Amerie

Singer Amerie is the daughter of a Korean mother and an African-American father who was a
career military member. She grew up on bases from Alaska to Germany, meanwhile gaining
an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother and of R&B music from her father. She
studied dance from an early age and performed in talent contests throughout her youth. After
her high school graduation, her family finally settled down in Virginia, while she began to
attend Georgetown University, from which she later graduated with a degree in English and
Fine Arts. While living in Washington, D.C., she met producer Rich Harrison, who worked
with such performers as Mary J. Blige, and began developing demos with him. They led to
a deal with Rise Entertainment and, in turn, with Columbia Records. In the spring of 2002,
Rise/Columbia released Amerie's debut single, "Why Don't We Fall in Love." By the time
her first album, All I Have, appeared that July, the single had reached the Top 20 of the
R&B/hip-hop charts and the Top 40 of the pop charts.