Contemporary Christian music that touches the heart of ALL people.

12 MP3 Songs
GOSPEL: Contemporary Gospel, EASY LISTENING: Love Songs



Details:
Melisa Prestianni was born on October 14, 1974 in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, N.Y. She is the oldest of three children and started her singing debut in her familyâs coffee shop singing Christmas tunes. Every year she would always ask for instruments as birthday and Christmas gifts. After her 4th birthday, she received her first child-sized guitar and began unknowingly strumming and making up words as best as she could with no lessons at all.
In the summer of 1984, when Melisa was eleven, her family moved to Bloomfield, N.J. and took up residence in a two family home with her grandparents from her motherâs side, George and Virginia Ourganian. Her grandfather, who was a very Godly man, gave Melisa the Godly foundation she has today. As with most teenagers, his preachingâs seemed to be a burden at the time, but she would later come to realize that his prayers and teachings would have a major impact on her for the rest of her life. Not only did Melisa share his love for God but also his musical talents being that George Ourganian used to sing for his local church and smaller theater productions in the area.
Melisa graduated Bloomfield College in 1997 with her Bachelorâs Degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology while balancing her softball and volleyball career for which she had received a full scholarship. It was then that she and her grandfather would share the word together whenever they had the opportunity. On February 26, 2002, her grandfather passed away leaving behind a very loving family and the seeds of God that he had planted within them.
Due to her passion for singing, at twenty-eight years old, Melisa ventured out with a friend, to sing in a few coffee houses and restaurants in town. She gained some experience and exposure from singing in front of small audiences, which was very different for her since, as a child, she had only appeared in front of a few of her stuffed animals while singing into a hairbrush. As Melisa grew closer to God, she realized that the talent God had given to her was a gift, and felt deeply blessed and inspired to share the gift with others.
She instantly began praying and asked God to fill her with only the words that He would want her to sing. Under the total grace of God and help from two very special people in her life, she had written, composed and recorded her first album. This album was completed in a three month span, leaving those in the music industry extremely amazed. Due to Melisaâs own amazement in how quickly it was completed, she felt inspired to name the album Overwhelmed With Love.
âMy prayer was to touch everyone,â she states simply, âbut especially the non-believer. I named this album Overwhelmed With Love because thatâs exactly what I wasâ¦overwhelmed and flooded with the Lordâs love and it changed my whole life.â
Melisa knows that it was her grandfatherâs prayers and his love for her that led her to the very place she is today, and for him she will always be grateful. Her only prayer is that she could give the joy, peace and love she found in Christ to others as her grandfather had so lovingly shared with her.