Mya

Mya (born Mya Marie Harrison on October 10, 1979 in Washington, D.C.) is a singer-songwriter.

She is also a record producer, dancer, designer and actress.

Early Life
Mya was born to an African American father named Sherman and an Italian American mother named Theresa. She has two younger brothers named Chaz and Nijel.

Sherman was a musician & a singer who performed with various bands in the Washington, DC area and Theresa worked as an accountant.

Mya grew up in suburban Washington, DC. When she was a kid, she imitated Michael Jackson in her mom's high-heeled boots and used a spoon as a make-believe microphone.

Throughout her childhood, Mya took violin lessons, but dancing was her primary after-school activity. In 1982, she began taking ballet lessons at the age of two and jazz & tap dance when she was four years old.

Mya's interest in dance dwindled when she was eight years old, but it was later rekindled. In 1992, she joined a professional troupe called T.W.A. (short for Tappers With Attitude) when she was 10 years old.

Mya's tap dancing skills gave her the opportunity to study with Savion Glover (one of the best-known tap dancers in the country) of the Dance Theater of Harlem when he came to Washington D.C. for a workshop.

Savion chose Mya for a solo spot in a dance performance at the Kennedy Center.

With a father of African-American descent and a mother of Italian descent, Mya sometimes had to endure insensitive comments about her ethnic background.

Her accomplishments in dancing helped her make the transition into adolescence & deal with its peer pressure.

According to Mya in an appearance on Canada's "Much Music" television show in January of 2001:

"There was a time in my life when I wasn't popular and accepted by kids in school. I was made fun of with braces and kinky hair, and being from a multicultural family, etcetera... And it really hurts when you're that age, but later when you get something of your own or you get involved in activities like a sport, you begin to be accepted for what you do, and your personality and who you are, instead of your clothes and how you look and the name designer brands you have on."

As a popular performer, Mya would later draw from her experiences to speak to girls' groups as part of the "Secret of Self-Esteem" program for adolescents, addressing issues such as body image, peer pressure and gender stereotypes.

Learning steps from music videos landed Mya a stint from 1996 until 1998 as a hip-hop dancer for the BET Network's show "Teen Summit."

She also began teaching a children's hip-hop and jazz dance class in Camp Springs.

By the time she was fifteen years old, Mya's musical side took over and her professional musician father Sherman helped her perfect her vocal abilities.

When he realised that Mya was serious about a career in music, Sherman began shopping around with her demo tape which eventually caught the interest of University Music president and CEO Haqq Islam.

After graduating high school when she was sixteen years old, Mya took a few classes at the University of Maryland, College Park, but her primary focus was in the recording studio.

1998
After signing with Interscope Records, Mya spent the next two years recording and completing her debut album.

The album featured production and collaborations from noteworthy hitmakers such as Missy Elliott, Babyface, Diane Warren, Dru Hill, Darryl Pearson and Silkk Tha Shocker and spawned the massively successful singles "It's All About Me," "Movin' On" and "My First Night with You."

On February 14, 1998, Mya released her debut single, "It's All About Me" (featuring R&B singer Sisqo) which peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart respectively.

On June 4, 1998, the single received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

On April 21, 1998, Mya's self-titled debut album was released in the United States and reached number 29 on the Billboard 200.

The album sold 1.4 million copies in the United States and received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 1, 1998, denoting shipments to US retailers of over 1,000,000 units.

The album's second single "Movin' On" (featured rapper Silkk Tha Shocker) and peaked at number thirty-four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart respectively.

The third single "My First Night with You" peaked at number twenty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The album earned Mya two Soul Train Music Award nominations for "Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist" and "Best R&B/Soul Album – Female" and a NAACP Image Award nomination for "Outstanding New Artist."

In addition to her solo work, Mya was featured with Ol' Dirty Bastard on Pras' Grammy-nominated 1998 hit "Ghetto Supastar" from the "Bulworth" movie soundtrack and "Take Me There" from "The Rugrats Movie" movie soundtrack with Blackstreet, Blinky Blink & Mase.

