Amerie

The daughter of a Korean mother and an African-American father, Amerie had a very protective upbringing in South Korea, Germany and various US states. She was studying literature at Georgetown University in Washington DC when her musical talent came to the attention of a local club promoter and she was introduced to producer Rich Harrrison, who'd worked with Mary J Blige. In 2002 Amerie released her first single, Why Don't We Fall In Love, a strong R&B/hip hop track which broke into the US Top 30 and set her on the road to stardom. Her debut album All I Have swiftly followed and reached Number 9 in the US album chart, featuring a second hit single Talkin' To Me. In 2003 she covered Diana Ross's I'm Coming Out in the movie Maid In Manhattan but had greater success with the 2005 album Touch, including her biggest hit 1 Thing, which was used in the movie Hitch. In 2008 Amerie took a new direction with the concept album In Love & War and she was back in the studio in 2010 working on another new album, Cymatika Vol. 1.