June's Diary is an American
girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...
formed by singer
Kelly Rowland
Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...
and director/choreographer
Frank Gatson Jr. on the American reality television
docu-series
Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries.
Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film.
* Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...
''
Chasing Destiny'' in 2016.
The group consists of members Kristal Lyndriette Smith, Ashly Williams, Brienna DeVlugt, Gabrielle "Gabby" Carreiro and Shyann Roberts. They signed a deal with
L.A. Reid
Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer who served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004, as well as chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Mus ...
's record label
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
, a division of
Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. The group have supported various artists on tours, such as R. Kelly, Xscape & Jussie Smollett. Teamed Up with
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the singl ...
on ABC's Greatest Hits show with Ken Erlich.
Following from the show ''Chasing Destiny'', they released a buzz single "
All of Us
''All of Us'' is an American sitcom that premiered on the UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. On October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by the merger of UP ...
" to iTunes on June 7, 2016.
On June 24, 2016, their debut single "L.A.N.C.E." was released to iTunes.
History
2016: ''Chasing Destiny''
''Chasing Destiny'' was the docu-series in 2016 formed with the help of former
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...
member Kelly Rowland and the famous choreographer/director Frank Gatson Jr. To find a new African American girl group based on talent and sisterhood. During an interview with
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
Kelly Rowland stated "I felt like there was a void for a girls group in the music industry and this is something that I have wanted to do since Destiny's Child's Destiny Fulfilled tour. There were so many girl groups back in the day and now there is only two," she continues, referring to British girl group
Little Mix
Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...
and American girl group
Fifth Harmony
Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, is an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and formerly Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group signed a ...
. "I want to show that women can get back to making money together."
Rowland held auditions for the girl group in three cities, narrowed down from 600 girls to 15 and later choosing the final five consisting(particularly order) Gabrielle "Gabby" Carreiro, Kristal Lyn Smith (originally from the girl group
RichGirl
RichGirl was an American R&B vocal girl group, consisting of four members: Audra Simmons, Christina "Brave" Williams, Lyndriette Smith (now known as Kristal, a member of June's Diary) and Amber Streeter (now known as Sevyn Streeter). The gro ...
), Ashly Williams, Brienna DeVlugt and Shyann Roberts. However, only DeVlugt, Carreiro and Roberts were selected as top 15. Williams was cut during the auditions but was later brought back by Gatson because he thought that talent was lacking among the top 15. Gatson also added Smith later as he had already worked with her in 2004 with
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
during her Grammy Performance. During the process of the show the girls gained media success in May 2016 after a cover of
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
's "
Hotline Bling
"Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake, which served as the lead single from his fourth studio album ''Views (album), Views'' (2016). The song is credited as a bonus track on the album. It was made availabl ...
" on ''Chasing Destiny'' went viral.
2016–2017: ''Male Edition'' and subsequent releases
On June 7, 2016, as the final episode of
Chasing Destiny, the group released their first buzz single on iTunes ''"
All of Us
''All of Us'' is an American sitcom that premiered on the UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. On October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by the merger of UP ...
"'' later confirming that despite conflicting reports, they are currently still in search of a name for the group. The quintet is signed to
L.A. Reid
Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer who served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004, as well as chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Mus ...
's record label
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
, a division of
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
.
On June 23, 2016 they announced their official group name as June's Diary. Smith explained the story behind the name: "Even though we were put together in February, June is the month that we spiritually connected as a group. A lot of great things happened for us in the month of June. We were just having a talk last week, that something just clicked. Something just happened between us, and we were just like 'Wow.' And diary is just us telling our story and writing a different page every single day." On June 24, 2016, the group released their debut single "L.A.N.C.E" on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
before released the video during the red carpet event for the 2016
BET Awards
The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...
. The group embarked on their first promotional tour in fall 2016, later joining
R. Kelly on both the Buffet Tour and 12 Nights of Christmas tour after he was impressed with their performance of the Black National Anthem in the same year. During a Facebook Live, the group confirmed that their first full length project would be a mixtape. On March 16, 2017, the group released a cover of "
Stay
Stay may refer to:
Places
* Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US
Law
* Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment
* Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tr ...
" by Jodeci, which would be one of the songs from their upcoming mixtape. On June 30, 2017, the group released their first mixtape titled ''
Male Edition
''Male Edition'' is the debut mixtape by American girl group June's Diary. It was released on June 29, 2017 through SoundCloud. The mixtape features six covers of songs originally recorded by male groups Shai (band), Shai, Jodeci, Bell Biv DeVoe, ...
'', which contains covers from male boy bands. The group released a song titled "I Know Why You Callin'" on YouTube and Soundcloud as an unofficial single. In late 2017, June's Diary opened up for
Xscape for their reunion tour across America.
2018–present: ''All of Us'' and debut studio album
Since the filming of ''Chasing Destiny'', the group recorded original material for their debut
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
. In early 2018, the group had 2 pop-up shows in New York and Atlanta to help choose songs for their debut EP. Their debut extended play titled "
All of Us
''All of Us'' is an American sitcom that premiered on the UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. On October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by the merger of UP ...
