Sevi Ettinger is a 16 year old student from the United States who moved to Shanghai with her family in 2012. She attends high school at an American International school and is already being called “a rising star” by many in the music industry. Sevi has been singing since the age of 3, but she caught the attention of some very famous music artists when, at the age of 14, she wrote a song called, “Salty Water.” Inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis, Sevi wrote Salty Water in one hour by using an App on her smartphone and a backing track she heard online that was composed by a musician in Texas, Nate McCray.

Sevi did not think many people would hear her song, but when her father put “Salty Water” on his WeChat moments it ended up being heard by a famous singer and songwriter from the United States living in Shanghai, Phillip Jarrell, who has major record label experience, including writing the #1 classic Billboard hit, “Torn Between Two Lovers” - he loved her music. On another trip to Los Angeles, Jarrell played Sevi's music to a Grammy Award-Winning producer, Jeff Bova, who won a Grammy for co-producing Celine Dion’s Grammy Award-winning album, “Falling Into You”. Bova has worked with other famous artists including, Michael Jackson, Katy Perry, and Cyndi Lauper. When Bova heard “Salty Water” and Sevi’s other music, he was convinced she had something special. Bova worked with Sevi and Jarrell in the studio in Shanghai and Los Angeles to complete Sevi’s debut EP which was released on August 24, 2018, featuring “Salty Water” and her other songs. Salty Water, made it to BMI's Music Monday Top 10 Playlist on Spotify and hit #32 on Spotify's Best Indie Music Worldwide 2019 Playlist. Sevi is a strong advocate for social justice issues and her music video for “Salty Water”, helped her become the highest fundraiser for the USA for UNHCR’s refugee campaign, “A Mile Together”.

Sevi's new release, “Universe”, produced by DJ Shaan (EMI/Virgin Records) - she outlines the inspiration behind the track: “Imagine a rocket, flying into space, passing layers of the atmosphere and surfing around thousands of stars. Now imagine that rocket being a song. ‘Universe’ is an extraterrestrial bop with layers of upbeat, powerful, striking elements that fill the sky; designed by me and DJ Shaan. I wrote Universe during the midst of a realization: too often, we compare ourselves to people that seem “better than” or “more successful than” us, which makes so many of us feel less worthy and less secure about ourselves. I realized how that locks us into a bubble that’s hard to escape from. But if people start to focus on what makes them unique, what makes them feel passionate, and what makes them feel happy, people can break from their bubbles and be their own universe. As the chorus goes, “we can be the universe, only if we try”. I hope this song inspires you to be your own universe.”

This is both Sevi’s mantra and her mission.