2000-2002
In 1999, Mya began production on an album that would eventually become "Fear of Flying."

The title was partially inspired by Erica Jong 1973 novel "Fear of Flying" which shared a lot of similarities toward female sexuality and development of second-wave feminism.

The album featured contributions from Rodney Jerkins, Swizz Beatz, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Knobody and Wyclef Jean.

The majority of the album was co-written and co-produced by Mya and many of the album’s songs are about female empowerment.

Mya (who did some writing on her 1998 self-titled debut album) was heavily involved in the production of her sophomore album from writing and recording to producing, mixing & mastering.

On April 25, 2000, "Fear of Flying" was released and debuted at number fifteen on the Billboard 200 album chart with first week sales of 72,000 copies.

Upon initial release, the album seemed to be suffering the dreaded sophomore slump.

The album's first single "The Best of Me" (featuring rapper Jadakiss) under-performed on the charts, not even making it into the pop Top 40.

The album's second single, the confrontational "Case of the Ex" proved to be a different matter and was a dance-heavy jam with attitude on it. Mya confronts her man about an old lover who will not go away.

The song became Mya's breakthrough hit topping the Australian Singles Chart for two consecutive weeks.

It peaked at number two and three in the United States and United Kingdom respectively and in turn solidified Fear of Flying as a hit.

On November 7, 2000, Interscope Records re-released "Fear of Flying" (due to the success of "Case of the Ex") with a revised tracklisting featuring two new songs "Again & Again" and "Free" (which was featured on the soundtrack to the movie "Bait.")

"Free" was even more pop-friendly and became quite successful on MTV's TRL and at pop radio.

The album earned Mýa a Soul Train Music Award nomination for "R&B/Soul Album – Female" and a UK MOBO nomination for Best "Album" in 2001.

The album sold over a million copies in the United States and received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America on March 28, 2001.

Although "Fear of Flying" was received with mixed reviews, the album was a critical and commercial success which catapulted her career into superstardom.

The album hit as nearly hard as her debut, staying on the Billboard 200 for 52 consecutive weeks.

In 2001, Mya lent her voice to the Disney movie soundtrack "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" with the song "Where the Dream Takes You" and the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's film "Moulin Rouge!" with the song "Lady Marmalade."

"Where the Dream Takes You" was featured during the closing credits of "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" and was worked at Top 40 and Adult Contemporary radio starting June 5th, prior to the film's June 15th release date.

Mya later collaborated with singers Christina Aguilera & P!nk and rapper Lil' Kim on a remake of Labelle's 1975 hit song "Lady Marmalade" which was produced by Rockwilder & Missy Elliott.

It was released as the first single from the "Moulin Rouge!" soundtrack and became a worldwide success, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five weeks.

The song became the third airplay-only track in the history of the chart to make it to the top.

Since Billboard changed the eligibility rule in December of 1998 to include all songs regardless of retail availability, only Aaliyah's "Try Again" (on Blackground/Virgin Records) in June of 2000 and "Angel" by Shaggy featuring Rayvon (on MCA Records) in March of 2001 have made it to No. 1 without any sales points.

Of the three tracks to now achieve this feat, "Marmalade" makes it to the top with the highest audience total (111 million listeners).

The song reached number one in over fifteen countries including the United Kingdom and Australia.

The song became Mya's first chart-topper and third non-consecutive top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The foursome was invited to perform at the 2001 MTV Movie Awards an the performance was the show's biggest highlight of the night.

At the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, "Lady Marmalade" was nominated for six moonmen, but it only won two for "Best Video from a Film" and "Video of the Year."

In 2002, the quartet performed "Lady Marmalade" again at the 44th Grammy Awards and won a grammy for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals."

In 2001, Mya also paid a tribute to legendary music icon Janet Jackson at "MTV Icon."

She performed her own rendition of Janet's classic hit song "The Pleasure Principle."

