shanice

It is said experience is the best teacher, and listening to Shanice Wilson talk about her career since the hit single, "I Love Your Smile," established her in the public consciousness, there's no doubt that she's been living and learning. "People may think of me as this bubbly young girl from Los Angeles, but I've been through a lot in the last few years. I moved away from home. In my personal life I went through a serious relationship and I experienced a real heartbreak. I've gotten more involved in every area of decision-making in my career. When I was younger, all I did was sing; now I'm more involved with writing the material I record. I guess you could say that there's been a lot of growth and maturity." The sum total of all that Shanice has been through is reflected in her hit-filled, self-titled debut on LaFace Records which features production by Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, Damon Thomas, London Jones, Darien "Nitro" Clowers, Warryn "Smiley" Campbell, Rashad Coes, Jamey Jaz and others. The soulful power in her voice is stronger than ever but this time around, she's singing about relationships and real life. "I'm talking about things I've been through. Take the song 'Yesterday' -- that's a ballad I co-wrote with Jamey Jaz that deals with me thinking about all the things my ex-boyfriend said when he left. In the song, I turned it around because it's about me being the one who's leaving because my feelings have changed." The first single, "When I Close My Eyes" produced by Warryn Campbell is a powerful mid-tempo track that carries Shanice's strong emotional vocals. It's a feel good song about someone happy in love -- "When I close my eyes, I break down and cry, it's something 'bout the way you love me. When I kiss your lips, my heart can't resist, it's something 'bout the way you love me." Other tunes on Shanice deal with no-nonsense themes that are so much a part of real life in the 90's, like "Girl You Need a Man," co-written by Shanice with Montell Jordan, and Jazz the Man, us a straight-ahead warning to so-called friends who try to break up a happy couple; in the groove flavored-biting "Doin' My Thing" (produced by Dent and J-Dub), Shanice is the girl who has caught the eye of a man who's already involved; while "Fly Like an Angel" is a dreamy, tender love song about two people separated by time and space, but still closer-than-close in their feelings for each other. "Sure, there are quite a few ballads on this album," says Shanice, "But it's a nice mixture. I'm constantly keeping myself updated by going to clubs, listening to the radio and checking out what's happening in music. I may have made a couple She still may be in her early 20's, but the Pittsburgh-born, L.A.-raised singer and songwriter has racked up an impressive resume in music since she began her professional career in the early 80's. Shanice had appeared on a number of television commercials, including a Kentucky Fried Chicken spot with the legendary Ella Fitzgerald. She also performed in some local Los Angeles musicals including "Get Happy," which resulted in a contract with A & M Records when she was just 11 years old. In 1987, the label issued her critically-acclaimed debut LP Discovery, spawning the hit singles "(Baby Tell Me) Can You Dance?" and "No 1/2 Steppin.'" In 1989, she teamed with the Detroit group Kiara for the hit "This Time," but it was after joining the roster of Motown Records in 1990 that Shanice's career began to achieve international prominence. Teamed with Grammy-winning producer Narada Michael Walden, Shanice co-wrote several tunes on her Motown debut, Inner Child, including the infectious anthem "I Love Your Smile," which hit the top of the pop and R & B charts in the last few months of 1991, gaining Top 10 status in a number of countries throughout the world. "That record changed my life," she admits. "I got to tour everywhere -- here in the States, in Europe, Australia, and the Far East. The song was nominated for a Grammy, and that was a big highlight for me." Inner Child also gave Shanice a chance to showcase her budding skills as a songwriter. Aside from a cover of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You," the album included several of her collaborations with producer Walden. "While I hadn't written songs for my first A & M album, I got to express myself more on the first Motown album." The record also included "Silent Prayer," a duet with Johnny Gill that achieved Top 5 R & B status. In 1992, Shanice contributed her vocal skills to "Don't Wanna Love You," a track on the best-selling LaFace soundtrack Boomerang, and that same year, she was back on the charts with "Saving Forever For You" (from the soundtrack of Beverly Hills 90210). In 1993, she scored again with "It's For You" (from the movie Meteor Man) and in the wake of her success with "I Love Your Smile," she appeared on The Essence Awards and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as performing at a special event for President Clinton in '93. After one more Motown album, Shanice "knew it was time to move on and try some other things." Those "other things" included a stint in the hit Broadway musical Les Miserables playing the role of Eponine -- a challenge that involved a different kind of singing than the multi-octave young vocalist had ever done before. "It was almost like singing opera and I learned a whole lot from the experience," Shanice says. While taking her time to find a new recording home where she felt she could capture her musical vision, Shanice teamed up with Kenny Loggins to sing two songs with him for his Live in the Redwoods album; and with Latin hitmaker Jon Secada to record English and Spanish versions of the song "If I Never Knew You" for the Disney hit movie Pocahontas. She also did things that most twenty-something young women do, "like hanging out with the same friends I had from high school, going to the movies, bowling, rollerskating. Oh, and going to the mall with a good book and just sitting and reading." She also applied herself to writing some new songs in preparation for an inevitable new recording contract, and it was one such tune that turned out to be the catalyst for her signing with LaFace Records in 1998. "I Love You," one of a series of four songs she had written in 1997 with writer/producer Mark Feist was recorded as a duet with Chante Moore by Keith Washington for his '98 release "K.W." Before Washington and Moore had cut the song, Feist had played it for Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, co-founder of LaFace and in short order, Shanice found herself recording a version of Toni Braxton's "Breathe Again" with the super hitmaker for his MTV Unplugged album; and singing background vocals behind Usher for his multi-platinum album My Way. It wasn't too long before both Edmonds and LaFace partner Antonio "L.A." Reid agreed that Shanice would be a major addition to the company's roster of hitmakers and in early 1998, she began working on her label debut. "It's been amazing," says Shanice. "Everything I submitted as a writer was accepted -- tunes I wrote with London Jones, Montell Jordan, Jamey Jazz and Nitro. As I listen to what we've done, there's a real consistency to the album and I think that's because I've had so much creative input as a songwriter on this project. When people hear my album, they're getting me, they're getting my personality, who I am." Aware that a number of new female vocalists have emerged since her last album release, Shanice is confident without being cocky. "I've watched all these other young women -- Monica, Brandy, Faith and others -- blow up and love it! I listen to all of them and I know it's competitive out here, but there's really room for everyone. I've never been in this businessto out do anyone. It's real simple: I just love to sing!" Whether on soul-filled slow jams or infectious groove tunes that comprise Shanice, her sparkling LaFace debut, she's doing just that, expressing herself with power, sensitivity and assurance -- stronger than ever.