Wall of Fame - The "Soulful and Sassy" Melanie Fiona

M

elanie Fiona's parents immigrated to Canada from Guyana in the late 1970s, a few years before she was born. She grew up in a musical household; her mother sang at home and her father was a professional guitarist. At around 16, Melanie began writing her own songs, and two years later, she became a member of an all-girl singing group called X-Quisite alongside Nicole Holness and Nirvana Savoury. Although the group didn't last, Melanie continued to perform, mostly in clubs in the Toronto area. 

In 2005, she traveled to Los Angeles in the hopes of being signed by a major record label.

While working on getting her own singing career off the ground in the mid-2000s, Melanie gain work as a songwriter, co-writing tracks for Rihanna and Kardinal Offishall, among others. In 2007, she was signed to Universal Motown subsidiary SRC Records. She went on to tour with Kanye West in his Glow in the Dark Tour Prior to completing her debut album, Hallim met with recording artist Jay-Z and his friend Tyty

She also recorded a reggae song called "Somebody Come Get Me" under the stage name Syren Hall. The song was included on the 2008 Reggae Gold compilation.

Fiona is a dramatic soprano. Her voice has been referred to as being both "soulful" and "sassy." Some have praised her vocals for being "very passionate, but clean and controlled, and not over-the-top singing."

Her debut album, The Bridge, was released in June 2009. The album spawned four singles in the U.S., the most successful of which, "It Kills Me," reached No. 1 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and stayed there for 10 weeks. In her native Canada, the biggest hit from the album was the first single, "Give It To Me Right," which reached No. 20 on the Canadian charts.

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Fiona participated in "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" to benefit and later toured with Alicia Keys as an opening act on The Freedom Tour 

Her second album, The MF Life, was released in summer 2011. The lead single was titled "Gone and Never Coming Back." The single peaked at 37 on US R&B chart, becoming her second highest peaking song on the R&B chart so far. Later on that year Fiona released her second single, "4 AM" was sent to urban stations on August 30, 2011. 4am peaked on the US R&B chart at #8, the song was about a lover who had gone out and was cheating on her. The album was released on March 20, 2012

A newly independent artist, Fiona is currently planning her third album and promoting her new single "Cold Piece."

.......................................................................................................................................................
Copyright 2014 Caribbean E-Magazine All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without credit..
www.ShiekhShoes.com