Christelle (born Christelle Avomo in 1992) is a R&B/pop singer from
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
. Her debut offering ''R&B/Pop EP'' was released on February 20, 2009 and it entered the Billboard Top 40 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on May 9, 2009. She immigrated to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
in 2006 without speaking
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and started her music career in 2008, only 18 months prior to becoming a Top 40 success. She defines her sound as "
Rihanna meets
Janet Jackson".
Early life
Christelle was born in
Libreville in
French speaking Gabon where she grew up listening to African, French and American music. Her inspirations were
Beyoncé,
Ashanti,
Brandy and
50 Cent, even though she did not understand the English lyrics.
She immigrated to America in 2006, settling in Las Vegas with the initial goal of becoming a dental hygienist. She enrolled in an intensive English school and graduated in December 2007. In 2008, she started studies at the International Academy of Design and Technology along with vocal training with Jeffrey Skousan.
Recording career
In 2008, she started working with producers and songwriters Don McGann and Neil Ebanks. They completed recordings of "Money Machine", "I'm A Tease" and "My Last Love" and submitted them to the A&R panel at
HitQuarters, where she became Artist of the Week.
In 2009, she recorded "Can You Handle Me" featuring Agacee and released the ''R&B/Pop EP'' and "What You Gon' Do Wit It" featuring Dizzy D which was released as a maxi single and reached Billboard Top 10 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales in May.
Discography
Albums
Track listing
''R&B/Pop EP''
# "Can You Handle Me" featuring Agacee — 3:06
# "You're Busted" featuring mcdc — 3:17
# "I'm a Tease" — 3:10
# "Feelin' You (La La La)" — 4:34
# "I Can't Be Me" — 4:08
# "Excess Vibration" — 3:29
Singles
References
External links
Interview with Christelle & Don McGann, HitQuarters May 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avomo, Christelle
Living people
1992 births
People from Libreville
Rhythm and blues singers
Gabonese emigrants to the United States