Birdie - A Songbird’s Wings are Open Birdie’s parents came to this country from Laos while her mother was still pregnant with her. Fleeing the remnants of a war torn society, the Xaphakdy family came to America seeking a better life for themselves and their soon to be born child. Birdies young life consisted of her parents moving around the country with her father taking odd jobs to make ends meet. It was a very meager life, but always full of hope and music. Birdie’s passion for music came directly from her father who, no matter how hard things were financially for the family, kept a song in his heart. When Birdie was as young as 6 years old she began her love affair with sound and performing. Whether she was being lulled to sleep by her mother or brought on stage by her father to sing, Birdie knew at a very young age what she wanted to do. SING! When her family settled in the small southern Minnesota town of Luverne, Birdie eased into the small community life. Athletic, popular, and friendly, Birdie lived a modest life with ambitions of going to college and living the American dream. Secretly, Birdie still longed to sing and perform. She started listening to soul music and fell in love with the vocals of Mariah Carey and the late Aaliyah. Practicing in the mirror, using a hair brush as a microphone, Birdie dreamed of being on stage. Birdie pressed on, despite many of her friends and family doubting or frowning at her desire to sing soul music. At 18, she left home to go to college in the Twin Cities, hoping to also find a way to follow her dream. As she began approaching different producers and song writers she faced a cold reality of the industry. Asian American female vocalists were not seen as soul/dance musicians; instead, Birdie was told everything from her voice was too light, her accent was too heavy, or, in some cases, that her talents were better served on the soundtrack to a Final Fantasy video game. Never crushed, Birdie’s determination moved her forward, until she finally found a small production company that believed in her enough to build a record label around her abilities. Deciding the give everything to her craft, the 18 year old Birdie quit school and her job to now spend up to 18 hours a day promoting, recording, performing, and fine tuning her craft. The girl that, at one time, was told that she could not open her mouth is now not only blasting out passionate lyrics on top of hard edged dance/soul retro music, but making decisions about her music beats, venues for performance, back ground vocalists, and dancer choreography. Part owner of her business, promoting herself, you will not find Birdie, now 19, at 18 plus night at Myth or Escape, you will find her on the streets in some of the roughest neighborhoods in town, passing out flyers, selling cds of her music, and singing on point when asked. People still doubt whether this Asian songbird can really sing. Birdie is happy to oblige them with 16 bars of one of her ballads. In Birdie’s own words, she just wants to sing. Birdie is the face of a new era in music – Techno Soul is here, Underground Pop is motioning in a new style and genre and Birdie carries its melodies with her. She is a shining star on the horizon not to be missed! Currently, Birdie and her material are creating a buzz at www.myspace.com/officialbirdiepage. She is a favorite and is receiving accolades all over the globe from her fans and supporters.