About Tamia
Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development deal with Warner Bros. Records, she was asked by veteran producer Quincy Jones to appear on his album Q's Jook Joint , earning her Grammy Award nominations for their collaboration on "You Put a Move on My Heart" and "Slow Jams". Her self-titled debut album was released in 1998 and followed by a series of successful albums with Elektra Records, including A Nu Day and More . Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including "So Into You", "Stranger in My House", and "Imagination", as well as her collaborations "Into You", "Missing You", and "Spend My Life with You".
Since her departure from Elektra, Tamia has released most of her projects independently on her own label Plus One Music Group, through ventures with Def Jam Recordings, eOne Music, and others. In 2015, her sixth album Love Life debuted and peaked at number two on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, becoming her highest-charting album on the chart. An NAACP Image Award recipient for her work with singer Eric Benét, Tamia is a six-time Grammy Award nominee and has been nominated for numerous other awards and accolades, including a Soul Train Music Award, a Source Award, and four Juno Awards. She has been married to former basketball player Grant Hill since 1999; they have two daughters. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003, Tamia is an advocate for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on behalf of others affected by the disease.
Tamia Marilyn Washington was born on May 9, 1975, in Windsor, Ontario. The only daughter of a White father and Black mother, Barbara Washington-Peden, she has three younger brothers named Tiras, Tajhee, and Trajan. Washington-Peden gave birth to Tamia when she was 17 years old and raised her children as a single mom. Aside from the music she heard and sang at church, Tamia was exposed to diverse music from an early age by her mother. As early as age six, she was on stage singing at the local church, and by age 12, had already been involved in several musicals which helped hone her musical skills. Tamia studied piano and voice with renowned Windsor musician, Eugene Davis, who was also instrumental in encouraging her to pursue her vocal talent. It was not long before she was able to develop her skills in the Walkerville Centre for Creative Arts program for visual and performing arts students, introduced at Walkerville Collegiate Institute in Windsor.
Along with attending high school at Walkerville, she made several appearances in local theater and choral concerts before winning Canada's prestigious YTV Achievement Award for vocal performance in 1993. In 1994, Tamia performed at a multiple sclerosis benefit in Aspen, Colorado, when she met music manager, Lionel Richie's ex-wife Brenda, who was cosponsoring the event and introduced herself to Tamia after the show. A few months later, Tamia, who was being courted by Warner Bros. Records at the time, called Richie to say that she was coming to Los Angeles, California, for a photo session, resulting in her lasting stay and a management deal with Richie. Weeks later, Richie arranged for her to perform at a star-studded party that she held for singer Luther Vandross. Her performance reportedly impressed all in attendance, including veteran producer Quincy Jones, who took notice and later offered her the chance to appear on his album Q's Jook Joint .
"You Put a Move on My Heart", a Mica Paris cover, was one out of several Jones songs Tamia recorded vocals for. Selected as the first single from Q's Jook Joint, it became a moderate commercial success, reaching the top twenty of the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, but earned acclaim from critics, resulting in a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 39th ceremony. Tamia along with Babyface, Portrait, and Barry White received a second nomination that night for "Slow Jams", the second single from Jones' album, which fared similarly on the charts, peaking at number two on the New Zealand Singles Chart, and received a third nod in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category for her performance on "Missing You", a collaboration with singers Brandy, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Set It Off. A top thirty success on the US Billboard Hot 100, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America .
In 1997, Tamia made her film debut in the action-thriller Speed 2: Cruise Control. Playing the cruise liner's musical entertainer, she performed the Diane Warren-penned single "Make Tonight Beautiful", which was released as part of the film's soundtrack. The same year, she has also appeared in television sitcoms such as Rock Me Baby and Kenan & Kel and recorded the all-star charity single "Love Shouldn't Hurt" for the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse along with All-4-One, Michael Bolton, and others. Following this, Jones enlisted the services of several producers to work on Tamia's debut self-titled album, including Jermaine Dupri, Tim & Bob, and Mario Winans, many of which would become frequent producers on subsequent projects. Upon its April 1998 release, Tamia received a mixed to positive reception by critics, who complimented Tamia's vocal performance and the progression from her earlier recordings but found the material uneven. It debuted and peaked at number sixty-seven on the US Billboard 200. Five singles were released from the album, including the top twenty entries "Imagination" and "So Into You". In 1999, Tamia garnered her two Juno Award nominations for Best New Solo Artist and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year.
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