Michelle Oluwatomi Akanbi (born September 17, 1997), better known as Töme, is a Nigerian-French Canadian singer, songwriter and actor born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In 2020, Tome won the 2021 edition of the Juno awards for her single ‘I Pray’ ft

Sean Kingston Kisean Paul Anderson (born February 3, 1990), better known by his stage name Sean Kingston, is an American-Jamaican singer and rapper. He is known for his hit songs " Beautiful Girls", "Fire Burning", " Take You There", and his collaboration wit ...

and have shared stage with African superstars like Burna boy,

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential Afri ...

Mr Eazi Oluwatosin Ajibade (born 19 July 1991), better known by his stage name Mr Eazi, is a Nigerian-born, Ghana-based singer. He is a pioneer of Banku music, a fusion of sound he describes as a mixture of Ghanaian highlife and Nigerian chord progressio ...

and also collaborated with pop stars like King Promise, Runtown,

Zlatan Zlatan ( sr-Cyrl, Златан) is a male given name of Slavic origin meaning ''Golden''. The name is common amongst all South Slavic countries, namely in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia. The name is found i ...

Wavy the Creator Jennifer Ejoke, professionally known as Wavy the Creator (stylized as Wavy The Creator), is a recording artist, photographer, fashion designer and film-maker, born in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria and raised in the United States. She is best known for ...

and Sean Kingston.

Early life

Töme was born on September 17, 1997, in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to a Nigerian father from

Osun state Osun State (; yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Ọ̀ṣun), occasionally known as the State of Osun by the state government, is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states, to the north by Kwara State, to the south by Ogun S ...

and Canadian mother. She began singing at the age of 8 and picked up the guitar at age 10 in

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

, Ontario where she grew up. She grew up listening to artists like Erykah Badu, Lauren Hill,

, and

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

who become her music influence.

Career

Before starting music, Töme worked with a software company named ’Tran Score’ as a customer service representative and had to quit the job to pursue her passion for music. In 2015, she released her debut EP ’One with Self’ on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

. This was followed by her sophomore EP titled ''Tömesroom: Chapter 1'' and in 2020, she released her debut album titled ''BT4W (Bigger Than Four Walls)'' featuring artists like Wavy The Creator, King promise, Runtown and Zlatan. She also released a new single ‘I Pray’ in 2020 tome featuring Sean Kingston. Her third EP ''Dreams'' was released on June 25, 2021; with her sophomore album ''Löv'' being released on February 28, 2022. She is also an actress and has featured in movies like ''Fear Thy Roommate'', ''Clash'' and ''Love in Transition''.

Discography

Albums

* ''Bigger Than Four Walls'' (2020) * ''Löv'' (2022)

Extended plays

* ''One with Self'' (2015) * ''Tömesroom: Chapter 1'' (2019) * ''Dreams'' (2020)

Singles

* “Up and away” (2015) * "Existing" (2015) * "Numbers" (2015) * "L'amour" (2019) * "The Money" (2020) * "Better Than That" (2020) * "Livin" (2020) * "i Pray" (2020) * "Nana" (2021)

Awards and nominations

References

{{Authority control 21st-century Black Canadian women singers Living people 1997 births Canadian reggae musicians Juno Award for Reggae Recording of the Year winners Canadian people of Nigerian descent