PRIDE Block Party Sunday, June 27
Tickets on sale now! 18+
$20 the week of the show & at the door
Shontelle
“Shontelligence” merely defines the knowledge that I have acquired throughout my life, the knowledge yet to
be absorbed and ultimately the product of all my experiences which I then translate into my music. Singer, songwriter, rising star and aspiring lawyer? Not the combination that one would normally expect. But then again there is nothing ordinary about Shontelle – the 23 year-old Bajan singer-songwriter who’s set to take the world by storm after signing with music mogul Steve Rifkind’s SRC records. Shontelle’s unique story begins in the West Indies on the beautiful Island of Barbados.
The oldest of 3 sisters, Shontelle has always been an over-achiever who excelled academically while competing in several sports. However her true calling as a prolific songwriter and talented singer would draw her away from both the field and classroom and onto center stage. Shontelle’s fate seems to have predestined her to be a star. Her aunt Kim Derrick, a popular and celebrated artist in Barbados, saw her drive early on and encouraged Shontelle to pursue her dreams despite her family’s concerns that becoming a musical performer would not be the best career choice. While in high school Shontelle attended “Cadets” camp – where she served as drill sergeant over a newcomer named Rhianna. “She was a good cadet, though there was one occasion when I had to make her drop and give me ten push-ups. We laugh about it now…I think she’s forgiven me.” Little did either of the teens know that they would remain friends and both follow the same dream of becoming international stars in the music business.
When Shontelle made the decision to attend the University of the West Indies she chose to pursue a degree in entertainment law. She has reaped the benefits of this decision to this day and credits her time studying law with opening her mind to different subjects and ultimately feeding her creative process. As Shontelle says “The next couple of years moved really fast”.Barbados-based music manager Sonia Mullins took the young writer-performer under her wing at this time , and Shontelle began to carve a reputation in the Caribbean music world by crafting songs for a number of top artists, all while attending the University.
Fast forward to 2005, and the up and coming talent scores a hit heard far beyond the Caribbean as the writer of the girl-power anthem “Roll”. Producers Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken of SRP Records, who had discovered Rihanna in Barbados and brought her to the world stage, heard the song on a Bajan radio station and felt that it had international hit potential. They sought out the writer of the song to license it for a cover version, and had a pleasant shock; “We couldn’t believe that she was such a great singer and so young and beautiful, and hadn’t been discovered yet” says Rogers.
Blake Lewis
Anyone who tuned into season six of American Idol knew to expect the unexpected of Blake Lewis. The Washington native, who admitted he
hadn’t watched a single episode before auditioning in Seattle, arrived in Hollywood without a hint of a plan, other than to be himself. Yet through talent, instinct, creativity and unapologetic brashness, Blake managed to make it all the way to the finale as the first runner-up to Jordin Sparks, each week showcasing a different side to his endlessly eclectic musical identity.
Two years later, the beatboxing wunderkind is going on record with a fully realized follow-up to his 2007 debut, Audio Day Dream, which sold more than 350,000 copies. Heartbreak on Vinyl, Blake’s first album for groundbreaking label Tommy Boy, blends his intrinsic pop sensibility with a love of electronic and dance music, which began taking shape long before he hit the Idol stage. “This is me trying to bridge the gap and make a record that I’m truly proud of,” he says. “I’ve got my 80s side and my indie side, my super pop slant and the electronic music that I love. I wanted to make happy, feel-good music. It all comes from an organic place.”
ADD featured songs written and produced by pop heavyweights like Ryan Tedder, JR Rotem and Blake’s own longtime friend, BT. For Heartbreak, Blake had a hand in writing almost every single track, and teamed up with collaborators including S*A*M & Sluggo (Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco), remixer extraordinaire Dave Audé (Pussycat Dolls), superstar producer Rodney Jerkins (Lady Gaga, Britney Spears) and Jean Baptiste (Will.I.Am, Black Eyed Peas).
The result? A collection that’s rooted in dance music — from break-beat to trance — and oozing electro goodness from every pore. The track “Binary Love,” which Blake describes as a “sexy, nerdy love song,” is a clear example of an ex-Idol finalist reaching new heights, while “Rapture of Love” tackles affairs of the heart over a Depeche Mode, Erasure-inspired melody that’s pure pop. “I want people to rock out in the car and not care that people are watching,” says Blake. “I love that feeling when the sequences are all perfect and you can just press play. I want the music to take you on a journey.”
Hitting close to home is the autobiographical title track, which makes reference to Blake’s favorite Seattle record shop and was inspired by a fateful trip to New York’s Union Square Virgin Megastore — both no longer in business. As the song goes: “Heartbreak on vinyl / I’m missing you and how / Easy street is empty / The silence of the sound / I guess the turntables have turned one too many times.” Blake explains the inspiration for its lyrics: “When people would ask me what I’m addicted to, I always said ‘music.’ And while they’d laugh it off like it’s a cliché, I’m actually a complete shopaholic when it comes to records. I’d literally buy 10 albums a week for years, so when I went to that Virgin Records and it said ‘going out of business,’ my heart stopped.”
The title Heartbreak doesn’t only apply to Blake’s fondness for crate-digging. “This record is really about my ex-girlfriend,” he confesses. “It’s my Songs About Jane — inspired by a breakup, so I wrote a lot.” “I’ve always been a fan of the melancholy, like Morrissey. I grew up playing classical nocturnes like Chopin and Debussy on piano, so I write really melancholy lyrics and melodies” This background explains much of the range on the album which leaves you wanting to dance in your car like no one is watching, just as Blake intended.
Case in point: the single, “Sad Song,” and the epic pop number “I Left My Baby For You,” which Blake describes as Daft Punk meets Prince meets Iggy Pop. “It’s about leaving her for California and choosing my career, then going back and telling her I was wrong,” reveals Blake, who’s since moved to Los Angeles and, has put this past behind him. Blake however has more than heartaches to deliver with his beats, as he made apparent while appearing as a DJ on the recent T-mobile GRAMMY Celebration Concert Tour alongside the likes of Lady Gaga, Estelle, Katy Perry, and Gavin Rossdale among others. Rising fans to their feet, Blake has even brought our First Lady, Michelle Obama, to break out her beatboxing skills during a performance at a luncheon in her honor.
Blake saw his story as an opportunity to build a new future. “I’m committed more to myself right now — both in my career and my life.” Simply put: Blake’s in the right place. “To do what you love and are passionate about is a dream come true,” he says. “My life is consumed by music and entertainment — and it’s the best life I could ever hope for.”
Amber
Growing up in Germany with a family background that was enriched in classical music — her dad being an
opera singer while her mom being a composer, singer, and piano teacher — Amber knew that her eventual profession would involve music one way or another. With several years of vocal training that followed and sometime spent as a studio musician, Amber had the chance to collaborate with the Berman Brothers — aka Real McCoy — and release the single “This Is the Night,” which not only became an international hit, but it also made it to almost every dance party compilation.
After her debut full-length under the same name of her hit with Real McCoy, Amber would soon release a handful of additional singles through Tommy Boy Records, this includes 1996’s “Colour of Love,” 1997’s “One More Night,” and “Sexual (Li Da Di)” in 1999. Her second self-titled album followed in 1999. A remix album of her works was released in 2000, with remixes by Deep Dish, Junior Vasquez, and Hex Hector. In 2002 she returned with her third full-length album, Naked, and two chart-topping dance hits, “Yes!” and “The Need to Be Naked.”