2002-2008
After the release & the success of "Fear of Flying," Mya began dabbling in acting. She had a supporting role in the 2002 Academy Award-winning musical film "Chicago" where she won a Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Ensemble Performance."

Mya would later star in the films "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" (in 2004), "Shall We Dance?" (also in 2004) and "Cursed" (in 2005).

After much delay, Mya's third studio album "Moodring" was released on July 22, 2003.

The album sold more than 113,000 copies in its first week and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, surpassing Mya’s previous effort first-week sales.

Originally titled "Bittersweet," the album display an array of different emotions exploring Mýa’s playful and sexual side.

The majority of the album was co-written and co-produced by Mýa and was influenced by different subjects and music styling's including techno, pop rock, soul, hip-hop, r&b, quiet storm, etc.

The first single "My Love Is Like...Wo" (produced by Missy Elliott) became a smash hit and a summertime anthem for women. The music video showcase a more sexier and risqué side of Mýa and became popular at MTV.

The follow-up single from the album "Fallen" reached the top fourty of BIllboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Songs chart, but failed to match the same success of "My Love Is Like...Wo."

"Moodring" stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for a mere eighteen non-consecutive weeks and went on to be certified gold, selling 589,000 copies to date.

In 2004, Mya was working on her fourth studio album on & off. In 2005, she signed a six-figure contract with the Ford Modeling Agency.

The project's original title was called "Control Freak" and the first version of the album was scheduled to be released in mid-2005, featuring production by Scott Storch, Dr. Dre, Lil Jon, Rockwilder & songwriter Sean Garrett.

Although she intended to release a dance track called "Let It Go" at a particular time, Mya eventually decided to leave her management and A&M Records in the fall of 2005 before signing a new contract with Universal Motown.

Mya began consulting a few other producers to collaborate on the album, renamed "Liberation."

In mid-2006, a buzz track entitled "Ayo!" was released onto the internet.

Due to time-consuming "litigations, court, transitioning from label to label, teaching kids [at the Mya Art & Tech Foundation] and building a [recording] studio," the song was never picked up as a single & the album's release date was pushed back again.

In March of 2007, the album's actual lead single "Lock U Down" featuring rapper Lil Wayne (which was produced by Scott Storch) was sent to radio.

After the single's commercial failure, a second single "Ridin'" was released, but only saw minor success on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Songs chart.

"Liberation" was delayed again & it was eventually bumped from the United States schedule. As a result of that, the album was never physically released anywhere except in Japan.

In 2008, Mya parted ways with Motown. Having worked on new material since mid-2007, she contracted with Japanese R&B label Manhattan Records (a division of Lexington Group) to release new material.

In December of 2008, Mya's fifth studio album "Sugar & Spice" was released in Japan.

Composed of production by less known producers, the album produced a new version of her single "Fallen," a cover version of Diana King's hit "Shy Guy" and the first and final single "Paradise."

2009-2012
On August 5, 2009, Mya re-released "Sugar & Spice" entitled "Sugar & Spice: The Perfect Edition."

The album contained new remixes and a new song called "Wish You Were Here" featuring artist Che'Nelle.

During her downtime, Mya formed her own independent record label called Planet 9 and inked a deal with J. Prince's Young Empire Music Group.

On September 29, 2009, she released her first mixtape "Beauty & the Streets Vol. 1."

The first single from the mixtape "Show Me Somethin'" (featuring rapper Bun B) was sent to iTunes in August of 2009.

The mixtape peaked at number fifty-five on Billboard's Top R&B\Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Mýa was invited to be a featured guest vocalist on "We Are the World 25 for Haiti."

In 2010, Variety reported Mya currently has already completed 10 tracks for her next studio effort with producer Junior Sanchez.

It stated:

"No release date has been set yet but think an electro-dance-rock vibe."

According to Mya:

"Working with Junior Sanchez is an incredibly creative experience – he and his team are true musicians, and we have been having so much fun in the studio – the sound is brand new and completely fresh."

