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Tamia Marilyn Hill Washington (born May 9, 1975), and known professionally as Tamia, is a Canadian R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, model, entrepreneur and philanthropist, as well as an occasional actress.

She is best known for her 2001 hit "Stranger In My House" and Fabolous' 2003 song "Into You", sampling her 1998 song "So Into You", and "Me", the 2006 hit from her fourth studio album. Tamia is married to NBA player Grant Hill of the Phoenix Suns. They have two daughters; Myla Grace and Lael Rose.

Early life[link]

Born as Tamia Marilyn Washington in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, she grew up in the inner city, not far from the Detroit border, with her mother and three younger brothers Tiras, Tajhee, and Trajan.

Aside from the music she heard and sang at church, Tamia was exposed to diverse music from an early age by her mother, Barbara. Singing was always her passion. As early as age 6, she was onstage singing gospel at the local church and by age 12 had already been involved in several musicals which continued to help her hone her musical skills. Tamia studied piano and voice with renowned Windsor musician, Eugene Davis, who was also instrumental in encouraging her to pursue her vocal passion. It was not long before the gifted young singer began receiving recognition for her talent. Her mother and Godmother decided that the arts program at Walkerville Collegiate Institute in Windsor would best suit Tamia's musical talent. Along with attending highschool at Walkerville, she made several appearances in local theater and choral concerts before winning Canada's prestigious YTV Vocal Achievement Award in 1993 and the Steve Ross Music Scholarship at the American Academy of Achievement's Annual Salute to Excellence in 1994.

"I was always happy growing up, but I realize now there are some things missing because of my situation. Now that I have a child, I know the importance of having a father in the household."

Tamia enjoys a wide range of music, especially ballads. She told Teen, "I don't care about labels-country music, rock music, it's the way it makes me feel that counts". Ebony Man described Tamia as "Naturally witty, comical, talented … and a bundle of energy". She told CNN's Mark Scheerer "I used to staple two paper plates together and put rice in them to make a tambourine…."

In early 1994, Tamia recorded her first single, "You Put a Move On My Heart", which was produced by Quincy Jones. The single later appeared on his Q's Jook Joint album. The song itself, went at #12 on the R&B charts and at #98 on the Billboard Hot 100, the single was a success on the R&B charts, and showcased Tamia's early hit.

Career[link]

[edit] Tamia and other collaborations (1995–1997)

In early-to-mid 1995, Tamia, who has five-octave vocal range, began recording her eponymous debut album, with production from the likes of Mario Winans, Jermaine Dupri, Tim & Bob, as well as additional help from Quincy Jones. The album's first single, "You Put a Move On My Heart", was released on December 2, 1995, which was produced by Quincy Jones, off of his Q's Jook Joint album, charted at #98 on the Billboard Hot 100, but became Tamia's first Top 40 hit on the R&B charts, peaking at #12, showcasing her first Top 40 R&B hit. Another single, "Slow Jams" which was co-written by American singer-songwriter Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, features Barry White, and Babyface himself. The single also appeared on Q's Jook Joint, and appeared at #68 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #19 on the R&B charts, becoming her second Top 40 R&B hit. In the second quarter of 1996, Tamia collaborated with American soul singer Gladys Knight, Brandy, and Chaka Khan for the single, "Missing You", which was featured in the 1996 blockbuster film, Set It Off, and released in August of that year, the single peaked at #10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first Top 40 single.

Tamia's debut album was released in Canada on April 14, 1998, three weeks later it was released in the United Kingdom on May 11, and in North America the following day. The album became a critical and commercial success, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Billboard R&B Albums Chart, selling 145,000 copies in first week sales.

[edit] A Nu Day (2000–2001)

On October 10, 2000, Tamia released her second album, A Nu Day. The album debuted at number forty-six on the Billboard 200 and number eight on the Top R&b/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. On June 4, 2001, A Nu Day, was certified gold by the RIAA. A Nu Day is Tamia's best selling album to date.

The first single from A Nu Day was "Can't Go for That" which was written by Missy Elliott. The single peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number twenty-three on the R&B chart.

The second single from A Nu Day was the hit "Stranger in My House". The single went to number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, number three on the Billboard R&B chart and to number one for 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot Dance chart. "Stranger In My House" still remains Tamia's biggest hit to date.

The third and final single from A Nu Day was "Tell Me Who". Although the single missed the Hot 100, it managed to reach #63 on the R&B chart and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Dance chart.

[edit] More (2003–2004)

Tamia released her third studio album, More, on April 6, 2004 in the United States. The album debuted at number seventeen on the Billboard 200 and at number four on the Billboard R&B Albums Chart. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA, for shipping over one million units in North America.

The lead single "Into You", which is a collaboration with rapper Fabolous, sampled the chorus from Tamia's "So Into You", a song from her self-titled debut album. The song soared to #4 on the Hot 100 and to #1 on the Billboard R&B chart.

The second single, called "Officially Missing You", peaked at #83 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #31 on the R&B chart.

The third single, "Questions", missed the Hot 100, but managed to climb to #40 on the R&B charts.

The fourth and final single, "Still", peaked at #83 on the R&B chart and #34 on the Billboard Hot Dance chart.

[edit] Split from Elektra Records and Between Friends

In 2005, Tamia split from Elektra Records.

