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Shola Ama

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Shola Ama (born Mathurin Campbell, 18 March 1979, in Paddington, London) is an English singer who scored her biggest hit in 1997 with a cover of Randy Crawford's "You Might Need Somebody". She is half Caribbean (of Dominican & St. Lucian origin), quarter Irish and quarter Scottish.

1 Early life and career
2 In Return
3 Post-WEA career
4 The Future
5 Discography
- 5.1 Singles
- 5.2 Albums

Early life and career

Shola attended Quintin Kynaston School (braaappp) in the early 1990s, where her passion for music and performing was allowed to blossom. At 15 she was singing to herself at Hammersmith tube station and was overheard by a D'Influence music producer, with whom she agreed to work. In 1995 an independent label released a single titled 'Celebrate', which was a soulful ballad produced by D'Influence. Although the single was not a commercial success, it did draw attention to Shola as an artist. On her 16th birthday she signed a record deal with WEA. The single "You Might Need Somebody" was her first release for WEA, and remains her biggest hit. This Randy Crawford cover blasted Shola into the mainstream - receiving huge amounts of praise from critics and reaching #4 in the UK charts. It remained in the top 40 for almost 2 months, becoming one of 1997's biggest hits. At 18 Shola released her debut album Much Love (1997), which gave her 4 top twenty hits and went on to top the charts around Europe. Selling over a million copies 'Much Love' became the biggest selling UK RnB album, a title it still holds to this date. On the success of the album Shola won a Brit award for 'Best British Female' and two MOBO awards for 'Best Newcomer' and 'Best Female Vocals'.

In Return

While 'Much Love' brought Shola success she was not completely pleased with it. She reportedly felt it was rushed, as many tracks were reworkings of her original demos. Shola also had little creative control over the album.

In 1999 Shola released her second album 'In Return'. The project saw Ama working with top producers Fred Jerkins III, Stargate, Shaun Labelle, Full Crew, D-Influence Productions and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (formerly of A Tribe Called Quest). Co-writers included Angie Stone and Babyface with David Foster. Although the record company injected huge amounts of capital into "In Return" the album was not as commercially successful as 'Much Love'. The album was more successful in the rest of Europe, especially France, where the single 'Still Believe' spent 4 months in the singles charts. Shola went all over Europe touring and promoting 'In Return' performing to sell out crowds night after night.

The disappointing sales of 'In Return' and low self-esteem knocked Shola into a depression that saw her drinking heavily and becoming addicted to drugs. In late 2000 WEA, looking at the poor sales of 'In Return' and negative press about her drink and drug dependence, dropped her. Following this, Ama took a break from recording, and received counselling. yep yep yep

Post-WEA career

In 2003 she went back into the studio to record her third album, 'Supersonic'. Fearing creative limitations, she was wary of signing a major label deal, and instead formed a distribution deal with Pony Canyon. Ama co-wrote all of the tracks on the album. Musically the album was very true to her personal taste; fusing R'n'B and soul with hip-hop and 2-Step. 'Supersonic' was initially released in Japan where it sold a respectable amount. The album also had a limited release in the UK and other parts of Europe. It received good reviews in both the UK and Japan. In 2004, she featured on the track You Really Should Know, a response in song to Mario Winans' I Don't Wanna Know.

The Future

In late 2005 it was believed that Shola was heading back into the studio to record her highly anticipated fourth studio album. The album was expected to be released in mid 2007; however no news has yet been heard on a release date. Shola still remains without a record label and many question how long she can leave her 'comeback' and have success with it. She is also currently mentoring her sister Sadie Ama, who has recently signed a recording development and is expected to release an album sometime in 2007. Shola will be appearing live on stage at 'Jamilj Koh-i-noor' indian restauant in Ipswich for a charity evening in early December 2007.

Discography

Singles

1995 "Celebrate"
1996 "You're The One I Love" #85
1997 "You Might Need Somebody" #4, #10 FR
1997 "You're The One I Love (re-issue)" #3, #81 FR
1997 "Who's Loving My Baby" #13
1998 "Much Love" #17
1998 "Someday I'll Find You" #28 (feat. Craig Armstrong; double A-side with "I've Been To A Wonderful Party" by The Divine Comedy)
1999 "Taboo" #10 (Glamma Kid feat. Shola Ama)
1999 "Still Believe" #26, #9 FR
2000 "Imagine" #24
2000 "Imagine - The Garage Remixes" #93
2001 "Twice as Nice - Sexy & Stylish Vol. 3 EP" (with Twice as Nice) #99
2002 "This I Promise You"
2002 "Symphony" (with Moïse) (France only) #53 FR
2004 "You Should Really Know" #8, #49 FR (The Pirates feat. Enya, Shola Ama, Naila Boss & Ishani)