Tamia

Tamia is an urban R&B singer/songwriter who released her self-titled debut album in the spring of 1998.
A native of Canada, Tamia got an early start in the music industry, singing on "You Put a Move on My
Heart," the first single from Quincy Jones' 1994 hit album Q's Jook Joint, when she was only a teenager.
That paved the way for the release of her debut album in 1998.
Tamia was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario. As a child, she took acting and singing lessons,
eventually performing in a number of local choirs and theatrical presentations. She soon earned a
reputation and several awards, including the YTV Vocal Achievement Award in 1993. The following
year, she won the Steve Ross Music Scholarship at the American Academy of Achievement's Annual
Salute to Excellence in 1994. That same year, she attended a party her manager Brenda Richie held for
Luther Vandross. At that party, she met Quincy Jones, who became taken with Tamia's talent. By the
end of the year, she had sung "You Put a Move on My Heart" for Jones' new album, Q's Jook Joint.
The song became a Top Ten R&B hit and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B
Vocal Performance; another song on the album, a duet with Babyface entitled "Slow Jams," was
nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group. She also sang "Missing You" with Brandy,
Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan on the soundtrack for the 1995 film Set It Off. "Missing You" was
also nominated for a Grammy, making for a total of three nominations for Tamia before she had even
released an album.
Such exposure, plus nominations from the NAACP Image Awards and the Soul Train Music
Awards, made Tamia a hot commodity in the music industry. She carefully crafted her debut album
over the course of 1996 and 1997, taking time out to play a small role in Speed II: Cruise Control
in 1997; she also sang "Make Tonight Beautiful" for the soundtrack. Tamia finally released her
debut album, Tamia, in April 1998. The album boasted an impressive list of collaborators and
producers, including Jermaine Dupri, Keith Crouch, Tim Kelly & Bob Robinson, Stevie J., Mario
Wynans, and Quincy Jones. Two years later and newly signed to Elektra, Tamia released her
sophomore effort A Nu Day, featuring production collaborations from Missy Elliott, Dallas Austin,
and Shep Crawford.