She was also gearing up for the launch of a brand new single "Love Is the Answer" with Cedric Gervais.

Originally, the track was scheduled for release in late 2010, but it pushed back into next year. The song appeared on Cedric's album "Miamication."

2014
Currently, Mya is working on three in-studio projects: a collaboration album, her seventh studio album and Beauty & the Streets Vol. 2.

At the 2013 BET Awards, she confirmed to Clevver Music she is working on a new album and has an action movie coming soon.

During the interview, she stated that her new album would be release "when it's properly supported" and she's in the "final stages" of it.

On February 14, 2014, Mya released a four-track Valentine's Day EP called "With Love" on iTunes to commemorate the release of her debut single "It's All About Me" and the sixteenth anniversary in the entertainment industry.

On April 12, 2014, she co-starred in the Syfy original TV movie "Bermuda Tentacles" starring Linda Hamilton.

On April 21, 2014, Mya released her second EP "Sweet XVI" on iTunes.

Acting Career\Reality Television
Mya made her acting debut in the 1999 thriller "In Too Deep" starring LL Cool J and Omar Epps, portraying a young woman named Loretta.

In late December of 2002, she co-starred in the broadway musical Chicago" (alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah and Renée Zellweger), portraying a murderess named Mona during the "Cell Block Tango" dance number.

The film was a box office hit grossing $306,776,732 worldwide and earned Mya a Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Ensemble Performance."

In 2004, she had two small roles in the films "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" and "Shall We Dance?"

In the films, Mya portrayed the roles a latina lounge singer named Lola Martinez and Vern's Fiancee."

"Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" tanked at the box office grossing $14,161,590 in the United States and $27,685,016 worldwide.

"Shall We Dance?" became a box office hit grossing $57,890,460 in the United States alone and $170,128,460 worldwide.

In February of 2005, Mya had a supporting role in the Wes Craven horror film "Cursed" (starring Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson, Judy Greer and Shannon Elizabeth), portraying the role of a young victim named Jenny Tate.

"Cursed" tanked at the box office grossing $19,297,522 in the United States and $29,621,722 worldwide, but it earned Mya a nomination at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards for "Best Frightened Performance."

In 2005, she guest-starred as Samantha "Jade" King in the second single of "NCIS." In the episode entitled "Pop Life," Mya performs "Sophisticated Lady" from her album "Moodring."

She appeared in the film "Cover," portraying an AIDS victim named Cynda. It dealt with the subject of me who are on the "down-low" in society. The film opened at selective theaters and grossed $79,436 in the United States.

In 2008, Mya had a starring role in the direct-to-dvd romantic comedy film "Love For Sale" in which she portrayed a college student named Kiely in a bad relationship. The film was released to DVD on October 21, 2008.

In January of 2011, Mya appeared in the romantic comedy film "The Heart Specialist" (starring Wood Harris, Zoe Saldana & Brian J. White), portraying the role of Brian J. White's ex-girlfriend Valerie. The film was a sleeper at the box office grossing $1,103,037.

In 2009, Mya participated in the ninth season of "Dancing With the Stars" and finished in second place.

Voice
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented that Mya has a voice that is at once "innocent and knowing."

Billboard complimented Mya's voice for having a "smooth, sensitive, angelic tone" to it who oozes with the confidence and stylistic flair of an artist twice her age.

Other critics often call her voice weak and thin.

In reviewing for Mya's second studio album "Fear of Flying," Jon Azpiri of AllMusic commented that "she is a promising young talent, but still has yet to develop the chops necessary to rank among the best of R&B divas."

Rolling Stone magazine stated:

"The signature quiver in Mýa's voice does give her some sonic identity, but otherwise this could be the music of Destiny's Child, Aaliyah or any of the countless interchangeable hip-hop/R&B divas."

During an interview with Billy Johnson, Jr. of "Yahoo! Music" in 2003, Mýa stated:

"I like to sing loud, I like to sing soft, I just like to feel good, period. It's not that serious."

