Kristinia DeBarge

Kristinia Jamie DeBarge^[3] (/krɪˈstɪniə/; born March 8, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She first appeared on national television in 2003 as a contestant on the American Idol spin-off, American Juniors. In 2009, DeBarge signed a contract with the Island Records department Sodapop, releasing her debut album, Exposed, in July of the same year. The first single, "Goodbye", reached the top 20 in the US and Canada.

Kristinia released her sophomore album exclusively to Japan in May 2013 under Manhattan Records.

Life and career

Childhood and youth

DeBarge is the daughter of James DeBarge. DeBarge began singing when she was 3 years old, but did not begin to take it seriously until she was 12. When she was 12, her father took her into a recording studio where they worked until 4 A.M. recording a duet titled "How I Feel Inside", which made her father realize that she was serious about beginning a singing career.^[4]

DeBarge has a multicultural background: her father is of African American and French Canadian descent and her mother is of Mexican, Italian, Irish and Norwegian descent.

During the summer of 2003 she was a contestant on the American Idol spin-off, American Juniors. DeBarge progressed to the semifinal round of twenty contestants. She was featured in the first group of ten semifinalists and sang the song "Reflection" from the Disney movie Mulan. However, she was not one of the five to progress from that group into the final ten.^[5]

2009: Exposed

At 14, DeBarge was introduced to Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. She worked with him for five years and, two days before her nineteenth birthday, signed to a new division of Island Def Jam Records founded by Edmonds and Jeff Burroughs called Sodapop Records. DeBarge's first single "Goodbye" off her debut album "Exposed" was released in April 2009. "Goodbye" met with commercial success in the United States, the single debuted at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and later reached a peak of number 15 on the chart.^[6] The single was also a success in Canada, where it reached a peak of number 15 on the Canadian Hot 100.^[7] Exposed, was released on July 28, 2009. Exposed received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 69/100 from Metacritic.^[8] In the United States, the album debuted at number 23 on the Billboard 200.^[9] DeBarge also opened up for pop singer Britney Spears, during Spears' 2009 world tour, The Circus Starring: Britney Spears.^[10]

2009–12: After Exposed

In November 2009, The Wet Seal, Inc., a leading specialty retailer to young women, announced a partnership with DeBarge which included a collection of fashion pieces selected by DeBarge. In January 2010, DeBarge received an NAACP Image Award nomination for “Outstanding New Artist.”

DeBarge made an appearance in School Gyrls, which premiered on Nickelodeon in March 2010.

In September 2012, DeBarge released her single "Cry Wolf" (produced by Mike Mac) from her sophomore album "Young & Restless". In October 2012, the "Cry Wolf" music video was premiered on her VEVO artist page. On November 9, 2012, DeBarge made her acting debut in "Christmas In Compton" starring Keith David, Omar Gooding, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Eric Roberts. She plays the female lead in her second film, "School Dance" (directed by Nick Cannon), and stars Kevin Hart, Wilmer Valderrama, and Bobb'e J Thompson.

2013–present: Young & Restless

On April 3, 2013, DeBarge released another single ("Ignite") from her sophomore album ("Young & Restless") exclusively to Japan through Manhattan Records.^[11] The song peaked at number six on Japanese iTunes R&B Chart, one day after its release.^[12] On May 29, 2013, DeBarge released another single from this album, "Higher". In May 2013, Debarge was featured on Killian Wells's single "Remix My Love".

DeBarge was featured on Redrama's, a Finnish rapper, new single and music video "Let Go" on January 17, 2014.^[13] DeBarge and Redrama performed on live television for Finland's finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 at the Barona Areena in Espoo on February 1, 2014.^[14] The single was a success in Finland, where it reached No. 1 on NRJ's Top 10 list on February 4, 2014 and No. 1 on Spotify on February 7, 2014. The music video reached over 100,000 views on YouTube on February 5, 2014.^[15] The single reached a peak of No. 7 on the Finnish Single Charts.^[16]

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As featured artist

Filmography

• School Gyrls (2009) – as herself
• Turn the Beat Around (2010) – as herself
• The Lot (2011)
• Christmas in Compton (2012)
• School Dance (2014)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Kristinia DeBarge on Twitter
• Kristinia Debarge at YouTube
• Kristinia DeBarge at the Internet Movie Database
• Kristinia DeBarge 'Blues & Soul' interview by Pete Lewis, August 2009