Shanice
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Shanice Lorraine Wilson-Knox (born May 14, 1973 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a Grammy nominated American R&B singer. Credited usually as simply Shanice, she hit big on mainstream radio with her 1991 hit "I Love Your Smile" for the Motown label, she also scored another Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 single in 1993 with "Saving Forever For You."
Biography
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Shanice starred in a KFC commercial with Ella Fitzgerald at 9. Later, she was discovered by A&M Records at the age of eleven, and released her debut album, Discovery, in 1987, which wasn't a huge pop hit, but did score R&B chart action, and the singer a 1987 Soul Train Award nomination for Best New Artist, she lost the award to R&B singer Miki Howard. She signed a record deal at Motown Records in 1991. Her 1991 album Inner Child contained the popular hit single "I Love Your Smile", produced by Narada Michael Walden. Also included on the is a cover of Minnie Riperton's 1974 hit "Loving You". This and other songs like "Fly Away" helped showcase her coloratura soprano. [link]. In 1993, she made a guest appearance on the popular television sitcom Family Matters.After "I Love Your Smile", Shanice continued to record albums, including 1999's Shanice, produced chiefly by Babyface. While she has not achieved significant commercial success with her later albums, she is acknowledged as a talented singer and many of her songs appeared on various soundtracks. She also sings backup and does studio sessions and can be heard on Toni Braxton's song Talking In His Sleep (it's untrue that she was on Unbreak My Heart, the session vocalist was Sheree Ford Payne, who also can be heard on He Wasn't Man Enough For Me). She can also be heard making vocal contributions to various games. She is married to actor/comedian Flex Alexander, with whom she has two children: daughter Imani Shekinah and son Elijah Alexander.
Not a stranger to taking long gaps between albums and singles, "Every Woman Dreams" finally emerged in June of 2005. The single did moderately well at R&B radio. After several pushbacks, her fifth studio album Every Woman Dreams was released on February 21 2006, the album entered at No. 194 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and sold nearly 6,000 copies in her opening week.
The video for the second single from the CD "Take Care Of U" debuted at #82 on Yahoo.com's Top 100 Videos in the middle of July 2006.
Vocal Profile
- Voice type: Lyric Coloratura Soprano
- Highest note: B♭6 (I Wanna Give It to You, Love Is A Gift)
- Lowest note: E♭3 (Ain't Got No Remedy)
- Vocal range: 3.5 octaves (E♭3-B♭6)
- B♭6 - Shanice's highest note from her song 'Love Is A Gift'.
- A6, E♭3 - Shanice hits these notes in her song 'Ain't Got No Remedy'.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | US | US R&B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Discovery | 149 | 37 |
| 1991 | Inner Child | 89 | 13 |
| 1994 | 21... Ways To Grow | 184 | 46 |
| 1999 | Shanice | 56 | 15 |
| 1999 | Ultimate Collection | align="center" valign="top" | |
| align="center" valign="top" | |||
| 2006 | Every Woman Dreams | 194 | 30 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US R&B/Hip-Hop | UK | |||
| 1987 | "(Baby Tell Me) Can You Dance" | #50 | #6 | - | Discovery |
| 1987 | "No Half Steppin'" | #50 | #6 | - | Discovery |
| 1988 | "The Way You Love Me" | - | #53 | - | Discovery |
| 1988 | "I Bet She's Got a Boyfriend" | - | - | #78 | Discovery |
| 1988 | "This Time" (duet with Kiara) | #78 | #2 | - | Wait So Long by Kiara |
| 1991 | "I Love Your Smile" | #2 | #1 | #2 | Inner Child |
| 1991 | "Lovin' You" | - | #59 | #54 | Inner Child |
| 1992 | "I'm Cryin'" | - | #11 | - | Inner Child |
| 1992 | "Silent Prayer" | #31 | #4 | - | Inner Child |
| 1992 | "Saving Forever for You" | #4 | #20 | #42 | Beverly Hills, 90210 [Soundtrack] |
| 1992 | "Don't Wanna Love You" | #58 | #57 | - | Boomerang [Soundtrack] |
| 1993 | "It's for You" | #57 | #14 | - | The Meteor Man [Soundtrack] |
| 1994 | "Somewhere" | #122 | #28 | - | 21...Ways to Grow |
| 1994 | "Turn Down the Lights" | #114 | #21 | - | 21...Ways to Grow |
| 1994 | "I Like" | - | - | #49 | 21...Ways to Grow |
| 1994 | "I Wish" | - | #61 | - | 21...Ways to Grow |
| 1995 | "If I Never Knew You" (duet with Jon Secada) | - | - | - | Pocahontas [Soundtrack] |
| 1999 | "When I Close My Eyes" | #12 | #4 | - | Shanice |
| 1999 | "Yesterday" | #122 | #40 | - | Shanice |
| 1999 | "You Need a Man" | - | #53 | - | Shanice |
| 2005 | "Every Woman Dreams" | - | #62 | - | Every Woman Dreams |
| 2006 | "Take Care Of U" | - | #72 | - | Every Woman Dreams |
Awards & nominations
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 1988 | Soul Train Music Award nomination for Best New Artist |
| 1992 | Grammy Award nomination for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female ("I Love Your Smile") |
| 1993 | Golden Lion Award for Best International Artist |
| 2005 | Special Jahruba Atkinson Award for Music |
External links
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