"clappa your hands; stompa your feet!"

artist:  Serena Ryder

songwriters:  Serena Ryder, Jerrold Bettis, and Jon Levine

date released:  2012 by Serena Ryder

Serena Ryder, born December 8, 1982, is a Juno Award-winning Canadian artist. Born in Toronto, she grew up in Millbrook, Ontario. 

Ryder grew up listening to old Beatles and Leonard Cohen records that she found in her parents' collection. At 7, Ryder would sing at legions and motor hotels. Having received a guitar from her father, she began playing the instrument at the early age of 13. Songwriting efforts followed. At 15, Ryder played old classic and folk tunes with her piano teacher in coffee houses and legions.

In early 1998 she was approached by Damon de Szegheo, owner of the Peterborough Ontario-based independent record label Mime Radio, about doing some recording. Damon de Szegheo first discovered her while she sang during a set change for a local on-stage production of Gone With The Wind. The resulting product of their sessions together was Ryder's first full length CD titled 'Falling Out' released in December 1999.  In April 2008, Ryder found herself receiving the 2008 Juno Award for "Best New Artist of the Year," with the label EMI.

The first single "Stompa" from her most recent CD, "Harmony" was featured in an episode of ABC television's Grey's Anatomy, quickly climbed the charts and became certified platinum in January 2013. Less than two months after its release in the United States, it was at number 14 on the charts. In Canada, Ryder became the first Canadian artist to be Number One on the CBC Top 20 chart days after the release of Harmony.

After hearing Stompa for the first time,  you may be scratching your head and asking yourself why the tune sounds familiar.