Diana Gordon, previously known by her stage name Wynter Gordon, is an American singer and songwriter. She began her career writing music for other artists, later signing 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 ...

where she started to work on her own album. Her debut album ''

With the Music I Die ''With the Music I Die'' is the debut album and second extended play by American singer-songwriter Wynter Gordon, who subsequently adopted the stage name Diana Gordon. The full album was released through Big Beat Records exclusively in Australia ...

'' was released in 2011, with its lead single "

Dirty Talk Erotic talk, also known as dirty talk, gross talk, love talk, naughty talk, sexting, sexy talk, talking dirty, or talking gross is the practice of using explicit word imagery to heighten sexual excitement before and during (or instead of) physica ...

" receiving triple platinum and gold certifications in Australia and the United Kingdom. She began going by her birth name in 2016, and released the extended plays ''Pure'' (2018) and ''Wasted Youth'' (2020) Gordon has performed backing vocals in the studio and continues to collaborate on writing, with " Sorry" by

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

, "

Electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

" by Silk City and

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...

, and "

Bad Habit A bad habit is a negative behaviour pattern. Common examples include: procrastination, overspending and nail-biting. Development Research on habit formation generally suggests an individual can acquire a new habit on average over 66 days. Thi ...

" by Steve Lacy among her best-known co-credits.

Early life

Gordon was born in

Queens, New York City Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, and was brought up in

South Jamaica South Jamaica (also commonly known as "The Southside") is a residential neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, located south of downtown Jamaica. Although a proper border has not been established, the neighborhood is a subsection ...

, where she was the middle child of six siblings. Gordon began singing at a young age. She and her siblings would perform together in church. It was during high school that Gordon decided that she was going to pursue a music career. She was later accepted to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and interned at a record company. Gordon wrote her first complete song, "Daddy's Song", at the age of 15. She has described song writing as an "escape from poverty"

Career

2004–2010: Career beginnings

Gordon worked closely with the producer

D'Mile Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II (born January 24, 1985) is an American record producer and songwriter from Brooklyn, New York City. He was sometimes referred to as D. Emile, Dernst Emile II, or Dee'Mile and is most commonly known and accredited as D'Mil ...

since 2004; her first track to fame, "Gonna Breakthrough", written by Gordon and produced by D'Mile, was used as the title track to

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

's 2005 album ''

The Breakthrough ''The Breakthrough'' is the seventh studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released on December 20, 2005, by Geffen Records. Blige recorded the album with a host of songwriters and record producers, including 9th Wonder, Rodney Jerkins, ...

''. Soon after, Wynter was given an opportunity to sign with

, through Don Pooh Music Group, where she began work on her debut album in 2004. In 2008, Gordon wrote two tracks for

Danity Kane Danity Kane was an American girl group whose original and most well-known lineup comprised Aubrey O'Day, Aundrea Fimbres, Dawn Richard, Shannon Bex, and Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett. Its most recent iteration included O'Day and Richard as a duo ...

's second album ''

Welcome to the Dollhouse ''Welcome to the Dollhouse'' is a 1995 American Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age black comedy film written and directed by Todd Solondz. An independent film, it won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival and launched the career ...

'', "2 of You" and "Do Me Good". She co-wrote the single "

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

", a track that she was featured on with rapper

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...

on his album ''

R.O.O.T.S. ''R.O.O.T.S.'' (short for ''Route of Overcoming the Struggle'') is the second studio album by American rapper Flo Rida. It was released on March 24, 2009, by Poe Boy Entertainment and Atlantic Records.''Billboard'' Hot 100. Gordon also co-wrote and sang on the dance track "Toyfriend" from French DJ

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

's album ''

One Love One Love may refer to: Music * One Love (record producer), Timothy Sommers, American record producer, half of the duo Kinetics & One Love * '' One Love: The Bob Marley Musical'', a 2015 stage musical Albums * ''One Love'' (Blue album) or the tit ...

'' (2009). She worked closely with

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

, writing four tracks including "What Is Love", "What Is Love Part II", "Starting Over" and "Everybody's Girl" for her seventh studio album ''

Love? ''Love?'' is the seventh studio album by American singer Jennifer Lopez. It was released on April 29, 2011, by Island Records. Produced during the pregnancy of her twins Emme and Max, ''Love?'' was cited by Lopez as her most personal album to ...

'' (2011).

