Clarissa Diokno

Clarissa Diokno is a Filipino Canadian pop Singer/Songwriter. Her musical influences range from oldies and female fronted rock bands to late 90s and early 2000s pop and R&B. Based in Kitchener, Ontario (an hour west of Toronto), “I’m on a voyage of discovery to find my voice in the pop universe,” says Diokno.

Her songwriting is inspired by her personal experiences, dreams, TV shows and films, conversations with friends, or simply going on a walk and observing the world around her. Diokno’s rich, emotive vocals lie at the heart of her songs. Melodic arrangements, contemporary production, and engaging and relatable lyrics inspired by love, life, and heartbreak blend together electropop with R&B elements to formulate Diokno’s dynamic style.

Diokno’s music has been featured on multiple CBC Radio Canada shows (Here & Now, In the Key of C, London Afternoon, Up To Speed) as well as a number of Canadian media outlets (Canadian Beats, Exclaim!, Rogers TV). She was selected as a participant in the 2023 TD Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship supported by SOCAN Foundation and TD Ready Commitment. She had also been invited to participate as a songwriter in the Songistry Songwriting Summit in Nashville (2023), the London Music Accelerator program in partnership with Canada's Music Incubator and London Music Office (2023), and was a Finalist in the 2022 Great American Song Contest.

Her latest single “Trust Myself” (2023) expresses the struggles of self-doubt while encouraging you to push through and believe in yourself. Her previous singles include her summer bop “Any Other Way” (2023), a cover of the Motown classic, “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” (2022) featuring Mark Pelli (Magic!), her dark pop/rock revenge song, “haunted” (2022), the guitar-driven pop track, “Wake Up Call” (2022), her powerful pop single, “BAD” (2021), and her hypnotic pop/r&b debut, “Confusion” (2021).

Music has been a part of Diokno’s world all her life. Singing from as young as three years old, she always gravitated toward music, taking piano and singing lessons as a child. During her first year at the University of Waterloo, she had formed a band online with four other students she had never met, and they went on to win a battle of the bands competition and had the opportunity to record an EP and play gigs around the Waterloo Region. The band eventually parted ways, and Diokno joined a cover band as the lead singer and began performing every weekend for three years. This helped develop her stage presence and confidence as a vocalist and live performer.

Diokno encourages people to use art as an outlet for creative expression and hopes to inspire other artists to dream big and share their passion with the world. She aspires to embody her Filipino heritage, motivating fellow Filipino and Asian artists to pursue their ambitions, recognizing that each of us possesses a powerful voice within the industry.