[sHanicE]

born in pittsburgh, pennsylvania on 14 may 1973, shanice wilson didn't have time to grow mid-eastern roots before moving with her family to los angeles, california. her move to the entertainment capital of the world, however, allowed her to explore the many facets of her desire to entertain, from an early age. singing with her mother as a youngster gave shanice the courage and poise to land roles in commercials—most notably co-starring with famed jazz diva ella fitzgerald for kentucky fried chicken. her big break came, however, when earning a spot on the nationally-televised talent competition star search and a successful career in musical theater led shanice to catch the eye of a&m record executives. signed to a recording contract at age eleven, her first alubm, discovery, was released three years later.

discovery capitalized simultaneously on the success of janet jackson and on shanice's own youthful energy with funky dance tracks and teenage torchsongs. with both "(baby, tell me) can you dance?" and "no 1/2 steppin'" reaching #1 on the r&b charts, shanice was well on her way to establishing a name for herself. just like the artist after whose success shanice's career was patterned, the public who was just beginning to appreciate wilson's potential as an emerging vocalist would have to wait four years for a follow-up release. inner child, released in 1991, marked a turning point in shanice's career as she switched from a&m to motown records. more importantly, however, shanice, now eighteen years old, was no longer the little girl who had captured the hearts of thousands. although her talent was undeniable, she would have to prove to her fans that she would be able to make the difficult transition from child start to adult recording artist...partnered with the midas-like narada michael walden, shanice struck gold (or, rather, platinum) with inner child's first single, "i love your smile". as "i love your smile" climbed music charts across the globe, shanice followed up her success with two other r&b chart-toppers, "i'm crying" and "silent paryer". also of note is inner child's remake of the minnie ripperton's classic "lovin' you", which seemed to prove that shanice was quickly becoming the woman next door.

just as before, shanice's fans would have to endure an unusually long hiatus before another album would be released, but this time they were tossed a couple of bones in the form of appearences on soundtracks for the movies boomerang, pocahontas and meteor man and the television program beverly hills 90210. the later's, "saving forever for you" gave shanice another top-five single and set the stage for the release of her new album...and other endeavors. in 1994, shanice released her third album, 21...ways to grow, and, the following year, returned to the stage in the musical adaptation of les miserables. 1995 also saw the successful collaboration of shanice and gloria estefan protégé jon secada on the pochahontas soundtrack single "if i never knew you", recorded in both english and spanish. since then, more determined fans also found shanice's name listed in the background credits for such artists as mary j. blige, usher, babyface, mariah carey, whitney houston, kenny loggins and fourplay.

shanice is now signed to laface records, aftering appearing on mtv unplugged singing the babyface-penned "breathe again" and, in 1999, released her fourth album, shanice. with one video already making the rounds and another in production, it would seem that the team of l.a. reid and kenneth edmonds are putting more faith in shanice's ability than any of her previous labels. and why not? certainly acting with ella fitzgerald, a recording contract with motown records and a run on broadway qualify ms. shanice wilson for diva status.