2011–2013: ''With the Music I Die'' and ''Human Condition'' EPs

Gordon released her debut album, ''

'', on June 17, 2011. The lead single from the album, "

", topped the US

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

. "Dirty Talk" also topped the charts in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where it was certified 3× Platinum. The song was released in the UK and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on February 18, 2011, where it peaked at No. 25 in the UK and No. 8 in Ireland. The song spent a total of eleven weeks inside the UK Top 40. The second single, " Til Death", peaked at No. 3 on the US

chart, and No. 16 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. The album later produced a further two singles, " Buy My Love" and "Still Getting Younger". In August 2011, Wynter began a two-month stint as the supporting act for

Patrick Stump Patrick Martin Stumph (born April 27, 1984), known professionally as Patrick Vaughn Stump, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Fall Out Boy, originally from Wilmette, I ...

's second US tour. On June 20, 2012, she premiered a new song, "Stimela", the first promotional single from her collection of ''Human Condition'' extended plays, which she decided to self-release to avoid label control. The first EP, ''Human Condition: Doleo'', was released on July 9, 2012. The second EP, ''Human Condition: Sanguine'', was released on January 15, 2013.

2011–2015: The Righteous Young and ''Five Needle'' EP

In early 2014, Gordon formed a quintet called The Righteous Young, of which she is the lead singer. However, she clarified in a Q&A on Facebook that The Righteous Young does not mean the end of Wynter Gordon as a solo act, but is rather an extension of her own music. "The Righteous Young is my band ... My music, WYNTER and THE RIGHTEOUS YOUNG". She released her first single with The Righteous Young, "Everything Burns", on June 3, 2014. The music video, directed by Harrison Boyce, was exclusively released on

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

and

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

on the same day. Wynter embarked on a tour with the band in July 2014, and they were revealed to have been working on their first album alongside producer

Mike Elizondo Mike Elizondo (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protege of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder, Skylar Grey, Twenty ...

, however, no further music ever eventuated. On July 29, a new solo Wynter track, "The Hard Way", was released on Kitty Cash's "Love the Free Vol. II" mixtape. The song was later released as a promotional single from the mixtape, with a music video being released on April 23, 2015. On May 5, 2015, Wynter released "Bleeding Out", the lead single from her ''Five Needle'' EP. The EP itself was later released on June 2, 2015.

2016: Co-writing and producing with Beyoncé

On April 23, 2016, Beyoncé released her sixth album ''

Lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...

'' featuring several tracks where Diana Gordon (credited with her real name, and not her stage name) received a writing and producing credit, including " Don't Hurt Yourself" (which also samples

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

's "

When the Levee Breaks "When the Levee Breaks" is a country blues song written and first recorded by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. The lyrics reflect experiences during the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. "When the Levee Breaks ...

"), " Sorry", and "

Daddy Lessons "Daddy Lessons" is a song recorded by the American singer Beyoncé for her sixth studio album, ''Lemonade'' (2016). The song was written and produced by Wynter Gordon, Beyoncé, Kevin Cossom and Alex Delicata. The song's music video is part of a o ...

". A few months after the release of Lemonade, on July 22, 2016, Gordon announced that she was no longer using her stage name Wynter Gordon. Instead, she decided to be going by her birth name, Diana Gordon. On July 25, 2016, Diana Gordon shared her first single under her own name, "The Legend Of". Her first EP released under her own name and titled, ''Pure'', was released on August 3, 2018. In a

capsule review A capsule review or mini reviewThe Word, 1976, issue 12, page 1Google Books/ref> is a form of appraisal, usually associated with journalism, that offers a relatively short critique of a specified creative work (movie, music album, restaurant, pa ...

for ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

gave the EP a three-star honorable mention () and summed it up as "five proofs of a Beyoncé cowriter's hard-won, unembittered self-reliance—too modest to be 'inspirational,' and stronger for it"; the tracks "Wolverine" and "Too Young" were cited as highlights. On April 3, 2020, Gordon released a new eight track EP called ''Wasted Youth'' featuring acoustic versions of "Rollin" and "Once A Friend."

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (2011) Extended plays * ''The First Dance'' (2010) * ''Human Condition: Doleo'' (2012) * ''Human Condition: Sanguine'' (2013) * ''Five Needle'' (2015) *''Pure'' (2018) *''Wasted Youth'' (2020)

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Diana Living people 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers African-American women singer-songwriters American dance musicians American women pop singers American hip hop singers American house musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American women in electronic music Singers from New York City People from Jamaica, Queens Atlantic Records artists 1985 births 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century African-American people Singer-songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century African-American women