Shelea

Shelea

    Official Biography (courtesy of Sheléa)

    With hands that effortlessly glide over the keys and a voice that will carry you to the moon, Sheléa’s musical mastery makes her one of the most exhilarating up and coming artists today. While donning multiple hats of vocalist, songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer, Sheléa evokes the sultry energy of Natalie Cole and the piano chops and writing prowess of Anita Baker. Sheléa’s debut album, Love Fell On Me, is a return to romance; blending traditional pop, jazz and soul; marking an exciting revival of singing and songwriting in a music scene that is laced with auto-tune and beat driven numbers that read more like chants than songs.

    Haling from a musical family, both her parents sing and play the piano, Sheléa quickly realized that music was her passion. She would go on to work with legendary producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis at their Flyte Tyme production company as an in-house songwriter and vocalist. This experience prepared her for the opportunity to pen and produce two songs on Chanté Moore’s last album, Love the Woman, including the album’s single “It Ain’t Supposed to Be This Way,” and she has lent her stellar vocals to soundtrack projects including Hotel Rwanda, Akeelah and the Bee and Be Cool.

    Sheléa, a graduate of Oakwood College, would soon team with another group of noted Oakwood alums, Take 6. They had known Sheléa for some time, but in 2008, they took notice of her talent in earnest and requested that she sing lead on “Someone to Watch Over Me” for their forthcoming album, The Standard, which would go on to be nominated for a Grammy Award. As if that weren’t enough, her track also caught the ear of music royalty, Stevie Wonder.

    By 2011, Sheléa was flying high. That year, the film, Jumping the Broom, starring Angela Basset, chose “Love Fell On Me,” as it’s primary musical theme. The song and the film were such a hit that when The View’s co-host Sherri Shepard was looking for a wedding song, her Twitter followers overwhelmingly suggested Sheléa! She would later go on to sing “I’m Sure It’s You, also featured on Love Fell On Me, at Sheppard’s wedding.

    When Stevie Wonder was asked to sing for the President and Michelle Obama at the Library of Congress this past May, honoring composers Burt Bacharach and Hal David with the Gershwin Prize, he felt it was a perfect opportunity to showcase Sheléa’s ingenuity. He suggested she be added to the program and with that, Sheléa went on to bring down the house with her rendition of “Anyone Who Had a Heart” featuring Arturo Sandoval on trumpet.

    Sheléa would soon find herself back in Washington, but this time at the Kennedy Center, performing for the UN International AIDS Conference. There, she had the pleasure of sharing the stage with noted musical luminaries including Annie Lenox, Herbie Hancock, Joan Osborne, Patti Austin, and the South African Children’s Choir.

    Sheléa’s video tribute to Whitney Houston, singing a medley of the star’s hits after her death in February, became an instant Internet sensation. The clip has received over 700,000 views to date with many fans expressing that Sheléa is helping to fill the void left by Houston.

    Love Fell On Me evokes a simpler time of love through innovative storytelling and breathtaking melodies. You can hear Sheléa’s classic influences throughout her music, but she is not a throwback. On the contrary, she is pushing the musical envelope forward and bringing us back to romance.

    Available Music