Spreading Kindness with Her voice
Story by Serafina Piasentin
Photography by Jackie Sonegra
Ella Paciocco, also known as Ella MNOP began singing with a toy microphone at two-years-old for anyone who would listen. Now, at twelve, the world is her audience. From singing at charitable events to being a voice actress on television shows, Ella has shared her voice to entertain and help those who listen.
Ella’s father, Gino, describes his daughter as “a very bright child growing up. Ella didn’t ever baby-talk—she sounded very mature, clear, and articulate for her age.” Being a songwriter in a musical group himself, Gino ingrained his love for music in Ella. Initially, she was drawn to the piano where she would sit on Gino’s lap and sing while he played. When Ella was eight, they began posting short recordings of these duets on Facebook. After a few months, they were contacted by Good Morning America to be featured on their show as a father-daughter duo. This was an important bonding moment for Ella and Gino, as they were able to share their love for music and family on a wider scale. Gino fondly says that music always relieved his stress and “knowing Ella has that outlet in the future is comforting.”
Continuing her lessons, Gino began to teach Ella some tricks he used when creating music. “There are really three parts to a song,” he explains, “the melody, the lyrics, and the chords.” As Ella learned about the anatomy of a song, her father was blown away by how she developed melodies and rhyming lyrics to mesh into a modern market. Ella even sings songs in French and Italian, learning her excellent pronunciation from her mother who is department head of modern languages at Assumption High School.
Inspired by her love for music and her growing internet presence, Ella entered the Vocal Star competition in Hollywood that same year. She won 1st place/artist of the year for the kid’s category (ages 8-12). This is where she met Adam H. Hurstfield, from XOXO Entertainment Corp. who began producing Ella’s songs. They studied the requirements that many hit songs have in common and even came up with Ella’s artist name, Ella MNOP. She explains that it is a play on the alphabet sequence, LMNOP. “It originated in the studio when I was writing and recording an original song. My producer loved an adlib I sang, and he screamed ‘ELLA MNOP,’ and we started laughing.” From that moment, the name stuck. “It works because my first name is Ella, which sounds like the letter L, and the P stands in for my last name, Paciocco.” Further encouraging Ella to write her own music, Adam gifted her a notebook where Ella records her thoughts and jots down ideas for songs.
She released her first single, L’s with the W’s, in 2024. Written based off her experiences with bullying in elementary school, this song urges us to take the pitfalls with the triumphs. She explains that the expression ‘W’ is often used in school to reference a win, “which is a catchy way to express the trials and tribulations of life.” This song reached over a million views within a week. For such a young individual, Ella discusses her challenges and progress with incredible maturity. She says “I have a long way to go, but I understand that my frame of mind dictates what I will accomplish.” Instead of letting the bullies and trolls on social media get her down, she maintains a mindset of resilience and determination. She urges people not to define yourself based on the tough times only; instead, she reminds us to appreciate what we have. To even have the chance to try to accomplish something is a privilege.
Ella has a strong voice, but her actions are even stronger. She doesn’t only tell us to live a moral lifestyle, but she also shows us why it is so important to practice gratitude and kindness. She has often sang pro bono at events such as T2B, In Honour of the Ones We Love as well as We Care 4 Kids. Then, Ella won the $1000 first place prize at Carrousel of Nations in 2024. “My parents have always taught me the importance of giving back when you can, so I told my dad that I would donate the money to someone in need if I were lucky enough to win.” When she did win the singing competition, she reached out to MD Motivator. Together, they went down to the Windsor Riverfront and set up a table with a sign that read, “Sit here if you are missing someone.” She sang See You Again by Wiz Kahlifa and Charlie Puth to a man who was missing his mother who lived in Sierra Leone. The gift of Ella’s voice and a sum of $2000 was given to him to visit his mother. In response, he picked Ella up and swung her around in a whirlwind hug.
Ella continues to be rewarded for her kindness and talent. She joined the cast of the animated television series, Barney’s World, as a voice actress. “This was such a full circle moment for me. I was a big fan at two-years-old, even having a Barney-themed birthday party. It is almost unbelievable that I have taped 52 episodes and sang the theme song for every one,” she says, eyes lighting up. Ella does admit there was a sudden learning curve she had to overcome when transitioning from singing/songwriting to voice acting, but she quickly realized there are many uses to her sweet and powerful voice. Her first recording was in Vancouver at a studio that worked with Michael Bublé, The Tragically Hip, Mariana’s Trench, Mötley Crüe and AC/DC. She recalls posing with a grammy that the studio received for its work with Michael Bublé. In that moment, she says, “I realized this is where I wanted to be—I felt alive performing on stage, in studios, for record labels and very important people in the entertainment industry.”
At the young age of twelve, Ella MNOP is already setting records. From being the youngest person to ever be played on 96.7 FM radio to being a voice actress in Barney and other television shows like Wonderoos, she is spreading messages of kindness and inspiring other talented individuals to take a chance on themselves. Ella is currently putting together an album with over five songs that will be released this year. Though she wants most of it to be a surprise, she says one song discusses the origin story of her artist name. She is eager for the world to hear her and to inspire kindness in her listeners.
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