Tamia
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| Tamia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Tamia Renee' Washington | |
| Born | May 9, 1976 (age 30) | |
| Origin | Windsor, Ontario, Canada | |
| Genre(s) | R&B | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Dancer, Songwriter | |
| Years active | 1995–present | |
| Label(s) | Qwest / Warner Bros. (1995–1999) Elektra / Atlantic (2000–2005) Image (2006–) |
|
| Website | TamiaWorld.com | |
Tamia Washington-Hill (born Tamia Marilyn Washington on May 9, 1976), known professionally as Tamia, is a Canadian Grammy-nominated R&B singer. She is married to NBA basketball player Grant Hill. Tamia remains one of the only artists to have received Grammy nominations before even releasing an album. She is best known for her 2001 solo hit Stranger In My House and for Into You, her 2003 duet with rapper Fabolous. After three successful albums, she left Atlantic Records and released her new album Between Friends independently.She has a close resemblance to Paula Patton
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[edit] Biography
Early life Tamia Renee' Washington was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to Black Canadian mother and a white Canadian father. Tamia only aspired to be a vocal coach, but a chance trip brought her to Los Angeles where she caught the attention of super-producer Quincy Jones at a 1994 awards show after party.
[edit] Personal life
In Detroit, Michigan (across the Detroit River from her hometown of Windsor, Ontario), Tamia was introduced to former Detroit Pistons basketball player Grant Hill by singer Anita Baker. The two married on July 24, 1999. They had their first child, a daughter named Myla Grace, on January 23, 2002. In 2005, Tamia and her husband announced on Extra that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In an interview with Smooth magazine, she reported that the disease is seemingly in remission and she has symptoms now and then but they are controlled. The Hills currently reside in Orlando, Florida, where Grant plays for the Orlando Magic. Tamia announced that she is 4 months pregnant with her second child on March 16, 2007.
[edit] Musical Career
[edit] Early Career (1995-1999)
In 1995 at the age of 19, Tamia recorded vocals for a Quincy Jones' song "You Put A Move On My Heart" from his Q's Jook Joint album. Jones released the song as a single in 1996, and it was nominated for a Grammy Award. Later that year, Tamia participated in another collaboration, "Missing You", a single from the Set It Off soundtrack which also featured R&B/pop singer Brandy and female veterans Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight. The song was also nominated for a Grammy Award.
Tamia released her self-titled debut album, Tamia, in 1998. The album featured four singles: the Jermaine Dupri-produced "Imagination" and the original top ten R&B single "So Into You", which both became top forty hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts, and the radio-only singles "Falling For You" (which samples The Emotions' "You've Got The Best Of My Love"), and the Daryl Simmons-produced "Loving You Still".
[edit] Affirmation (2000-2004)
In 2000, Tamia released her sophomore album, A Nu Day. The album featured her biggest hit to date, "Stranger In My House", which introduced the singer to new audiences due to its popular dance remix; the single managed to stay on top the U.S. Dance Charts for four continuous weeks, while peaking at #10 in the U.S. Hot 100. With "Can't Go For That" and "Tell Me Who" Tamia saw further success on the Dance Charts. Tamia also made her debut single to the UK charts in 2000 with "Stranger In My House" it peaked at #1 in the UK chart and stayed there for 2 weeks. She also made a special appearance in the television series Kenan and Kel.
In 2003, the singer was scheduled to release her third album, Still, but the album title was changed to More, and the original release date was pushed back due to Tamia being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis that same year. The album was eventually released in 2004 and spawned three singles. "Officially Missing You", the album's lead single, made a disappointing #83 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Questions" and Jermaine Dupri produced "Still" both performed successfully on urban radio, but neither was able to cross over to mainstream radio. The album also featured a collaboration with rapper Fabolous titled "Into You" which sampled the chorus from 1998's "So Into You", taken from her selt-titled debut album. With the success of the #4 single and Tamia's appearance in the music video, Tamia's mainstream popularity grew.
