Tamia

Tamia Washington-Hill (born May 9, 1975 in Windsor, Ontario)is a Canadian R&B singer. She is married to NBA basketball player Grant Hill and is noted for her spinto mezzo-soprano, a rangy three octaves, capable of both dark contralto depths and angelic soprano highs. Tamia has released three albums since her discovery by Quincy Jones in 1995, at the age of nineteen: 1998's Tamia, 2000's A Nu Day, and 2004's More. All achieved moderate success on R&B charts and urban radio, but failed to achieve mainstream success. Tamia has since split from her label and has released a new album, Between Friends independently. She also created the Original Soundtrack of the film Honey. Her latest release is "A Gift Between Friends," which includes all of "Between Friends" and a three-song bonus CD of holiday songs. 2) Tamia also refers to an experimental/ avant-garde vocalist who has collaborated with Pierre Favre. Updated current biography on May 21, 2009 @ 9:57 AM PST Born: May 9, 1975 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada Styles: Urban, Contemporary R&B, Retro-Soul Biography: Tamia is an urban R&B singer/songwriter who released her self-titled debut album in the spring of 1998. A native of Canada, Tamia got an early start in the music industry, singing on "You Put a Move on My Heart," the first single from Quincy Jones' 1994 hit album Q's Jook Joint, when she was only a teenager. That paved the way for the release of her debut album in 1998. Tamia was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario. As a child, she took acting and singing lessons, eventually performing in a number of local choirs and theatrical presentations. She soon earned a reputation and several awards, including the YTV Vocal Achievement Award in 1993. The following year, she won the Steve Ross Music Scholarship at the American Academy of Achievement's Annual Salute to Excellence in 1994. That same year, she attended a party her manager Brenda Richie held for Luther Vandross. At that party, she met Quincy Jones, who became taken with Tamia's talent. By the end of the year, she had sung "You Put a Move on My Heart" for Jones' new album, Q's Jook Joint. The song became a Top Ten R&B hit and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance; another song on the album, a duet with Babyface entitled "Slow Jams," was nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group. She also sang "Missing You" with Brandy, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan on the soundtrack for the 1995 film Set It Off. "Missing You" was also nominated for a Grammy, making for a total of three nominations for Tamia before she had even released an album. Such exposure, plus nominations from the NAACP Image Awards and the Soul Train Music Awards, made Tamia a hot commodity in the music industry. She carefully crafted her debut album over the course of 1996 and 1997, taking time out to play a small role in Speed II: Cruise Control in 1997; she also sang "Make Tonight Beautiful" for the soundtrack. Tamia finally released her debut album, Tamia, in April 1998. The album boasted an impressive list of collaborators and producers, including Jermaine Dupri, Keith Crouch, Tim Kelly & Bob Robinson, Stevie J., Mario Wynans, and Quincy Jones. Two years later and newly signed to Elektra, Tamia released her sophomore effort A Nu Day, featuring production collaborations from Missy Elliott, Dallas Austin, and Shep Crawford. The single "Stranger in My House" became a surprise Top Ten hit in 2001, and her second album for Elektra (Still) followed in 2004. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide (http://music.msn.com/music/artist-biography/tamia/)