Shola Ama

Born on March 8, 1979 in London, England, soul-pop legend Shola Ama's rise to the top is the stuff of legend. When the teenager was overheard singing to herself on a London tube platform by record label Kwame Kwaten, it led to the release of her debut single, "Celebrate," produced by acid jazzers D'Influence. The next thing she knew, she was seeing in her 16th birthday with a major label recording contract. In 1996, Shola Ama unleashed her first single for WEA, "You're the One I Love," which made a dent in the UK Top 100. However, it was her second WEA single, "You Might Need Somebody," which took her career to star-studded new heights, becoming her signature tune and an unshakeable '90s UK R&B classic. Released in April 1997, the song was originally written by Tom Snow and Nan O'Byrne, and first recorded in 1980 by Turley Richards, with a version from Randy Crawford following in 1981. Shola Ama's version went to Number 4 on the UK Singles Chart as well as charting in the Top 10 in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. "You Might Need Somebody" was featured on her debut studio album Much Love (1997), which not only gave her a Number 6 UK album but also earned her a BRIT Award for Best British Female and two MOBO Awards for Best Newcomer and Best R&B Act. Shola Ama's second studio album, In Return, came in 1999, but after it failed to hit the same highs as her debut, she took a break from music. In 2002, she returned with third album Supersonic, but took a 13-year break after that, not putting out anything new until the reggae-adjacent EP Surreal in 2015. In 2021, Shola Ama formed a musical alliance with garage figurehead DJ Q and US producer Hans Glader for the single "I Can't Stay."