Her Father, Reolando, also a singer & musician, owned a barber shop in the tiny town of Canonsburg, Pa, (also home of the famous Perry Como). He always sang around the home, and she grew up living with music, in both her heart & soul. Although she had a musical family and upbringing, and loving parents, she was never "allowed" to sing outside the home. In her traditional Italian-Argentine family, she says, "My parents were always, keep the peace; do what you have to do and keep other people happy.' My father was protective and didn't want me on the road." Even when she went off to marry and start a family, the pressure to "stay home, not sing" was ever present. As time went on, Antoinette knew in her heart that she needed to answer her calling, and use her God-given musical talents, and to pursue her dream.

She answered an ad in a paper for a local singer, and from that point on there was no turning back. She went on to perform in Pittsburgh and the tri-state area's finest restaurants, country clubs, night clubs, festivals, high profile private parties and benefits. On any given Saturday afternoon, you would find Antoinette performing to "standing room only" at the infamous Deja Vu in Pittsburgh. This was a hugely successful run that lasted nearly 4 years, one of which DV fans still seek out her current performances, and talk & comment about today! 

Antoinette was now strongly "in the public eye", and industry folks were taking notice.   Upon hearing Antoinette at an R&B festival, Mr. Abdul Raoof of the SOS Band, recruited her as the opening act of his show. From there, she went on to open numerous opening acts and performances around the country. By this time, record labels were gaining interest. High-profile Producer Larry King of MFO Productions, Inc. of Chicago, agreed to produce her freshman CD, "Angel Eyes". The band included John Blessuci (Styx), Khari Parker (drummer for Beyonce & Toni Braxton), Paulinho Garcia (a world-renowned Jazz guitarist), and Larry Kohut (world-renowned Bassist). But setbacks followed, as issues developed with people who had promised to help her. Angel Eyes never got a proper release, and a new recording that combines Angel Eyes tunes with new material was picked up by an indie record company, but they couldn't follow through on release due to lack of funding.

Some time passed. Then, a well-known Producer/Drummer named Mr. Norman Connors, who produced Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jean Carne, and led the famous Ms. Phylis Hymen to #1 on the charts, noticed Antoinette at a regional performance. He came up to her after her show and said "...you have an amazing presence, along with a rich, lush voice". Working with Mr. Connors, she recorded a tune that she penned called "Where Do We Go From Here", recorded as a duet with former Shalamar vocalist Howard Hewett, along with other songs on his Star Power CD. Its R&B flavour caught the ear of an Atlanta promoter who brought Manganas there to perform at an R& B festival in front of 3,000 people. There she made contacts that led to much work with big name R&B producers and artists from bands such as Lakeside, Danny Boy (formerly of Death Row Records) and others. 

Still working with Connors, Antoinette then went on to record the CD entitled Verbal Crush. Verbal Crush included songs from Angel Eyes, as well as songs that were given to her by Connors, originally intended for Ms. Hymen. The album took off, and Antoinette received notoriety as a result. Mr. Jorg Michael Schmitt, a writer for Sonic Soul Review, noticed her music, and introduced her to numerous radio stations around the world. One of them, Soul Unsigned's Mr. Phil Driver, put her on three different compilation CD's, that went on to be played in counties like Singapore, UK, and Spain. Verbal Crush, as well as Connors Star Power CD, can be found in many outlets, as well as on iTunes.

These two CD's helped to solidify Antoinette as an up & coming star in the industry. However, Antoinette's dreams of becoming a superstar were almost shattered, when record labels once-again made broken promises, and Antoinette had to regroup.