Shontelle 'Shontelligence' album

"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 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. 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 Rihanna. 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.

Barbados-based music manager Sonia Mullins took the young writer-performer under her wing and Shontelle began to carve a reputation in the Caribbean music world by crafting songs for a number of top artists. 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. They signed her immediately, and spent the next six months creating her debut album, co-writing with her as well as pulling in a-list producers such as Stargate (Beyonce,Ne-Yo). Marc Jordan of Rebel_One (Rihanna) also joined the team. During a period Shontelle describes as "one of the defining moments of my life", she flew around the country meeting with executives from the world's top labels and eventually decided to sign to Steve Rifkind's SRC Records, joining the ranks of the many successful artists in the Universal Music family.

Shontelle is once again on the fast track, with her upcoming album "Shontelligence" a 2007 release, and she has been feverishly recording a bevy of hit records. When asked to define "Shontelligence" she states, "I was in the studio with Evan and Carl , and our engineer Al Hemberger came up with it while we were playing a word game with my name. We all jumped on it and thought it was fitting. The definition of intelligence is the gathering of new knowledge or information, the ability to comprehend and profit from experience. I hunger for that knowledge. It feeds my life and my music. The more I learn, the more I want to learn...the more I grow as a person and as an artist." On songs like the Reggae-Soul influenced "Life Is Not an Easy Road" she takes the beats down a gear, back to the sun drenched beaches of her native Barbados, while the lyrics punctuate the song with hard hitting social commentary. 'I jumped out of bed in the middle of the night with this beat in my head. I started writing straight away just thinking about society, poverty and the underprivileged".

The Stargate-penned "Superwoman" is a world beat anthem of liberation for women everywhere. On the snake-charmer influenced "Focus Pon Me" Shontelle delivers a dancehall pop smash of the kind we have come to expect her to craft for other artists. Showing the degree of her versatility, she tells a poem of yearning and desire over bittersweet guitars on "I Crave You", while "Cold Cold Summer" is a soul-drenched instant classic that reveals her love of traditional R&B. "Shontelligence" will showcase Shontelle's diverse music influences which range from Bob Marley to Alicia Keys, with many stops in between. Shontelle may have put the law degree on the back burner for now, but she certainly has no regrets. " I think I've known all along that it was my destiny to perform on stage and give something to people with my music", she says with calm conviction. And as 2007 looks to be the year that Shontelle arrives on the world scene , she's eagerly anticipating the excitement and challenges that lie ahead. " I love music, it's my passion, and I can't wait for people to hear what I have to say.....And I've got a lot to say".

The single, T-Shirt is now impacting Top 40.

biography
What’s a girl to do when she’s not only a beautiful and talented singer, but a straight-A college student as well? In the case of Shontelle Layne, it looks like the law career will have to wait -- her musical star is on the rise and cannot be stopped. Gifted as both a writer and performer, this 23 year-old Barbadian has already carved a reputation in the Caribbean music world over the last several years by crafting hit songs for a number of top artists, all while pursuing her degree at the University of the West Indies. But it was only a matter of time before she unleashed her talents as an artist and performer on the world stage, with the upcoming release of her debut album, “Shontelligence” (Universal), and its first smash single, “Roll”. Shontelle’s music is an infectious blend of dancehall, reggae and hip-hop, with unstoppable grooves and thought-provoking lyrics that will find fans in every corner of the world.

The oldest of 3 sisters, Shontelle was born in Bridgetown, Barbados. At school she was a first class academic student. On the sports field she was highly competitive too. “I did track and field, lawn tennis and represented my school and Barbados at swimming”, she recalls.

It was during high school that she first met Barbados’ current international star, Rihanna. "We were both active in the Cadets, and I was her Drill Sergeant...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 them know at the time that they would soon both be signing major record deals.

Shontelle has been surrounded by strong women. Her aunt, Kim Derrick, a celebrated Bajan musician, could see her potential at a very early age. “She used to encourage me even as young as 3 and 4. All my family were musical, all my cousins play the piano. They used to come over to my house and we would play at the piano for hours.”

Barbados-based music manager Sonia Mullins took Shontelle under her wing while she was attending college, and success soon followed: Shontelle scored one of the biggest Caribbean hits of 2005 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. They signed her immediately, and spent the next six months creating her debut album, co-writing with her as well as pulling in a-list producers such as Don Corleone (Sean Paul). Marc Jordan of Rebel-One management (Rihanna) also joined the team. When they brought her to Steve Rifkind at SRC, he wasted no time in putting her on the fast track for a 2007 release.

Shontelle has created a unique sound on her forthcoming album, “Shontelligence”, which will be released on SRP/SRC Universal/Motown this summer. On the album she’s pushed the musical boundaries of her Caribbean heritage and fused them exquisitely with soul and hip-hop. The spellbinding “Drop The Needle” threads hypnotic beats with Shontelle’s sweet vocal to create a mesmerising dance-floor experience, while “I Crave You” is a poem of yearning and desire over bittersweet guitars.

“Life Is Not An Easy Road” takes the beats down a gear, back to the sun drenched beaches of her native Barbados, while the lyrics punctuate the song with hard hitting social commentary. “I jumped out of bed in the middle of the night with this beat in my head. I started writing straight away. I was thinking about society, about poverty and the underprivileged. The song’s about struggle, holding on to your dignity and says that having faith in yourself gives you hope. I think the line in the song .... ’Keep yours eyes on tomorrow, but live for today’ kinda sums it up”.

And then there’s “Focus Pon Me”, a seductive slice of east meets west. Driving dancehall beats intertwine with Indian sitars and tablas to create a cultural workout that sonically seduces the listener.

Shontelle may have put the law degree on the back burner for now, but she certainly has no regrets. ”I think I’ve known all along that it was my destiny to perform on stage and give something to people with my music”, she says with calm conviction. And as 2007 looks to be the year that Shontelle arrives on the world scene , she’s eagerly anticipating the excitement and challenges that lie ahead. “I love music, it’s my passion , and I just can’t wait for people to hear what I have to say...and I’ve got a lot to say!”

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2 comments so far (Post your own)

1. At 13:08 on 30 Jun 2008, ipritch rates it:not rated

so excited to hear more from her!

2. At 16:23 on 22 Sep 2008, classyishowibe rates it:not rated

Shontelle is another Bajan beauty that is bound to takeover.

Check out her video for "T-Shirt"
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=119458840&blogID=434226581

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Shontelle - Shontelligence

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