[edit] Split from Atlantic Records and Between Friends (2005-present)
In 2005, Tamia split from Atlantic Records and recorded her fourth studio Between Friends independently. The album has three tracks produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins; the rest is produced by Shep Crawford. It was released on the South African independent label Gallo Records in May 2006. It was released on November 14, 2006 in the United States by Image Entertainment and peaked at #66 selling 18,000 copies. The first single from the LP is "Can't Get Enough". It peaked at #34 on the R&B/Hip Hop Chart.
To date, Between Friends has sold 127,766 copies in the US and more than 260,000 worldwide.
[edit] Awards/Nominations
- Grammy Awards
- 2000, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: "Spend My Life With You" (Nominated)
- 1997, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: "You Put a Move On My Heart" (Nominated)
- 1997, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: "Slow Jams" (Nominated)
- 1997, Best Pop Collaboration w/ Vocals: "Missing You" (Nominated)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|---|
 |
Tamia
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A Nu Day
|
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More
|
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Between Friends
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[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | U.S. Dance | UK Singles | |||
| 1994 | "You Put a Move on My Heart" | 98 | 16 | - | - | Q's Jook Joint / Tamia |
| 1996 | "Slow Jams" (with Babyface) | 68 | 19 | - | - | Q's Jook Joint |
| 1996 | "Missing You" (with Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Brandy) | 25 | 10 | - | - | Set It Off |
| 1996 | "Keep Hope Alive" | - | - | - | - | The Associate |
| 1997 | "Make Tonight Beautiful" | - | - | - | - | Speed 2: Cruise Control |
| 1998 | "Imagination" (with Jermaine Dupri) | 37 | 12 | - | - | Tamia |
| 1998 | "So Into You" | 30 | 7 | - | - | Tamia |
| 1999 | "Falling For You" | - | - | - | - | Tamia |
| 1999 | "Loving You Still" | - | 78 | - | - | Tamia |
| 1999 | "Spend My Life With You" (with Eric Benét) | 21 | 1 | - | - | A Day In The Life |
| 2000 | "Can't Go for That" | 84 | 23 | - | - | A Nu Day |
| 2001 | "Stranger in My House" | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | A Nu Day |
| 2001 | "Tell Me Who" | - | 63 | 2 | - | A Nu Day |
| 2003 | "Into You" (with Fabolous) | 4 | 1 | 6 | 18 | More |
| 2003 | "Officially Missing You" | 83 | 22 | 4 | - | More |
| 2004 | "Questions" | - | 40 | - | - | More |
| 2004 | "Still" | - | 83 | 34 | - | More |
| 2006/2007 | "Can't Get Enough" | - | 26 | - | - | Between Friends |
| 2007 | "Me" | - | - | - | - | Between Friends |
[edit] Soundtrack appearances
- 1995 "Missing You" (Set It Off)
- 1996 "Keep Hope Alive" (Associate)
- 1998 "Make Tonight Beautiful" (Speed 2)
- 2002 "Be Alright" (The Transporter)
- 2003 "It's a Party" (Honey)
- 2003 "Into You" (Honey)
- 2004 "Dance My Dream" (First Daughter)
- 2005 "Things I Collected" (Diary of a Mad Black Woman)
[edit] Featured appearances
- 2007: "Too Grown For That" (REMIX) with Jim Jones
- 2007: "Have To Go Through It" with Eric Benét
- 2004: "Mr Cool" With Mario Winans
- 2004: "(They LongTo Be) Close To You" with Gerald LeVert
- 2003: "Into You" with Fabolous
- 2000: "Can't Go for That" (Missy mix) with 213 (Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, and Warren G)
- 1998: "So Into You" with Wyclef
- 1998: "Immagination" with (Jermaine Dupri
- 1998: "The Christmas Song" (Jermaine Dupri 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas)
- 1998: "Spend My Life With You" with Eric Benét
- 1996: "Don't Be Late Don't Come Too Soon" with LL COOL J
- 1994: "Slow Jams" with Babyface
- 1994: "You Put A Move On My Heart"
[edit] See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- List of people with multiple sclerosis