She also commented on the fact there are a lot of misconceptions about singing:

"I'm just happy to be here. I think being a young artist, just starting out of high school, what kids listen to is club music. We don't necessarily get too deep or sing like Aretha Franklin. That's not even what music is truly about today. It's sad, but when I want to give a little bit of sex, being fabulous or sassy. I definitely want to be able to sing and back that up, and being a dancer first has sort of given me a complex that I have to be able to sing, period, with a band. If I break my leg, I'd like to give a show without pyrotechnics and choreography every five seconds."

Musical & Dance Influences
Mýa's musical influences include Sade Adu, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Prince, Chaka Khan, Minnie Riperton and Madonna.

She praises Steve Wonder for his ability to hear music and play music and feel it and get other people to feel it & Madonna for her boldness and courage.

She calls Minnie Riperton her favorite female singer and Prince her musical hero, stating:

"He's someone who takes risks. He's an all-around entertainer, hell of a performer. He's a genius."

Mýa's dance influences include Gregory Hines, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Savion Glover, Jimmy Slyde, Electric Boogaloos, Rock Steady Crew, Cyd Charisse, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Sammy Davis, Jr.

She also cites Lena Horne and Liza Minnelli as her role models.

Songwriting & Producing
Since the beginning of her career, Mya has always been artistically involved in her career.

She writes the majority of her own material for her studio albums.

In an interview, she stated she writes 99.9% of her albums and when songs are submitted to her, if she feels the song is something that feels like something she can perform well and hits close to home, then she feels comfortable doing it.

Mya is known for writing sexually-driven lyrics and female empowerment compositions with a bit of an edge to them through her love for free-spirited word play and incorporates a wide genre of music such as R&B, pop, dance, jazz, soul, hip-hop, techno, rock, reggae and quiet storm.

In interview with People, Mya revealed she draws her musical inspirations from humming a melody off the note of a whirring fan or tapping her foot to the rhythm of the bathtub dripping, stating she can hear melodies from natural sounds like birds chirping or the taxis & construction in Manhattan.

Occasionally, however, Mya wishes she could stop the music, stating:

"''In the middle of a conversation, I'll start humming or moving my feet, and my friends will say, 'You can't be serious'." "It's such a reflex that I'm totally unaware I look like an idiot.''"

Most of her songs are helmed from personal experiences in her life as well as friends' experiences.

Since 2000, Mya has co-produced most of her records.

She has her own recording studio and label imprint, Planet 9 and is heavily involved in the production of her music and every single process, from writing and recording to producing, mixing & mastering her own projects.

Mya is very active in all aspects of her career from the actual production to the business: formulating the beat, creating the concept and coming up with the melodies.

Endorsements
When she was eighteen years old, Mya served as an ad print spokeswoman for Bongo Jeans and had a Tommy Hilfiger lipstick shade named after her.

In the years to come, she continued to receive endorsement deals.

In 2001, Mya became a spokesperson for Iceberg jeans and featured in ad prints in magazines.

In 2002, she signed an endorsement deal with Coca-Cola which included appearances on TV commercials.

Mya and then labelmate rapper Common recorded a cover version of Ed Harris' song "Real Compared To What."

The commercial made its debut in 2003 at the American Music Awards and featured Mýa in a 90-second commercial singing a jazzy cover version of the song alongside Common.

In early 2003, Mya recorded an updated version of the Simon & Garfunkel classic hit "Feeling Groovy" for the new spring GAP television ads.

The music for the spot was produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

The new GAP commercials were produced by longtime GAP creative agency Laird & Partners and aired everywhere throughout March and April.

In 2004, Mýa performed the original theme song "Everything Or Nothing" for the latest video game in the James Bond franchise "007: Everything or Nothing."

She also appears in the game as the NSA agent sultry Bond girl "Mya Starling."

She co-wrote and co-produced the song with Randy Bugnitz and A&M president Ron Fair and three variations of the theme appeared in the game.

