Shy'm

Shy'm

Shy'm at the NRJ Music Awards 2014
Background information
Birth name Tamara Marthe
Born 28 November 1985
Origin Trappes, France
Genres Pop, R&B, synthpop
Occupation(s) Singer, dancer
Years active 2005-present
Labels Up Music
Warner Music France
Associated acts K.Maro
Website shymofficiel.com

Tamara Marthe (born 28 November 1985), better known as Shy'm /ˈʃaɪm/, is a French singer. She released her first album, Mes fantaisies, in 2006 and has since released three more albums. She is one of the most successful French singers of the 21st century, with three Platinum albums, including her number-one 2012 album, Caméléon. Both in 2012 and 2013 she received the NRJ Music Award for Francophone Female Artist of the Year.

Biography

Tamara Marthe was born on 28 November 1985 in Trappes (a suburb west of Paris), France to a French metropolitan mother and a French Caribbean father from Martinique, in a family oriented to music and creative arts. Fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beyoncé, she nevertheless grew up to the sound of zouk—a French Caribbean music genre—and R&B. From an early age, she became interested in dancing and singing. She started taking lessons in dancing and she earned the nickname "Spicy Tam" as a result of the effort she put in it.

In academics, she obtained a baccalaureat[1] at the age of seventeen. Along with her studies, she had been making demo recordings of herself while avoiding public scrutiny. Later, she went to Paris, where she sent the recordings to record companies. It was at this time that Lebanese-Canadian rapper K.Maro discovered her. Marthe acquired the stage name Shy'm and began her journey to stardom. Her pseudonym is a portmanteau, derived from "shy" and "Martinique". She says she is shy, but much less so than before when the mere idea of being on stage paralysed her with fright. But her passion has allowed her to overcome her shyness and she now takes "pleasure in putting herself in the crowd".[2]

Career

Rapper K.Maro agreed to feature her in the song "Histoire de luv" from his album. The song was recorded in Montréal. After that, she released her own album, Mes fantaisies. It was written, composed and produced by K.Maro.[3]

Shy'm in 2011 .

Shy'm explored various themes for the album, such as recurring love and intermarriage and its success. The first single, "Femme de couleur", peaked at number 5 on the French singles chart. In 2007, she made a guest appearance on the popular French game show, Fort Boyard.

Shy'm's musical style is a mix of pop and R&B. Her first album, Mes fantaisies, has a prominent R&B sound, with pop, soul and hip hop influences. Her second album, Reflets, has a pop and R&B sound, though it has dance-pop influences. Her third album, Prendre l'air, deviates towards a more synthpop-inspired sound, with her fourth album, Caméléon, having a deeper exploration of this sound through dance.

In 2011, Shy'm was one of the nine contestants in the second season of Danse avec les stars—the French version of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with professional dancer Maxime Dereymez. On November 19, 2011, they won the competition. In 2012, she joined the Les Enfoirés charity ensemble.

Awards

Discography

Main article: Shy'm discography

References

  1. ↑ Chuberre, Erwan (2012). Il était une fois… Shy'm (in French). Éditions Grimal. ISBN 978-2-36203-036-9.
  2. ↑ "Les Fantaisies de Tamara". Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  3. ↑ "K.Maro". Retrieved 2008-11-16.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shy'm.