Timotha Lanae (pronounced ) is an international and multi-octave singer-songwriter, playwright and actress. Her debut album ''Red'' reached #1 on the UK Soul Charts. Her follow-up EP ''Rewind'' reached #1 on the Sweet Rhythms Chart and peaked at #2 on the UK Soul Chart. Elements of soul, R&B, funk, jazz, and hip hop can be found in Lanae's music. She cites

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

, Maxwell,

Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

Gap Band The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it was named after streets (Greenwood, Archer, a ...

, and

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

as some of her main influences.

Early life and education

Named after her father Timothy, Lanae was born and raised in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and currently resides in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Growing up she could often be found on either the piano or recruiting the local neighborhood kids to participate in her self-produced and directed backyard concerts. Lanae attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, where she majored in elementary education with an emphasis in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. Lanae received a scholarship to pursue her master's degree in education at the

; however, because of her passion for creating and experimenting with music she decided to leave her graduate program and pursue her career in music and the arts.

Music career

During her college years, Lanae was regularly performing at some of Minneapolis’ top jazz venues, where she met her mentor Severin Behnen, a jazz pianist and instructor at

MacPhail Center for Music The MacPhail Center for Music is one of the nation's oldest and largest community-based music education centers. Located in the Mills District, Minneapolis, Mills District of Downtown East, Minneapolis, Downtown East, Minneapolis, Minnesota, the sc ...

. Shortly after leaving her graduate program, Lanae began working closely with international producer Ben Obi at Savannah Street Music. Lanae's debut album ''Red'' reached #1 on the UK Soul Charts. Her single "People Pleaser" peaked at number #6 on the UK Soul Charts. Her second project, ''Rewind'', reached #1 on the UK Sweet Rhythms Chart, and was "strongly recommended" by SoulTracks. August 2015 marked her third #1 on the UK Charts for the contribution of her single "8 Days 'Til Spring", to the So Soulful Collection Vol. 2. The So Soulful Collection Vol. 2 was also named “The Best Soul Compilation of the Year” by SoulTracks.

Theater/acting career

After being cast as “Anita” in ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' in high school, Lanae has gone on to perform across the globe from the US to Japan. She has toured and performed in productions such as: ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...

'', '' Hello, Dolly!'' (as Dolly), ''

'', '' H.M.S Pinafore'', ''The Producers'', '' Singin’ in the Rain'', ''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

'', ''Footloose'', ''All Shook Up'', ''Swing!'', Irving Berlin’s '' Easter Parade'', ''Beehive'', ''Xanadu'', ''For the Sake of the Children'' and ''Johnny Baseball''. She was named Outstanding Actress in a Musical by the Minneapolis ''

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'' for her role in ''Respect: a Musical Journey of Women''.''Star Tribune'', These were a few of our favorite things, September 29, 2015
/ref> Lanae has also been featured on-camera in TV and film as an actress, singer, spokesperson, and voice over talent. Her work has appeared in film festivals including the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. Her credits include: ABC Family:

The Nine Lives of Chloe King ''The Nine Lives of Chloe King'' is an American supernatural drama television series which premiered on ABC Family on June 14, 2011, and ended on August 16, 2011. The one-hour drama is based on the book series of the same name by Liz Braswell. T ...

(music featured: Indigo), Rosie, Soul Survivors, Elmer’s Glue,

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

K-Mart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inco ...

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

, The

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

Presents: Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S Pinafore on PBS, U Care, Keranique and Once Upon a Child.

Awards/recognition

* "Red": #1 Album-UK Soul Charts * "Rewind": #1 Album-Sweet Rhythm Charts and #2 Album-UK Soul Charts * "Jazzy Lady": #1 Fair Trade 4 Music Chart * "Voting Member for the Grammy Awards" * "Soultracks" New Artist of the Year Nomination * "UK Pride Magazine" named “One to Watch” * "Rosie"-

* "Song-Indigo" featured in

* "Outstanding Actress in a Musical"-

* "2007

" (Hollywood Finalist)

Albums

* ''Rewind'' * ''Red'' * ''Timotha Lanae''-EP

Singles

* "Open Road-ft. Ryan Liestman" * "God, Love, Music-Remix" * "8 Days Til Spring" * "Who’s that Girl" * "People Pleaser" * "Radio" featuring Stokley Williams of

Mint Condition Mint condition is an expression used to denote the quality of a pre-owned good as displaying virtually no imperfections and being in pristine condition relative to its original production state. Originally, the phrase related to the way collect ...

* "Indigo"-DJ Unwind featuring Timotha Lanae * "Night Foil"-DJ Unwind featuring Timotha Lanae

EDM mixes

* "8 Days Til Spring-Dre Hall Trap Mix" * "Who's That Girl-Dre Hall Trap Mix"

Videos

* "Open Road ft. Ryan Liestman" * "God, Love, Music-Remix" * "My Man-Jigsaw Remix" * "People Pleaser" * "Getting To Know You" * "Talkin To Myself" * "Night Foil"-DJ Unwind featuring Timotha Lanae

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanae, Timotha Actresses from Minneapolis African-American women singer-songwriters American dance musicians American film actresses American funk singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Living people Musicians from Minneapolis University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development alumni Writers from Minneapolis Year of birth missing (living people) Singer-songwriters from Minnesota 21st-century African-American women singers