In 2005, Motorola signed Mya and eight other artists from every generation to appear in TV commercial; promoting its first iPod music phone; the Motorola rokr.

The commercial starred pop icons Madonna and Iggy Pop alongside with Little Richard, Bootsy Collins, Amerie, Alanis Morissette and look-a-likes of Beethoven, Jimi Hendrix and the Notorious B.I.G.

On March 1, 2010, Escada announced that Mya will host the celebration to introduce Escada's newest scent, Marine Groove on March 13th in Miami Beach.

The two-day event included a VIP party at South Beach's hottest nightclub, LIV. Select guests joined Mya for an exclusive evening of dancing and libations.

On Sunday afternoon, the celebration continued on the Venetian Lady Yacht in downtown Miami with a three-hour chartered yacht party.

Philantrophy
As a philanthropist, Mya continues to devote her time and resources to various causes.

From 1998 to 2001, she became the spokesperson for "Secret to Self Esteem."

In 2005, Mýa founded TMATF: The Mya Arts & Tech Foundation which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing disadvantaged youth growth and opportunity through arts & technology education where she serves as both executive director & teacher.

Mya is also an advocate of breast cancer as her mother is a ten-plus year survivor.

In 2006 and 2007, she collaborated with the Lifetime Television Network in the Stop Breast Cancer for Life campaign, recording the song "My Bra" which was sold onviTunes donating 100% of proceeds to breast cancer research.

In 2007, Mýa was also the internationally featured artist in Heatherette's Fashion Show for Lifeball in Vienna, Austria to fight Global AIDS, hosted a fundraiser for Skool'd to aid homeless LGBT youth, and advocated gay rights by opening the Out 100 Awards.

In 2009, She continued her philanthropic efforts by chairing the 2009 Operation Smile Event, participating in the literary project "If I'd Known Then: Women in Their 20s and 30s Write Letters to their Younger Selves" by Ellen Spraggins & accepting an honoree award for her work with the NSAL and continued support of animal welfare.

She continued her social efforts in 2010 by partnering with Cyndi Lauper's True Colors: Give A Damn" PSA, NOH8 campaign, NSAL 2010 & assisting in varrlious HAITI relief efforts, among other philanthropic initiatives.

In 2012, Mya teamed up with Koshie O to design some of the pieces that will be feature in the Spring/Summer 2013 collection.

She is the first celebrity to be involved as a designer in The Koshie O.Woman project created by the African brand.

A percentage of the profits from the sale of these unique capsule collection customized with a special print will be donated to the Mercy Corps, a global aid agency involved in helping populations stricken by tragic events in over 40 countries around the world.

Legacy
Since Mya's arrival in the music business, she has won numerous awards throughout her career.

In 2002, she won her first Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Lady Marmalade."

Mya won a Screen Actors Guild award for her participation in "Chicago."

She is the winner of two MTV's moonmen including the prestigious "Video of the Year" award for "Lady Marmalade."

Mya has sold over 7 million albums worldwide.

In 2009, Billboard ranked her at number 97 on their list of Hot 100 Artists of the 2000s.

Complex listed her at number 33 on their list of Top 100 "Hottest Female Singers of All Time."

Her singles "The Best of Me Pt.II" and "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" was featured on About.com's "Top 50 R&B/Hip Hop Collaborations" list at numbers 40 and 44 respectively.

"Lady Marmalade" was listed at number 47 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of '00s list.

For two consecutive years (2003-2004) in a row, Mya appeared on Maxim's Hot 100 list; ranking numbers 31 and 52 respectively.

"Movin' On" was voted as one of The 50 Best R&B Videos of the 90s by Complex.

Mya's performance of Lady Marmalade at the 44th Grammy Awards was featured on About.com's Top 10 Grammy Award Performances of All Time.

Her breakthrough single "Case of the Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do)" was listed at number 77 on Billboard's Top 100 Songs by Female Solo Artists (1955-2007).

In 2014, "Lady Marmalade" was featured on the Huffington Post's Top 10 Most Iconic Grammys Performances.