June's Diary is an American

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

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 girl ...

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. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Ep ...

's record label

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

, 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 EnVogue 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 television series 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 ...

" 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 line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

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 a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

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 one," she continues, referring to Fifth Harmony. "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, Kristal Lyndriette Smith (then known as Lyndriette and now known as Kristal, a member of June's Diary) and Amber Streeter (no ...

), 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, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

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 * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

's "

Hotline Bling "Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake, which serves as the lead single from his fourth studio album ''Views'' (2016). The song is credited as a bonus track on the album. It was made available for digital download on July 31 ...

" 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 ''"

"'' later confirming that despite conflicting reports, they are currently still in search of a name for the group. The quintet is signed to

's record label

, a division of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. 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 software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

before released the video during the red carpet event for the 2016

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

. The group embarked on their first promotional tour in fall 2016, later joining

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwid ...

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 tri ...

" 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'', 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 record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

. 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 "

" 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 advertise ...

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "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 by new an ...

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 in 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 city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

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'' (2001–2003 ...

'' in Los Angeles, CA, singing

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

's signature hit, a cover of

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

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 Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

's song

I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith as the official theme song for the 1998 sci-fi disaster film ''Armageddon'', in which lead singer Steven Tyler's daughter Liv starred. It is one of four ...

during the 4 chair challenge gaining a seat to compete in

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

'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 most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. Smith was previously a member of the R&B four-person group

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 Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...

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 capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

boy group POV, Lincoln 'Link' DeVlugt. 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 was an American girl group whose original and most well-known lineup comprised Aubrey O'Day, Aundrea Fimbres, Dawn Richard, Shannon Bex, and Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett. Its most recent iteration included O'Day and Richard as a duo ...

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 in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

. 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

The Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

, The Badesses,

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

, and

Michael Buble Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

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 fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

. 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 (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

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'' (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, known as "the party with a purpose", is an annual music festival which started in 1995 as a one-time event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ''Essence'', a magazine aimed primarily towards African-American women. It becam ...

* 2018: June's Diary SOB & Vinyl Tour * 2019: Essence Music Festival - Teddy Riley

Opening act

* 2016: The Buffet Tour (

) * 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 (film), The Mighty Ducks'' (1992). In 2015, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox Bro ...

)

Awards and nominations

Eddy Awards

, - , 2018 , June's Diary , R&B/Soul Artist of the Year ,

References

{{authority control African-American girl groups BET Networks Epic Records artists Sony Music Kelly Rowland Vocal quintets American vocal groups