" was eventually released on June 29, 2018 through the independent record label Music of Sound. The extended play debuted on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Top Heatseekers
The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...
chart at number eighteen. They also briefly held the number one spot on iTunes Shortly after the release of their EP, the group began recording more material for their debut album which currently does not have a release date. In 2019, the group released the single "Take Your Time" which consisted of two tracks entitled "I Ain't With It" and "Stuntin".
In September 2020, the group announced another single entitled "Way Off" which is set to be released on the 25th of September.
Members
Ashly Williams
Ashly Breshé Williams was born on originally from
Compton, California
Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...
Williams auditioned for ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' in Los Angeles, CA, singing
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
's signature hit, a cover of
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
's
I Will Always Love You
"I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career ...
. She performed
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
's song
I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith as the theme song for the 1998 science fiction disaster film ''Armageddon'', in which lead singer Steven Tyler's daughter Liv starred. It is one of four songs perform ...
during the 4 chair challenge gaining a seat to compete in
Demi Lovato
Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...
's final 4 in her Girls Category later being replaced by another contestant with Williams exit the competition.
The R&B singer starred on the BET doc-series Chasing Destiny and became a member chosen as part of Kelly Rowland's girl group June's Diary.
Kristal Lyndriette Smith
Kristal Lyndriette Smith was born on originally from
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
.
Smith was previously a member of the R&B four-person group
RichGirl
RichGirl was an American R&B vocal girl group, consisting of four members: Audra Simmons, Christina "Brave" Williams, Lyndriette Smith (now known as Kristal, a member of June's Diary) and Amber Streeter (now known as Sevyn Streeter). The gro ...
from 2007 to 2011. After parting ways from the group, she dropped an EP entitled Proclamation stating, this EP was just something for the fans to enjoy until she started her solo career. Smith joined
Usher on his
UR experience tour as one of his backup singers. She was brought onto the show "Chasing Destiny" in Episode 3 - Houston We Have A Problem. It was later revealed in Episode 7 - Black Girl Magic, that she would be a part of the girl group June's Diary.
Brienna DeVlugt
Brienna DeVlugt, was born on originally from
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...
.
A daughter of Lincoln 'Link' DeVlugt, former member of
Reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
boy group POV, she studied economics before dropping out with only three credits left to pursue her music career and try out for Chasing Destiny. However, she did go back and receive her degree in 2017. DeVlugt has cited Destiny's Child,
Danity Kane
Danity Kane is an American music group whose most recent line-up consisted of Aubrey O'Day, Dawn Richard, and Shannon Bex. The group originally had five members, but D. Woods, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett left the group in 2008, and Aundrea Fimbre ...
and Dream as her biggest musical influences. R&B singer starred on the BET doc-series Chasing Destiny and became a member chosen as part of Kelly Rowland's girl group June's Diary.
Gabrielle Carreiro
Gabrielle "Gabby" Carreiro was born on originally from
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles.
As of 2024, Glendale ha ...
.
Carreiro was signed up for choir in seventh grade by her father and grew to love music from there. In 2015, she released a YouTube Acapella song entitled "Bitter," which (since the inception of June's Diary) showcases her sultry jazz-inspired alto due to her different musical background. She has cited (influenced by) artists such as
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.[Talking Heads](_blank) , The Badesses,
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
, and
Michael Buble
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* he He ..., a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name
* Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
as some of her favorites. Carreiro starred on the BET doc-series Chasing Destiny and became one of the five finalists chosen to become part of Kelly Rowland's girl group June's Diary.
Shyann Roberts
Shyann Destiny Roberts was born on originally from
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...
.
She started singing at the age of 2 and has been performing since she was 4. Roberts has opened for known artists such as
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
and sang the National Anthem for a 76ers game once. R&B singer starred on the BET doc-series Chasing Destiny and became the youngest member chosen as part of Kelly Rowland's girl group June's Diary.
Discography
Mixtapes
*''
Male Edition
''Male Edition'' is the debut mixtape by American girl group June's Diary. It was released on June 29, 2017 through SoundCloud. The mixtape features six covers of songs originally recorded by male groups Shai (band), Shai, Jodeci, Bell Biv DeVoe, ...
'' (2017)
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Promotional singles
Other appearances
Filmography
Television
Tours
Headlining
* 2016: June's Diary Tour
* 2017:
Essence Music Festival
The ESSENCE Festival of Culture is the largest African-American culture and music event in the US.
The annual music festival started in 1995 in New Orleans, Louisiana to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ''Essence (magazine), Essence'' magazine. ...
* 2018: June's Diary SOB & Vinyl Tour
* 2019: Essence Music Festival - Teddy Riley
Opening act
* 2016:
The Buffet Tour ( R. Kelly)
* 2016: 12 Nights of Christmas Tour
(R. Kelly)
* 2017: The Afterparty Tour
(R. Kelly)
* 2017–2018: The Great Xscape Tour
( Xscape)
* 2018: Sum of My Music Tour
(Jussie Smollett
Jussie Smollett (, born June 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1991 debuting in '' The Mighty Ducks'' (1992). From 2015 to 2019, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox drama series '' ...
)
Awards and nominations
Eddy Awards
, -
, 2018
, June's Diary
, R&B/Soul Artist of the Year
,
Notes
References
{{authority control
African-American girl groups
American R&B girl groups
BET Networks
Epic Records artists
Sony Music
Kelly Rowland
Vocal quintets
American vocal groups