Tamia
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Tamia Washington-Hill (born May 9, 1976 in Windsor, Ontario), known simply as Tamia, is a Canadian R&B singer who first debuted in 1995 as a featured vocalist on Quincy Jones' single, "You Put A Move On My Heart" which was nominated for a Grammy.
Since then, she has released three albums of her own, the most famous of which was her sophomore album, 2000's A Nu Day. It featured the smash hit "Stranger In My House,", which introduced Tamia to a new audience thanks to its immensely popular dance remix, which received far more radio airplay in America than the original, nu soul-flavored album version.
Tamia is also known for her 1996 pop and R&B hit, "Missing You", from the Set It Off soundtrack. Along with Tamia, Brandy, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan performed the song, which peacked in the top 30 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart.
Most recently, the chorus from Tamia's "So Into You" was sampled and used in Fabolous' 2003 hit, "Into You". With the success of that single and Tamia's appearance in its music video, Tamia's mainstream popuarity grew again.
In 2003, Tamia released her third album, More, which has spawned the singles "Officially Missing You" and "Questions". So far, they have both performed as successfully on urban radio as any of her previous singles. Neither, however, has crossed over to mainstream radio. Nevertheless, Tamia's popularity has managed to maintain itself despite her relatively lackluster performance on American mainstream radio, so it may only be a matter of time before Tamia becomes a household name.
Tamia is married to the Orlando Magic's Grant Hill. The two have a daughter named Myla Grace.
Born, tamia nee washington, Tamia started singing at church at the age of 6. By 10, she signed up for vocal lessons, then a young lyric soprano. She gained secular experience singing pop songs like Whitney's You Give Good Love. Through puberty, her voice matured into a spinto mezzo-soprano, a rangy three octaves, capable of both dark contralto depths and angelic soprano highs. She only aspired to be a vocal coach, when a chance trip brought her to L.A. Having only an overnight bag, she caught Brenda Richie and Quincy Jones' attention at a 1994 awards show, where Jones' was asked to present her with an award. A year later, she, then 19, was in the studio recording, You Put A Move On My Heart for Jones' Q's Jook Joint , the following year the single hit the charts in 1996. Later that year, Tamia participated in the Missing You, which showcased new chanteuses Brandy, along with veterans Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight. She had the rare distinction of being nominated for two Grammys without having an album of her own out.
Keeping bases in Detroit (across the river from Windsor), she was introduced to former Detriot pistons star Grant Hill by Motor City songstress Anita Baker. The two married on July 24, 1999.
In 2004, rapper Fabolous sample her hit So Into You from her eponymous debut. She appears in the video, and some of the video stills became the artwork for her album, More. In 2005, Tamia and her husband, Grant Hill announced on Extra that she has Multiple Sclerosis. The Hills currently live in Florida, were Grant is a star with the Orlando Magic.
Discography
- Tamia (1998)
- A Nu Day (2000)
- More (2004)
Vocal Profile
- Voice type: Spinto Mezzo-soprano
- Highest note: G5 ('You Put A Move On My Heart'), Ab5 ('Tell Me Who'), C6
- Lowest note: C3 ('I Can't Go For That')
- Vocal range: 3 octaves
External Links
- The Official Tamia Site (http://www.tamiaonline.com/) hosted by Elektra Records
- Tamia (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0848637/) at the Internet Movie Database