Melanie Fiona

Melanie Fiona – born Melanie Fiona Hallim on July 4, 1983 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada – is a Grammy-winning soul/R&B singer and songwriter. Born to Guyanese parents, she became interested in music at a young age watching her father play guitar in a local band. As a teenager, she formed a short-lived band called The Renaissance with future hip hop/R&B star Drake. In 2002, she became a member of girl group X-Quisite, who released their debut self-titled album the following year. The album was a success and was nominated for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the 2004 Juno Awards. X-Quisite split up in 2005 and Fiona pursued a solo career. She toured with Kanye West in 2008 before releasing her debut solo album, The Bridge, in 2009. The album featured the BET and Grammy-nominated hit single “It Kills Me”. Several of the album’s singles charted in European countries. The Bridge entered the Top 40 in Canada, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. She collaborated with CeeLo Green on his Grammy-winning single “Fool for You”. Fiona released her second album, The MF Life, in 2012. The album, which featured the hit single “4 A.M.”, debuted at Number 7 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. After the success of two major label albums, she became an independent artist and began work on her third album, Awake. Although two singles were released, the album never surfaced.