Shontelle

Shontelle Layne is better known by her first name. The singer who was born on October 4, 1985 was actually on her way to become a lawyer by attending University of the West Indies. However, she switched to music after being signed to SRC Records, the same label which discovered her fellow Barbadian artist Rihanna.

After writing a couple of songs for artists in her hometown, she moved to Miami in 2007 and started recording her debut album with Akon. After six months in the works, the album was set to be released in September 2008 but got delayed. Prior to the album release, lead single "T-Shirt" was dropped as a teaser for the whole content of the effort. While it became a moderate hit in United States by reaching No. 36 on Hot 100, it successfully cracked the Top 10 across the pond.

She released her debut album Shontelligence in November 2008. Like the lead single, this album also got average sale number Stateside and performed better in United Kingdom. From the studio, she reached out broader audience by taking it to the road, touring with New Kids On The Block and Beyonce Knowles.

A sophomore set No Gravity is planned to come out two afters after Shontelligence. The lead single "Impossible" slowly but sure climbed to higher spot on Hot 100 every week and by the end of its 14th week, it reached No. 13 on the U.S. singles chart.