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Mya Harrison Profile |
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Birth Date: October 10, 1978
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Birth Place: Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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Birth Name: Mya Marie Harrison
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Height: 5'7"
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Biography |
Mya Harrison was born October 10, 1979, in Washington,
D.C, and is the daughter of an African-American father and
Italian mother. Her father performed in R&B bands, and must
have passed his musical tendency to young Mya. Although she
always knew that she would work in the music industry, she
started out as a dancer.
Her love of dance shone through when a 2-year-old Mya danced
in the pool between the Washington Monument and Lincoln
Memorial. She began to take dance lessons soon after,
specializing mostly in ballet, jazz and tap. While she lost
interest in dance at the age of 8, she still showed passion
for music with violin lessons in the fourth grade.
Mya took a brief hiatus from dance, but she returned to her
hobby in 1992, piqued by her watching videos of herself
dancing. She them studied tapes of Savion Glover, known for
his work in the Broadway sensation Bring In Da Noise, Bring
In Da Funk. With the help of Glover's tapes and practice on
Mya's part, she eventually joined the group T.W.A. (Tappers
With Attitude).
Mya then headed for New York to study with Glover himself,
at the legendary Dance Theater of Harlem. Thanks to her
fantastic ability to improvise, not to mention the fact that
Glover was impressed with her tapping talent, Glover gave
Mya a solo spot at a Kennedy Center performance. Almost
giving back what she learned from the incomparable Savion
Glover, Mya has been teaching children dance ever since the
age of 14.
But it was when Mya's father heard her sing that he became
dedicated to helping her pursue a career as a singer. Under
his guidance, Mya recorded some demo tapes and perfected her
vocals. He brought her demo tapes to a club where he was
performing, where as luck would have it, the President and
CEO of University Music, Haqq Islam was present.
Islam came to the Harrison residence to see if Mya's voice
was as good in person as it was in her demos, and after a
living room audition, where Mya performed songs from En
Vogue, she was signed to a record deal. Thanks to a strict
upbringing emphasizing the importance of education, Mya had
already finished high school by the time she had a record
contract.
The budding starlet intended on studying speech
communications at the University of Maryland, but the
intense schedule associated with working on a debut album
were too stringent and Mya opted to focus on her true
passions. So, she ventured into communication of another
sort; singing to millions of fans.
Mya's self-entitled debut album was released in 1998, and
featured collaborations with such R&B hard hitters as
Babyface, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Dru Hill. The
critically acclaimed album went platinum and spawned hits
such as "It's All About Me" (a duet with Sisqo) and "Movin'
On".
While her album was becoming a commercial success, Mya's
collaboration with Pras and Ol' Dirty Bastard for "Ghetto
Supastar" (off the Bulworth soundtrack) and her work with
Blackstreet for "Take Me There" (off the Rugrats soundtrack)
only spread her fame and success even thicker. Mya also
contributed a track to the Life soundtrack.
Mya's latest release, Fear of Flying, includes the producing
efforts of Wyclef Jean and Jerry Duplessis, and features the
collaborations of She'kspere & Kandi and Soulshock & Karlin.
The album, which also highlights Mya's songwriting
abilities, emphasizes her professional and personal growth,
but still may not differentiate her from fellow R&B young
divas such as Aaliyah, Brandy or Monica.
Known for her moves, voice and presence while performing on
her popular tours, Mya also lent her vocals on the Lilith
Fair, sharing the bill with artists such as Jewel, Lisa
Loeb, and Sarah McLachlan. With her eye on producing, Mya
also designs clothes, is a former spokesperson for Bongo
jeans, and is involved in the Secret to Self Esteem program,
focusing on teen issues. |
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Other
Information |
Professional singer
Studied tap under Savion Glover of "Bring On Da Noise, Bring
On Da Funk" and has performed at places such as the Kennedy
Center, Lincoln Center, Smithsonian and the Shakespeare
Theater.
Graduated high school at age 16.
Got her start as a tap dancer.
Recorded a new version of the Patti LaBelle hit "Lady
Marmalade" along with Pink, Christina Aguilera and Kimberly
'Lil' Kim' Jones for the Moulin Rouge! (2001) soundtrack.
Lost out on the female lead role in Light It Up (1999).
Half Jamaican
Half Italian
Is from the Washington, DC metropolitan area, the same Metro
area as Sandra Bullock, Alan Heitz, Martin Lawrence, Dave
Chappelle, Regina Hall and Dwayne Winstead.
Once tap-danced on stage with famous tap-dancer Gregory
Hines.
Is a vegan.
Is a winner of Two MTV Video Music Awards and One Grammy
Award.
Parents are Sherman and Theresa. Younger brothers are Chaz
and Nijel.
She was named after Maya Angelou. |
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