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Tamia Marilyn Hill (née Washington) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, producer, and actress. 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 (1995), 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 was followed by a series of successful albums with Elektra Records, including A Nu Day (2000) and More (2004).

 

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."

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Since she departed from Elektra, Tamia has released most of her projects independently on her own label, Plus One Music Group, through ventures with Def Jam, 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.

 

An NAACP Image Award recipient for her work with singer Eric Benét, Tamia is a six-time Grammy Award nominee. She 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 advocates for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) for others affected by the disease.

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"You Put a Move on My Heart," a Mica Paris cover, was one 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 motion picture Set It Off. A top thirty success on the US Billboard Hot 100, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

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In 1997, Tamia debuted her film 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," released as part of the film's soundtrack.

 

The same year, she appeared in television sitcoms such as Rock Me Baby and Kenan and Kel. She 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 whom would become frequent producers on subsequent projects.

 

Upon its April 1998 release, Tamia received a mixed to positive reception from 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 the singer two Juno Award nominations for Best New Solo Artist and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year.

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In 1999, Tamia collaborated with American singer Eric Benét on his single "Spend My Life with You".

 

The song reached the top of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and earned her a fourth Grammy Award nomination and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song. Frustrated by Qwest's label politics, Tamia transitioned to Elektra Records the same year and began working on her second album, A Nu Day.

 

Rapper-producer Missy Elliott and frequent co-producers Bink, Dallas Austin, and Shep Crawford worked with Tamia on the majority project, which she declared ″not as ballad-driven as" her debut album and felt it was "more aggressive in terms of the formats of the songs."

 

Released in October 2000, A Nu Day received a mixed response from critics, who complimented her more stylish sound but found the material inconsistent.

 

It debuted and peaked at number forty-six on the Billboard 200 and became her first top ten entry on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, peaking at number eight. A steady seller, it reached gold in the US and produced three of Tamia's commercially most successful singles, including her only US Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit single, "Stranger in My House."

 

In 2001, A Nu Day was nominated in the R&B/Soul Recording of the Year category at the Juno Awards.

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In 2003, Tamia appeared on the international top ten hits "Into You," a collaboration with rapper Fabolous from his second studio album Street Dreams (2003) based on her 1998 single "So Into You".

 

It reached the top five in Australia and the US and was followed by "Officially Missing You," the lead single from her third album. Initially titled Still, the project was indefinitely bumped from its original August 2003 schedule after Tamia's multiple sclerosis diagnosis and subsequent treatment. With the illness in remission, she resumed work later that year and arranged additional recording sessions to revamp parts of the album.

 

Finally released in April 2004, More was released to a generally mixed reception from music critics and debuted and peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard 200 and number four on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, with first-week sales of 71,000 copies, marking the highest-selling and highest-charting opening of Tamia's catalog yet. In support of More, Tamia was featured as a special guest on the Verizon Ladies First Tour, co-headlined by Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Missy Elliott, which became one of the biggest concert tours of the year.

 

In 2005, More became Tamia's third consecutive album to earn a Juno Award nomination in the R&B/Soul Recording of the Year category.

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In November 2009, Greatest Hits, a compilation album, was released in South Africa. The same year, Tamia announced that she was working with Crawford to form a TDK supergroup along with singers Kelly Price and Deborah Cox. However, their joint album, The Queen Project, failed to materialize due to timing issues and label politics.

 

In August 2012, Tamia's fifth studio, Beautiful Surprise, was released on Plus One and EMI Music.

 

The singer worked with many producers on the album, including Chuck Harmony, The Runners, and Carvin & Ivan. Beautiful Surprise earned a mixed reception from music critics and debuted at 23 on the Billboard 200 and at number six on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

 

The lead single "Beautiful Surprise," co-written by Claude Kelly and Salaam Remi, peaked at number 24 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

 

The single and its parent album received nominations in the Best R&B Song and Best R&B Album categories at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards while garnering Tamia a Soul Train Music Award nomination at the 2012 Soul Train Music Awards. In support of Beautiful Surprise, Tamia joined R. Kelly during his The Single Ladies Tour from October until December 2012. Source.