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Jamelia Profile |
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Birth Date: January 11, 1981
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Birth Place: Birmingham, England, UK
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Birth Name: Jamelia Niela Davis
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Height: 5'7"
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Biography |
Jamelia Davis was born on January 11, 1981, in Birmingham,
England, and grew up in the Smethwick area of the city. She
loved listening to R&B and urban music, and began singing
and writing songs at an early age.
In 1996, Jamelia's voice caught the attention of an A&R
executive from Parlophone Records in 1996, after a cousin of
hers submitted one of her self-penned a cappella Karaoke
machine recordings to the company. She was asked to travel
to London for an audition, and was subsequently signed to
the label at the age of 15.
"So High," Jamelia's debut single, was released in 1999. The
song entered the UK charts, and was the first of four
British Top 40 hits to be pulled from her debut album,
Drama, released in 2000. "Money," featuring guest vocals
from Beenie Man, became the album's biggest hit, reaching
the Top 5 in England.
Jamelia spent part of the summer of 2000 playing a small
role as a church choir leader in the film SW9, which starred
renowned British DJ Paul Oakenfold. She also recorded a song
for the film's soundtrack.
In September of that year, she learned of her nominations
for four MOBO (Music Of Black Origin) Awards: Best Single,
Best Video, Best Newcomer, and Best Album. After taking home
the Best Video award, Jamelia's career was abruptly put on
hold following an unexpected but welcome pregnancy. She gave
birth to her daughter, Teja, in March of 2001, and took a
couple more years off to raise her baby girl.
The singer returned in the summer of 2003, with the single
"Bout," co-written with C Swing (who had also written
"Money"), and featuring New York-based female rapper Rah
Digga. The song became her fifth consecutive chart hit in
Britain, and paved the way for the international smash
entitled "Superstar" which reached No. 3 in Britain, became
a huge hit across Europe, and went all the way to No. 1 in
Australia and New Zealand.
In February 2004, Jamelia was put up for two Brit Awards,
Best British Female Solo Artist and Best British Single for
"Superstar." After standing in for supermodel Naomi Campbell
at the Awards ceremony, she was invited to join Campbell's
modeling agency.
Her second album, Thank You, peaked at No. 4 on the UK album
charts in March 2004, while the title track, a song about
domestic abuse, debuted at No. 2 on the British singles
charts, and also did well elsewhere in Europe.
In June, Jamelia kicked off her first UK headline tour, a
quick six-venue run to support her sophomore album. The
single "See It In A Boy's Eyes," written especially for her
by one of Britian's top music stars, Chris Martin of
Coldplay, was released the same month. The song became a
smash in the UK, reaching the Top 5.
She also contributed a song to the soundtrack of
television's The Simple Life 2, which was released on June
15, 2004, and performed at the Olympic Torch Concert in
London on June 26, 2004.
Jamelia was a headliner at Staffordshire's V2004 Festival in
August. Her second album amassed three of the 2004 MOBO
awards, in the categories of UK Act Of The Year, Best Single
(for "Thank You"), and Best Video (for "See It In A Boy's
Eyes").
She also earned an Urban Music Awards (UMA) nod for Best
Crossover Chart Act, while Thank You made the shortlist for
the Mercury Music Prize as Best Album.
Jamelia is currently considering more film roles that have
been sent her way. In October of 2004, she signed a
promotional contract with Reebok. |
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Other
Information |
Released her debut album, "Drama", in 2000. Includes the
singles "Money", "Call Me" and "The Boy Next Door". Her most
recent single release is "Superstar" (September 2003) and
she has a new album due out in 2004.
Her father was Zimbabwean and her mother was Jamaican.
New single "See it in a boy's eyes" released on the 12th of
July 2004. This single is from her latest album "Thank you".
"Superstar" and "Thank you" are also from this album. "See
it in a boy's eyes" was written for her by Chris Martin of
Coldplay.
Took part in the Band Aid 20 re-recording of "Do They Know
It's Christmas?". [14 November 2004]
Her hit single "Superstar" was first song by Danish singer
Christine Milton, but BMG partners Cutfather & Joe chose to
release it with Jamelia as the singer.
Her daughter Teja was born in March, 2001.
Jamelia's second daughter, Tiani, was born on October 21st,
in the early hours of the morning, weighing over eight
pounds. |
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