On May 12, 2006, Tamia released Between Friends on South African independent label Gallo Records. It was released in the US on November 14, 2006. The album has three tracks produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. The rest are produced by Shep Crawford. The album peaked at number 66 on the Billboard 200 and number nine on the Billboard Top R&B albums chart. Although none of the singles released made the Hot 100, Between Friends has sold more than 350,000 copies in the United States, 120,000 in South Africa, and more than 800,000 worldwide^{[citation needed]} to date.

The first single off Between Friends, "Can't Get Enough", peaked at #26 on Billboard's R&B chart.

The second single, "Me", which was written by Shep Crawford (who wrote "Stranger In My House"), also reached the Top 30 of the R&B chart and peaked at #29.

On October 27, 2007, Tamia re-released her album Between Friends entitled A Gift Between Friends. The album also contains a few Christmas songs.

Shortly after the re-release of the album, Tamia released the third single, "Almost", which peaked at #59 on the US R&B chart in early 2008.

Live album[link]

On her 2008 Summer Soul Concert Series tour, Tamia recorded her Sunday 10 August 2008 performance at the Lincoln Theatre (Washington, D.C.).^[1] The recorded performance is planned to be released as a live CD album, along with the DVD. Both were slated for release on December 2, 2008, but have been pushed back several times. As of September 2009, it has not been released. The live album, called Live in Washington, DC, will include 3 new tracks. In March 2010, she confirmed on her Twitter page that the live album would be released later this year.^[2]

The Queen Project[link]

It was announced in September 2009 that Deborah Cox, Kelly Price and her have formed a supergroup, The Queen Project. Tamia's longtime collaborator, Shep Crawford, who has also produced Cox's "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" and Price's "As We Lay" will be the main collaborator for the project. The women have made it clear that they seek to empower other women with this project. Their collaboration will not be limited to the studio. They also plan to do a number of community service projects. The first single is to be released this fall with an album early 2010.

Tamia has since stated to Kempire Radio that the project has no tentative release date, admitting the project may have been a bit "ambitious" in timing as the members are also promoting their own albums and solo projects but still wish to pursue.^[3]

[edit] Greatest Hits

Tamia released her greatest hits in South Africa on 2 November 2009. It includes a bonus DVD.^[4]

Beautiful Surprise[link]

In March 2010, Tamia confirmed on her official Twitter page that she is working on her new album. As of November 8, 2010, Tamia told Kempire Radio she is "seven songs into the album" and will remain true to her signature themes of love:

"I'm on a roll. Obviously, I love my ballads so they'll be there, too."

^[3] The album will feature writing and production from Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins in addition to Chuck Harmony, The Runners, Claude Kelly, Ivan Barias, and others.^[5] The album is presently titled Beautiful Surprise due to be released in June 2012. The first title track single, Beautiful Surprise was released on 2 March 2012 and has since received a positive response in both USA and South Africa. The video featuring her real life husband, Grant Hill who plays as her love interest, has been shot. Beautiful Surprise debuted at #71 and peaked at #53.

Acting[link]

In June 1997, Tamia made her film debut as Sheri Silver in the action-thriller Speed 2: Cruise Control. As the cruise liner's musical entertainer, she performed the Diane Warren penned single "Make Tonight Beautiful", which was released as part of the Speed 2: Cruise Control Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. She has also appeared in other TV sitcoms, including Rock Me Baby and an episode of Kenan and Kel.

Personal life[link]

Tamia has been married to NBA player Grant Hill since July 24, 1999. They have two children Myla Grace Hill (2002) and Lael Rose Hill (2007). The singer has been diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis. In an interview with Smooth magazine, Tamia reported that the disease is seemingly in remission and she has symptoms now and then but they are controlled.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 1998: Tamia
• 2000: A Nu Day
• 2004: More
• 2006: Between Friends
• 2009: Greatest Hits
• 2012: Beautiful Surprise

Soundtracks

• 1996: Set It Off (on "Missing You")
• 1996: The Associate (on "Keep Hope Alive")
• 1997: Speed 2: Cruise Control (on "Make Tonight Beautiful")
• 2005: "Diary Of A Mad Black Woman (Soundtrack)" (on "Things I Collected")

Tours[link]

• 2004, Verizon Ladies First Tour
• 2005, South Africa Tour
• 2005, Ladies In Soul Concert
• 2006 - 2007, Between Friends Tour
• 2008, Summer Soul Concert Series Tour
• 2008 September, Johannesburg Arts Alive, South Africa
• 2009, Summer Soul Concert Series Tour
• 2009, The Queen Project

Awards and nominations[link]

Grammy Awards

• 1997, Best New R&B Female Artist(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)
• 2000, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: "Spend My Life with You" (Nominated)

Juno Awards

• 1999, Best New Solo Artist (Nominated)
• 1999, Best R&B/Soul Recording: "Tamia" (Nominated)
• 2001, Best R&B/Soul Recording: "A Nu Day" (Nominated)
• 2005, R&B/Soul Recording of the Year: "More" (Nominated)
• 2007, R&B/Soul Recording of the Year: "Between Friends" (Nominated)

See also[link]

	Book: Tamia
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• 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

References[link]

External links[link]

Official

• Official site
• Official South African site
• Tamia on Myspace
• Tamia on Twitter
• Tamia at the Internet Movie Database

Official Fansite

• Tamia Fans

Interviews

• Interview with Al Sharpton on AskDoctorV.com (April 25, 2007)
• Tamia Talks New Album, Beyonce, and Country Music.