Sunshine Jocelyn Sian Anderson (born June 7, 1974) is an American R&B and

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 ...

singer and songwriter.

Early life

Beginnings

Anderson was born in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

, and later moved to

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. Wallace Sellars, a friend of a producer/Soulife A&R Vice President,

Mike City Mike City (born Michael Flowers) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for producing the singles "I Wish" for Carl Thomas, " Heard It All Before" for Sunshine Anderson, "Full Moon" for Brandy and "One Woman M ...

, heard Anderson singing on her way to the cafeteria of

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from b ...

(where she earned a BS in criminal justice) and introduced the two. From there, Anderson was managed by

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...

during the recording of her first album.

1999–2002: ''Your Woman''

In 1999, Anderson signed with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. Anderson released her debut album, ''

Your Woman "Your Woman" is a song by British one-man band White Town. It was released in January 1997 as the lead single from the album ''Women in Technology (album), Women in Technology''. It features a muted trumpet Hook (music), line taken from a 1932 ...

'' in April 2001. The album debuted at No. 8 on ''

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 ...

s Hot 200 and No. 2 on Top R&B charts. The lead single, "Heard It All Before," (released May 21, 2001) peaked at No. 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and at No. 3 on the R&B charts. The follow-up single "Lunch or Dinner," peaked at No. 54 on R&B charts. The album was certified gold later that year.

2004–2007: ''Sunshine at Midnight''

In August 2004, Anderson signed to

Mathew Knowles Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1952)Knowles in is an American record executive, businessman and university lecturer. He is best known for being the manager of Destiny's Child. He also once managed the solo careers of his daughters Beyoncé an ...

' new record label

Music World Entertainment Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1952)Knowles in is an American record executive, businessman and university lecturer. He is best known for being the manager of Destiny's Child. He also once managed the solo careers of his daughters Beyoncé an ...

. In 2006, her first single for her new label, " Something I Wanna Give You" was released and peaked at No. 80 on Billboard R&B charts. A video of the song was shot in Los Angeles by director Gil Green. On January 23, 2007, Anderson released her second album, '' Sunshine at Midnight''. The album debuted and peaked at No. 86 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

and No. 16 on the R&B charts. In addition to the release of the album, Anderson toured with singer

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

. Later that year, the follow-up singles "Force of Nature" (#75 R&B) and "Wear The Crown" were released.

2010–present: ''The Sun Shines Again''

In September 2010, Anderson announced on her Twitter that her new single "Lie to Kick It" was released to radio. Her third studio album, ''The Sun Shines Again'' was released November 2, 2010, on Verve Forecast Records.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Sunshine African-American women singer-songwriters American contemporary R&B singers Living people American neo soul singers Musicians from Winston-Salem, North Carolina 1974 births Singer-songwriters from North Carolina 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers Atlantic Records artists Verve Forecast Records artists 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women