Damara Melissa Releases New Single ‘A Thousand Hallelujahs’

Damara Melissa is a singer-songwriter from Ontario, Canada, whose music is driven by her faith. Her soulful voice, mixed with her pop melodies and style, brings a unique vibe to the Contemporary Christian Music space. After breaking into Christian music with a single in 2020, Damara has released her first short album, “Beginnings,” documenting her journey through some painful experiences in 2020. She is currently working on her second EP, “The Space Between,” with hopes of bringing encouragement and healing to others through her songs and pointing believers back to God’s faithfulness in every aspect of their lives.

Born into a Caribbean home where reggae, rock, and many other kinds of music were enjoyed, Damara grew up in a Toronto suburb and quickly grew to love pop music, reflecting her friends’ tastes. Music was always a deep love and source of joy for Damara, but she only started writing songs after her dad passed away in 2006. She remained a closet songwriter until 2020 when she could no longer deny her calling to encourage others through song.

Damara showcased her budding talent with her first release, “A New Day,” in August 2020, followed by “Burdens” in January 2021. The tremendous support for “Burdens” led her to work on an EP of songs written in 2020, including a cover mashup tribute to her father. “BRAVE” kicked off her EP, releasing as a single in July 2021, followed by a mashup of “As the Deer” and “His Eye is on the Sparrow” in August 2021. The full EP, released on February 25th, 2022, included additional songs: “Invisible,” “Where I Wanna Be,” and “Rise Above.”

Her latest singles, “Don’t Give Up Now” and “Holy of Holies,” were released in March and April 2023, respectively, and were well received by fans. Although still new to the Christian music scene, Damara has garnered over 1M streams on Spotify. Three of her songs have received airplay on multiple Canadian Christian radio stations, with “Where I Wanna Be” making it onto Joy Radio’s top 20 Canadian music list. Damara received a Covenant Award nomination for “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” in 2022 and another nomination for Pop Song of the Year for “Don’t Give Up Now” in 2023.

The first song from Damara’s second EP, “The Space Between,” is set to release on June 7th. As she continues to release songs this summer, Damara is working with her producer to bring the remaining EP songs to life, with hopes of having the entire short album released by fall of 2024.

She states that “in June of 2021, I attended my first song writing retreat in Nashville. It happened to coincide with Brooke Ligertwood’s live recording of her album “Seven.” Along with others, I had the privilege of worshipping with her as these songs were etched into digital stone. One song, in particular, gripped me deeply. When we introduced it at my church a few months later, it brought me to tears, and I knew I had to cover it. As a songwriter, the lyrics “perhaps creation longs to have the words to sing, but this joy is mine” and “Lord Jesus, this song is forever yours” resonated with my heart completely. I’m so grateful to include my rendition of this beautiful song on my upcoming EP. In keeping with my style, it’s more of a pop anthem, and I hope it becomes a summer of 2024 worship favourite.”