Born and raised in Toronto Canada, Danie performed at her first concert at the early age of 4. By the age of 7, she had written her first original song. Danie’s passion for music allowed her to study opera through the Royal Conservatory of Music. She was privileged enough to be able to attend the same school of the arts as Shania Twain. At the age of 16, Danie Cortese was Canada’s youngest opera graduate.
At 18 years old, she recorded her first original music demo, alongside a producer who had worked with the likes of the late Luther Vandross. Danie taught herself how to play the piano along with fifteen other instruments. She has been involved in the entertainment business since the age of 4, and is now 37. ( 25 at heart )
Danie’s first album included an all-star back up band: Bonnie Raitt’s guitarist & well known musicians who performed alongside mega stars. She wrote, sang and co-produced her entire album. Her co-producer is a very good friend of Daniel Lanois (U2). This recording was completed at the famous Grant Avenue Studio. The engineer of her album went on to engineer for U2 exclusively in Los Angeles. The studio is famous for the “Exotica” soundtrack; the soundtrack for 9 1/2 weeks and for producing such acts as the Cowboy Junkies & Gordon Lightfoot, just to mention a few.
Danie released her first single “The Best Places To Kiss” across Canada, the US and Europe. The single was played in about 27 countries around the world. During this time, Danie toured, received a lot of press, made television appearances & performed for crowds exceeding 40,000 spectators. This incredible young woman marketed her album on her own. Some articles read “Trained in opera she is taking on Shania Twain”.
Her personal publicist worked with such acts as “Bette Midler”, “Paul McCartney” & “Jimi Hendrix”, just to mention a few. Her late manager promoted such movies as “Moonstruck” & worked with celebrities such as Bill Cosby, Richard Gere, and Raquel Welch. You are not given the chance to work with such high profile industry executives unless you've got what it takes..and boy did she ever!
Her second single “Damn You’re Good” created controversy due to the word “Damn” in the title. Her radio publicist was afraid to market this song due to the aggressiveness of the title. She was asked to change it. Danie discussed this issue with her co-producer of the album. After much thought, Danie’s lack of fear and modern approach had her keep the original title of the song. Against her publicist's wishes, Danie went on to release the single on her own. The song hit the Top 100 chart in Canada in January 2001 within 2 weeks of it's release. It remained on the charts for over 10 months! It gained airplay in over 35 countries around the world. Danie was at the top of the charts all over the world. This success came to be through Danie’s personal creative marketing and promotional concepts. She was #211 of Europe’s 1500 most played mainstream artists. Danie was nominated for an American Horizon Music Award. This is a pretty incredible accomplishment for an independent, self funded artist. The music spoke for itself. Danie was correct, people were ready for a change and she was ready to give the public what they didn't even know they wanted. Have a listen to the song (above) and get inspired!
Danie called the tour of her album “It’s A Shoe Thang”. Her third single, “Blame it on the shoes” – a song about a woman’s fascination for shoe shopping and spending her man’s money helped Danie’s music cross over into the US market. Designers in New York city used the song for their fashion runway shows. She was dubbed “the shoe girl”. She got write ups in some of the most prestigious magazines, newspapers, and print media all over the world. Here was Rob Lowe and there was Danie right beside him..downtown girl moving uptown really fast!
Danie’s name, marketing & publicity concepts skyrocketed beyond her wildest dreams. The album, which she still calls a demo, reflected her ability to write commercial music in every genre. Among Danie’s many talents, she also wrote, produced and directed her own play and had two self written articles appear in National magazines. From a distance, the industry began to take notice of how creative and innovative Danie’s promotional skills were. She was asked to become a member of the Guild of Canadian Film & Television composers, based on all of her accomplishments. She was thrilled when she later realized that only a few women out of about 250 men were part of the guild. Most of these composers have scored music for movie blockbuster hits!
By this time, Danie had been in the industry for about 27 years. Her contacts, dedication to her craft and overall love of the business enabled Danie to launch her entertainment empire. Wanting to fill a void in the industry based on her own personal experiences, evolved in the opening of Danie Cortese Entertainment Inc. in 2001.
A lot of thought and planning went into the launch of this “one of a kind company”. When Danie opened her doors, she took with her the respect of the entire entertainment industry. Word spread that Danie was stepping back from her own career in order to help further the careers and projects of ANYONE she felt was CREATIVE and unique. Her reputation over the years helped her gain the respect of some of the biggest names in the industry. She is recognized as a world-renowned leader of an entertainment revolution. She takes great pride in what she does & will continue to push the envelope. If you want to work with someone that is honest and direct about this business, look no further.
This is a woman who can forecast trends and is not afraid of introducing change or creating controversy. Her drive is to lead, break barriers & invent new approaches. Anyone who has met, spoken to her and or understands her vision, say the same thing…
How can a woman who is only 37 years old understand every aspect of the entertainment industry? No one will ever know but you can always ask her! You will never meet a more caring, determined and considerate person in this crazy world of entertainment.
"Sometimes your heart knows things before your mind does..so get in motion and don't be afraid to create a commotion" says Danie Cortese
