Orianthi

Name: Orianthi Panagaris
Born: 22nd January, 1985 (Adelaide, South Australia)

Profile: An Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist. She is best known for being Michael Jackson's guitarist for his comeback concert series, This Is It. Her debut single "According to You" has peaked at #6 in Australia and #17 in the US, and her debut album Believe was released throughout the last three months of 2009 worldwide.

History: She learned to play acoustic guitar at 6 because of her father, started electric when she was 11 and left school at 15 to focus on writing songs and performing. She has been playing in different friends' bands since she was 14 in England and in France. Her first support show was for Steve Vai at age 15. Orianthi had the opportunity to meet and jam with Carlos Santana when she was 18. He invited Orianthi to get up and jam with him at soundcheck then later asked if she would join him on stage that night to jam. She signed with Geffen Records in late 2006 and struck a management deal with 19 Entertainment. As of 2010, she lives in the United States and in Asia.

She has also played with Prince, had a song featured in Bratz: The Movie, played at the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival, appeared in The New York Times business section promoting Eco-friendly acoustic guitars and was named in the 12 Greatest Female Electric Guitarists. She also appeared at the 51st annual Grammy Awards as Carrie Underwood's lead guitarist. A guitar solo by Orianthi is featured on the song "Sleepwalker" on Adam Lambert's debut album For Your Entertainment.

Orianthi was Michael Jackson's lead guitarist and was present on all rehearsals for his "This Is It" concerts before his death. In regards to being handpicked by Jackson, she stated: "I don’t know exactly why he picked me, but he watched my YouTube videos and loved them. He had his choice of guitar players, but I came in and played the 'Beat It' solo for him. Afterward he was so happy he got up and grabbed my arm and started walking up and down the stage area with me. He said, 'Can you play once for me?' He hired me that night. I wish he was still around. He made me believe in myself more, and I learned so much. Going into it, I thought it would be all about playing guitar solos. But the majority of it was playing chords and funky rhythms".

Influences: Steve Vai, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Eddie Van Halen and Def Leppard

Axology: PRS guitars

Link(s):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7oAteGa55g&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLjl9U-B1R4