Chrisette Michele

Chrisette Michele developed her wonderful talent through singing gospel songs with her church congregation, starting at just four years old. The church was a very important part of Michele's upbringing, as her dad was the organist and deacon, with her mother directing the church choir.

At the age of seventeen, Michele moved away from gospel, having listened to Brazilian jazz vocalist, Astrud Gilberto, in the song "The Girl From Ipanema." She then dedicated herself to learning jazz standards by the jazz greats, emulating Bille Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole.

Michele began doing small gigs and open mics, through which she was spotted by neo-soul singer India Arie, who invited her to be her opening act. Def Jam representatives had also began to take note of Michele's extraordinary voice, siging her to their label in 2006. From there, she went on to feature in recordings by Jay Z and Nas, in the "Lost Ones" and "Can't Forget About You" respectively.

In 2007, she released her debut album, "I Am," which established her talent in he world of R & B, with her delightful blend of gospel, pop and hip hop influences assisted by production skills of Babyface, Salaam Remi and John Legend. The album was received well but it was her second album, "Epiphany" in 2009 that really cemented her prowess in the contemporary music scene, topping the R & B and Billboard 200 charts.

Her 2010 album, "Let Freedom Reign," produced entirely by Harmony, also charted well, reaching number 25 on the US Billboard 200. This was followed by 2013's "Better," which was released on Motown records. The album reached number 12 on the US Billboard 200, selling 27,000 copies in its first week.