Born in 1973 in Pittsburgh, Shanice was performing nearly her whole life.  As an 11 year old she won on Star Search and she recorded her debut album for A&M Records, Discovery, at age 13.  Despite her young age, Shanice showed an amazing vocal range (five octaves), and she landed two top 10 singles, "(Baby Tell Me) Can You Dance" and "No Half Steppin."  Her initial success resulted in a move to Motown and her teaming with then-hot producer Narada Michael Walden (Whitney Houston, Angela Bofill) for her  1991 sophomore disc, Inner Child.  It was a smash and launched four hits, including her signature song, the innocent "I Love Your Smile," which hit the top of both the Pop and Soul charts.

It was three more years before Shanice released her follow-up, 21...Ways to Grow (at age 21), which was not nearly as successful as its predecessors but featured the modest hit "It's For You."  It was followed by another long gap before she teamed with Babyface in 1999 for the self-titled Shanice, a moderately successful album that included the hit "When I Close My Eyes."  Better than anything on this album, though, was her guest spot on Babyface's Unplugged album, where she showed her pipes by absolutely nailing Toni Braxton's "Breathe Again."

Throughout here recording career, Shanice has always given the appearance of an artist who is ready to break out, but her albums have not always highlighted her vocal capabilities, often masking it with stifling production or uneven material.  She remains however, an extremely gifted vocalist who may yet release a project entirely worthy of her substantial talent.

In 2006, Shanice released her first independent project, Every Woman Dreams.

by Chris Rizik