vancouver. Rykka cites Heart, Blondie, Madonna, Björk, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush, and Pat Benatar as their main influences. Rykka's paternal grandfather is Swiss. Their maternal ancestry is Dutch; their maternal grandfather comes from Bodegraven and their maternal grandmother is from Woerden. 
Rykka came out as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.
References.
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