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" At only 17 years old, Manika is living her musical dreams. The young singer was discovered by Michael Jackson&amp;#039;s longtime manager Frank DiLeo, her debut single &amp;quot;Just Can&amp;#039;t Let You Go&amp;quot; just went up on iTunes, and she&amp;#039;s even headed on tour later this year! We were lucky enough to attend a showcase where Manika performed her fun and totally dance-worthy songs live. She put on an energetic and impressive performance, singing, dancing, and even playing the guitar and keyboard. Manika was all smiles on stage, and you could tell she was having a lot of fun\u2014Just like the crowd was! Most people couldn&amp;#039;t help dancing around a little bit. CosmoGirl sat down with Manika after the show to get the dish on her music, her dreams, and her advice for other young aspiring singers. CosmoGirl: How would you describe your style of music? Manika: Pop and pop rock, but I like to shake things up a little bit. Like in &amp;quot;Just Can&amp;#039;t Let You Go,&amp;quot; the single, you hear beatboxing which you wouldn&amp;#039;t normally get in a pop song. And in &amp;quot;Woo Hoo,&amp;quot; there&amp;#039;s that really unique synth sound in it. I plan to make my music feel more pop rock\u2014edgier. CG: What are some of your big dreams for the future? M: To just keep doing this forever, basically. I love it. I want to be able to fill up arenas and inspire other people, just like artists like Alanis Morissette have inspired me. CG: Do you have any advice on how other girls can make it in the music industry? M: If it&amp;#039;s something that you love, just keep going at it, because that&amp;#039;s what I did. People would tell me, &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s never going to happen,&amp;quot; but I just kept going and driving for it. Now I feel like it&amp;#039;s surreal. What do you think of Manika? Are there any other new artists you&amp;#039;re excited about right now? Sound off in the comments! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/music/a14528/manika-showcase-performance/>