Tyler Collins (born October 29, 1965) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

R&B singer and actress.

Biography

Collins was born in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

and raised in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Collins began taking lessons in dance and theatre, and performing with the children's theatre group Willow Opera Workshop in

Los Angeles 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' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Her professional music career began singing lead for an R&B group called The Boys Next Door. The group signed with

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jackson ...

's label, Work Records, which later folded. Tyler eventually signed with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

and released her debut album '' Girls Nite Out''. She co-wrote the lead single "Whatcha Gonna Do" which peaked at #8 on the Billboard R&B chart. The music video for "Whatcha Gonna Do" was directed by Michael Bay and edited by Scott C. Wilson. The 1990 follow-up single " Girls Nite Out" also topped out at #8 on the Billboard's R&B charts, as well as #6 on its Pop charts. Collins appeared on singer

Tevin Campbell Tevin Jermod Campbell (born November 12, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter. He performed gospel in his local church from an early age. Following an audition for jazz musician Bobbi Humphrey in 1988, Campbell was signed to Warner Bros. Re ...

's debut ''

T.E.V.I.N. ''T.E.V.I.N.'' is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Tevin Campbell. It was released by Qwest Records on November 19, 1991. The album was certified platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1994. Critical rece ...

'' on the song "Lil' Brother". She also appeared in the music video for the single "Goodbye". Collins' songwriting came to the forefront for her second album ''Tyler'', which was a decidedly more pop-oriented effort than ''Girls Nite Out''. The set featured the singles "It Doesn't Matter" (co-written by

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand N ...

) and "Just Make Me The One." Tyler has also written songs for

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

Shanice Shanice Lorraine Wilson-Knox (née Wilson; born May 14, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and dancer. Shanice had the ''Billboard'' hit singles "I Love Your Smile" and "Silent Prayer" in 1991 and "Saving Forever for You" in 1993. ...

, and

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. Biography Earl ...

. She also took part in the group recording ''

Freedom (Theme From Panther) "Freedom" is a 1995 song released on Mercury Records featuring a chorus of over 60 African-American female artists and groups of note in hip-hop, pop and R&B music including En Vogue, Aaliyah, Vanessa L. Williams, Mary J. Blige, MC Lyte, SWV, T ...

'' in 1995 featuring scores of young female R&B artists including

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single "Hol ...

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

, and others. Also in 1995, Tyler Collins recorded ''Never Alone (Eeyore's Lullaby)'' for the

Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

tribute album. ''Take My Hand: Songs from the Hundred Acre Wood''; it reached #48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks. Her work with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

lead to a solo recording contract at

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. Though a full-length release never materialized, the deal did yield Collins' recording of the Top 20 Adult Contemporary song Thanks to You, produced by Clif Magness, the theme song to the Paramount Pictures' film '' Andre''. A music video for the song is included at the end of the movie. Apart from her singing career, Collins has also appeared in several television shows and motion pictures. She played the role of Tina in the 1991 film A Rage in Harlem, starring

Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...

and

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Forest Whitaker, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award ...

. She also starred in another film entitled ''Why Colors?'' and played her highest-profile role as Cinderella on a first-season episode of ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...

''. Collins was previously married to Bobby Smith Jr., screenwriter for the urban drama ''

Jason's Lyric ''Jason's Lyric'' is a 1994 American erotic romantic psychological drama film, written by Bobby Smith Jr., directed by Doug McHenry, who co-produced the film with George Jackson and Marilla Lane Ross, and starring Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett, B ...

''. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her daughter.

Discography

Albums

*'' Girls Nite Out'' (RCA, 1989) - Billboard R&B #22, Pop #85 *''Tyler'' (RCA, 1992)

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Tyler Living people People from Harlem American expatriate musicians in Canada American women in business American television actresses American film actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses African-American actresses Singers from Detroit 20th-century African-American women singers 1965 births 21st-century African-American women singers