Godiva Simonic is a local singer-songwriter, musician, and live performer based in Jacksonville, Florida with over a decade of experience. At the age of eight she auditioned for an educational music video for Folksinger Mrs. Kate Carpenter and was cast in the video singing and acting. Godiva toured with Mrs. Kate as a roadie and was featured on her children’s CDs “Lightning Bug Lullaby’s,” “I Think I Can,” and “Nana Tunes.” A year later, she auditioned and was accepted into the Jacksonville children's chorus. There, she spent three years under the extensive classical training of directors Carolyn Tuttle and Darren Dailey. Following her choral career, she began doing pageants and competing in talent competitions at each pageant. In 2016 she won the national talent competition in the Miss American Preteen pageant singing “Think of Me” from “The Phantom of the Opera.” While competing in pageants, she took more classical voice lessons from local voice teacher Martha Trice. At the age of fourteen, she left pageantry to begin singing at small showcases and competitions in Ocala, Live Oak, and Lake City FL. She learned more repertoire and performed classic rock music at the Suwannee Music Hall, eventually competing and winning a spot at the Suwannee River Jam two years in a row. While frequently competing and performing, she joined a small tribute act as Patsy Cline and began singing in Jacksonville FL at the Mudville grille. Godiva was homeschooled until she auditioned and was accepted into Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in her sophomore year. After one year at Douglas Anderson, she returned to homeschool, taking classes online so that she could have more time for music. Meanwhile, she took voice lessons from Lorna Greenwood and slowly began teaching herself to play the guitar. Once she learned some guitar, Godiva wrote her first single “Key West” which caught the attention of radio A1A. In 2021 she toured with radio A1A down to the Florida Keys with their “Phollow the Phlock” tour, performing her tropical themed songs. In 2022, she released her first EP “Don’t Bring the Rainclouds” and toured with them again in the Keys and in Biloxi Mississippi. Godiva starred in a Johnny Cash Tribute act as June Carter from the age of eighteen to nineteen years old. Forever Johnny Cash Tribute sold out the Thrasher Horne Center in Orange Park FL and later toured the East coast performing in Alabama, Georgia, West Virginia, and more. Here she learned performance skills, vocal stamina, show management, and stage presence. At the beginning of 2022, Godiva left this act and was performing full time through her incorporated business of Godiva Music Inc. She performed at private events, weddings, parties, restaurants, and bars. During this time, she took lessons from Mayo Clinic’s speech pathologist and vocal coach Stacey Menton. Godiva continued writing and releasing singles; and in 2024 she auditioned for American Idol with an unreleased original song and won a golden ticket after receiving a “yes” from Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie. She spent the entirety of 2025 under the training of American Idol’s vocal coach Jessica Ford. In July of 2025, Godiva performed her original music as a solo act in New York City at the popular venue “The Bitter End” with New York Songwriters Circle. In September, she performed with “Breaking Sound NYC” at Brooklyn Music Kitchen. Godiva was chosen to sing our National Anthem for the Jacksonville Jaguars game on October 12th then released her newest single “LUNA” that same month. Godiva performed her last show of 2025 at the Paramount Hotel in Times Square with Breaking Sound December 18th. Currently Godiva is working on her debut album and continuing her career as a solo artist and professional singer. Godiva has begun teaching private vocal lessons and you can book her through her website bellagodiva.com. You can find her original music on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and other streaming platforms. Find her live show schedule on her social media platforms.