Sheléa Frazier also known as Sheléa (), stylized as SHELÉA or sheléa, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Her 2014 track "I'll Never Let You Go" peaked at 23 on ''Billboard'''s Adult R&B chart. She is mentored by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, and is a protégée of

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 ...

. Sheléa portrays gospel singer

Dorinda Clark Cole Dorinda Grace Clark-Cole (born Dorinda Grace Clark; October 19, 1957) is an American Grammy Award-winning gospel singer, songwriter, musician, talk show host, and evangelist. Clark–Cole is best known as a member of family vocal group The Clark ...

in the 2020

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

biopic, ''

The Clark Sisters The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm (born 1948), Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford (born 1953), Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born 1954), Dorinda Clark-Cole (born 1957), and Karen Clark ...

: First Ladies of Gospel''.

Life and career

Sheléa Frazier was born in Redwood City, California and raised in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

. She has been singing and playing piano since she was a child. She has cited

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 ...

's album '' Unforgettable...with Love'' as the impetus for her desire to become a singer. Sheléa co-wrote and performed the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

to the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...

television sitcom ''

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 ...

'' from 2003 to 2006. Sheléa began her professional career working with producers

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

. In 2008, she sang lead on the track " Someone to Watch Over Me", at the request of

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music, gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood University, Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received seve ...

; the song was nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

. Afterward,

contacted the singer for collaborations. Sheléa first gained wider prominence in 2012 after she posted a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

video singing a medley of

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 ...

covers after the singer's death, which went viral. Later that year, she was invited to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

to sing for the Obamas at the

Gershwin Prize The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is an award given to a composer or performer for their lifetime contributions to popular music. Created in 2007 by the United States Library of Congress, the prize is named after brothers Ge ...

presentation. The next year, Sheléa performed a Whitney Houston tribute at the

Grammy Museum The Grammy Museum is any of a group of museums containing exhibits relating to winners of the Grammy Award for achievement in recording. The museums in this group include: *The Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, which opened in 2008 in Los Angeles, Califo ...

. Shelea's debut album, ''Love Fell On Me'', was released in 2013. The track "I'll Never Let You Go" song peaked at 23 on Billboard's Adult R&B chart. She also wrote and performed the 2011 track "Love Fell On Me" for the film ''

Jumping the Broom ''Jumping the Broom'' is a 2011 American Romance film, romantic comedy-drama film directed by Salim Akil and produced by Tracey Edmonds, Tracey E. Edmonds, Elizabeth Hunter, T.D. Jakes, Glendon Palmer, and Curtis Wallace. The title of the film ...

''. In 2019, she released an album ''Pretty World. A Tribute to Allen & Marilyn Bergman'', which included Stevie Wonder and

Kirk Whalum Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...

. Later that year,

produced a concert special on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

featuring the singer, called ''Quincy Jones Presents: Sheléa.'' Shelea's performance featured

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

. She starred in the 2020

Clark Sisters The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm (born 1948), Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford (born 1953), Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born 1954), Dorinda Clark-Cole (born 1957), and Karen Clark ...

biopic '' The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel'' as

Dorinda Clark-Cole Dorinda Grace Clark-Cole (born Dorinda Grace Clark; October 19, 1957) is an American Grammy Award-winning gospel singer, songwriter, musician, talk show host, and evangelist. Clark–Cole is best known as a member of family vocal group The Clark ...

Mentorship and influences

Sheléa is mentored by Stevie Wonder and is a protégée of Quincy Jones. She was a backup singer for Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life Tour in 2014 and 2015. In 2018, she held a two-month residency at Jones' Q's Bar & Lounge in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. She has stated that Whitney Houston is one of her biggest inspirations.

Discography

Albums

*2013: ''Love Fell on Me'' *2015: ''You'' *2019: ''Pretty World. A Tribute to Allen & Marilyn Bergman'' *2022: ''Love Fell On Me (Remastered)''

Extended plays

*2019: ''Don't Wanna Wait 'Til Christmas''

Soundtracks

*2020: '' The First Ladies of Gospel: The Clark Sisters Biopic Soundtrack''

Singles

*2012: ''Seeing You'' *2012: ''Don't Want To Wait 'Til Christmas'' *2013: ''Love the Way You Love Me'' *2013: ''I'm Sure It's You (The Wedding Song)'' *2013: ''

America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is a patriotic American song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two never m ...

'' *2014: ''I'll Never Let You Go'' *2015: ''

What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" is a song with lyrics written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman and original music written by Michel Legrand for the 1969 film ''The Happy Ending''. The song was nominated for a ...

'' *2018: ''Moonlight'' (featuring

) *2018: ''Pretty World'' (featuring

) *2019: ''City of Angels'' *2019: ''Don't Wanna Wait 'Til Christmas'' *2020: ''You Are Enough'' *2020: ''We the People'' *2020: ''Mary Did You Know'' *2020: ''Silent Night'' *2021: ''Grace'' *2022: ''Final Say''

Album appearances

References

External links

Official website

AllMusic biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheléa 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American women pianists African-American jazz musicians African-American pianists American gospel singers American jazz singers American keyboardists American performers of Christian music American rhythm and blues musicians American women singers Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 1980 births