Melissa Polinar was announced as a nominee for the 12th annual Independent Music Awards. 

The song “Feels Like Home” was nominated for Adult/Contemporary song of the year. The song was written by Melissa Polinar and David Ryan Harris. It was produced by Jesse Barrera.

CLICK HERE - for nomination listing

For more information about IMA (Independent Music Awards)

Message from Melissa Polinar:
(taken from Kickstarter update)

Hello y’all!!!! 

I hope all of you are doing well wherever you are in the world at this very moment. As for me, I’m currently in Southern California (LA/San Diego) doing my usual rounds of co-writing, meetings, spending time with friends/family, and a few shows. After my stint with Guitar Center’s Singer/Songwriter competition and being named one of the top 10 finalist, (which by the way, was a lot of fun and it was an experience that I’m truly grateful for) …I’ve been working hard putting schedules and logistics together for this album so we can finally make this happen! That in itself have been a lot of work and presented a major brainteaser. Nevertheless, this is all fun for me! I’m truly excited and I hope all of y’all are too. 

To make a great album, understandably, one would need an overall vision, great songs, and talented musicians. But in order for all those elements to cohesively work together, you would have to pick a gifted producer …and in my case, producers. 

So ladies and gentlemen… 

Meet the producers… 

DAVID RYAN HARRIS 

Need I say more?! …Yes, David, or “DRH” as many would affectionately call him. First of all, if you need an introduction and have no clue who he is, here’s his Wikipedia page link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ryan_Harris - I’m not quite sure how accurate it is but you’ll get the gist of what he’s done within his remarkable career so far. 

I’ve had the privilege to work with David for the first time almost 2 years ago. It was May of 2011 when we co-wrote the song “Feels Like Home” and I released my version on iTunes back in June 2012. I’ve been a fan of his work years prior to actually meeting/working with him. I even remember going to a few of his shows at The Hotel Café (Los Angeles) when he was on break from tour (with John Mayer at the time). So as you can imagine, I felt tremendously honored when I found myself in the same room creating music with him…and later on sharing the stage on a few events/showcases in LA. 

Fast-forward, it was months ago that David and I started discussing production involvement for my project. We’ve had a few conversations on how I/we wanted the songs to sound like and etc. I truly feel that he understands my musicality and songwriting. He’s going to be the “new” element to my produced sound. I’m truly excited for this and I cannot wait. 

We’re slated to track our songs this June. 

P.S. He just produced India.Arie and Natasha Bedingfield – no. big. deal. 

JESSE BARRERA 

This decision probably didn’t come as a surprise for many of you. If you have followed my career for some time, you’d know that Jesse and I worked before and have been good friends for years now. He produced my “As of Now – EP” in 2010 as well as my last single “Feels Like Home” back in June 2012. I’ve also worked with Jesse for his other productions (his own projects and for his clients) – doing background vocals, vocal arrangements, and songwriting. 

Jesse started off as a member of the San Diego-based rock/alternative band “My American Heart” back when he was a teenager. After being a rockstar traveling all over the world, he decided to spend the years shortly-after focusing on his solo artistry, refining his skills as a producer, and building his studio. He has worked with many independent artists producing/mixing/mastering records for artists such as: Jeremy Passion, Daniela Andrade, AJ Rafael, Mitchell Grey, Michael Carreon, Nessa Rica, and Tori Kelly – to name a few from a rapidly-growing list. 

Not only is this guy immensely talented and hardworking, Jesse is like family. So I’m in San Diego right now and I’m about to track my songs with him until the end of this month (March). 

—

So there’s the update everybody! 

Who’s excited?!?!?!?!?!?!? 

Well, I am! (insert 100,000,000 exclamation points here) 

Lots of love, blessings, and more soon!

-mp