Renée Sebastian (born Darlene Renée Sebastian Domingo on August 7, 1973) is a

Filipino-American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New S ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

-infused pop and R&B singer, songwriter, and owner of a

bespoke The word ''bespoke'' () has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective ''bespoke'' described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned t ...

fashion, beauty and tea company da.u.de.

Early life

Sebastian was born in

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

parents and was raised in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. She is the second child and has one brother and one sister. Encouraged by her teachers to embrace Performing Arts while attending Colegio San Agustin - Makati she became a member of the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines ( fil, Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, or CCP) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines.Presidential Decree No. ...

Girl's Choir. She also trained as a jazz and modern contemporary dancer under the Philippine professional dance group Hotlegs. Years later she would move to the Bay Area and train under top vocal coach,

Seth Riggs Seth Riggs (born September 19, 1930) is an American singer, actor, and vocal coach. He has created the vocal technique "Speech Level Singing","Singing seminar scheduled Aug. 28", ''The Herald-Palladium'' (August 20, 1999), p. 6. and has worked wit ...

who had orchestrated vocal arrangements for musical legends

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

and

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. Sebastian studied at the illustrious Jazz School at

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. Renee holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics from Saint Peter's College in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Manila Army and Navy Club The Manila Army and Navy Club founded in 1898 was the first American social club to be established in the Philippines for the exclusive use of the U.S. military personnel and civilians, and later Filipinos. Since the time it was established, it ...

for youth sports. She swam for Colegio San Agustin - Makati high school athletics and for Saint Peter's College varsity sports.

Music career

She emerged as a prolific, consistently engaging vocalist on the Bay Area R&B and Soul music scene in 2004 with her self-titled (but unreleased) debut album ''Reneessance''. Since the successful release of her hit single Deliciously Dangerous, which won a ''

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 ...

'' songwriting award, garnered radio adds nationwide and received positive reviews from national trade publications, including an "R&B Pick of the Week" from Billboard magazine. She's a self-described "progressive artist" and creator of a popular New York City soul showcase series Blowout Lounge.

Mrs. Sebastian (2008)

Her second album, ''Mrs. Sebastian'', was released in 2008. The vocally challenging "This Is Me" is an R&B, Hip-Hop blend with a soulful but urban edge that boasts a unique chorus, while the ballad "Every Lesson," is a mid-tempo track that explores life lessons. The emotive first single "These Are The Signs" is another playful mid-tempo jam about the distinction between "love" and "making love." Surrounding herself with a team of multi-talented instrumentalists and producers including Keyon Harrold (

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

), Hanan Rubinstein (

Leela James Aleicha Janeice Campbell (born May 22, 1973) known professionally as Leela James, is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Music career James made her debut on the soundtrack to the 2000 Jamie Foxx film '' Bait'' on The Roots song "Work" ...

Raymond Angry Raymond Angry (sometimes referred to as Ray Angry) is an American keyboardist, record producer, and composer. Biography Since the 1990s, Angry has contributed songs and played on many hit records. He wrote Christina Aguilera's "Slow Down Baby", ...

(Christina Aguilera, Lauryn Hill, Joss Stone, Meshell N'degeocello) and Grammy Award winning Ralph Kearns, they all believed in Renee as a singer and wanted to contribute to the project. In December 2008, ''Mrs. Sebastian'' was designated Mercedes Benz Album of the Month.

Collaborations

She has shared the stage with notable artists Eric Roberson, Heavy, Jesse Boykins III, Russell Taylor,

Nate James Nathaniel James Speas, known as Nate James, (born 15 September 1979 in Lakenheath, Suffolk, England) is an English singer-songwriter. James released his debut soul album '' Set the Tone'' in 2005 which won him two MOBO Nominations for Best Newc ...

, Maya Azucena, Ra-Re Valverde, Peter Hadar, PJ Morton, to name a few.

Discography

* 2008: '' Mrs. Sebastian'' EP * 2004: '' Deliciously Dangerous'' Single

External links

Renee Sebastian Official site

Renee Sebastian
On MySpace
Renee Sebastian
On Blip.tv * Renee Sebastia
Skirt Set
on

mTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Renee Sebastian
On Blowout Lounge *

Renee Sebastian Renée Sebastian (born Darlene Renée Sebastian Domingo on August 7, 1973) is a Filipino-American soul-infused pop and R&B singer, songwriter, and owner of a bespoke fashion, beauty and tea company da.u.de. Early life Sebastian was born in Mont ...

on Allmusic

References

THESE MOMS ROCK - MAMAPALOOZA FEST PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON MUSICAL MOTHERS
On San Jose Mercury News

PR News Now.
Bads Girls
On Hyphen Magazine * Artist Spotlight. New Music Weekly. Retrieved on 2004-04-02. * BILLBOARD SINGLES REVIEWS. Billboard. Retrieved on 2004-06-05. * BILLBOARD SINGLES REVIEWS. Los Angeles Independent. Kevin Herrera. Retrieved on 2004-05-19.

on SingerUniverse Magazine. * No. 19 NMW AC40 Chart. New Music Weekly. Retrieved on 2004-05-14. * No. 38 NMW Top40/CHR Chart. New Music Weekly. Retrieved on 2004-04-09. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sebastian, Renee Living people 1973 births Saint Peter's University alumni