Keshia Chanté Harper (born June 16, 1988) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

singer-songwriter, television host, actress, humanitarian, and businesswoman. As a teenager, Chanté released her singles "Unpredictable," "Bad Boy," "Does He Love Me," "Shook," "Been Gone," "2U," and "Fallen” (featuring

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

). She has since released four albums. In 2013, Chanté gained international recognition as co-host of BET's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

'' with Bow Wow, which helped her career as a television host and personality. She is also known as Drake's first girlfriend and musical muse, whom he refers to as "KIKI" in his song In My Feelings. Chanté is the youngest

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

winner, a seven-time nominee, and has won five Canadian Urban Music Awards and two Canadian Radio Music Awards. Chanté was given a star on the Brampton Arts Walk of Fame for her achievements in Canadian Music and Film. Chanté has had top chart singles on radio in Canada and Japan, as well as eight Top 10 singles on the radio music charts. She has earned multiple SOCAN Awards for her songwriting efforts. Her single " Table Dancer" hit the top rating on the Billboard Japan Digital Chart and #9 on the

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 advertis ...

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and Hanshin Contents Link since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thursday ...

. Chanté has served as an international music judge on '' The World's Best'', and hosted '' Entertainment Tonight Canada'' and ETC Live in California. Chanté is currently an International Voter for the

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

. Chanté has hosted, judged and appeared on several shows including the

BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...

, Paramount, Peak of the Week, The Official Big Brother's after show (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

), Battle of the Blades, The Next Star, Top Chef Canada, Chopped Canada, and

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...

Chanté has donated and raised money for organizations including WE Charity, Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, Joyful Heart Foundation and

World Vision International World Vision International is an interdenominational Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1950 by Robert Pierce as a service organization to provide care for children in Korea. In 1975, emerge ...

. Chanté also hosted WE Day and is a motivational speaker advocating for Mental Health awareness. As an actress, Chanté is to star alongside Keri Hilson in the upcoming film ''FAME: A Temptations Story,'' and has had a recurring guest star on TV series Law & Order: Toronto, Blood & Treasure (CBS), '' Jann'' and '' Private Eyes''. In 2022, Chanté launched the luxury hair care brand called KHAIR.

Early life

Keshia Chanté Harper was born and raised in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and spent summers with her grandparents in

Hinesville, Georgia Hinesville is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is located on the Atlantic coastal plain. The county seat of Liberty County, Georgia, Liberty County, it had a population of 34,891 at the 2020 United States census, 202 ...

. Her father is Afro-Trinidadian and her mother is Puerto Rican and Portuguese. Chanté is an only child. She was 6 years old when she first performed, receiving a standing ovation for her rendition of Dear Mama by

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

. Through talent shows, she got the attention of a local DJ who, in 2002, sent a video of her performance to

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Canada. After performing for music executives, she was signed to the label to release her music exclusively in Canada. She went to middle school at St. Peter Catholic High School before moving to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario at 12. Chanté was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

and graduated with honors.

Career

2003–2012: Singer and actor

In 2002, at the age of 13, Sony Music Canada signed Chanté to a long-term record contract to release her music in Canada. In early 2003, she released "Shook (The Answer)," a response track to Shawn Desman's song Shook, which won an Urban Music Award for "Best Pop/R&B Single." The follow-up, "Unpredictable" went No. 3 on radio charts, and her first video hit number one on YTV and the top ten on

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

. In November 2003, the CD single "Unpredictable" was certified gold and later won Chanté the Canadian Radio Music Award for "Best New Solo Artist." In early February 2004, Chanté's third single, "Bad Boy," was released. It was also successful, breaking the Top 10 on radio and sitting at No. 3 on

for 4 weeks before earning the No. 1 position on the chart. The video was directed by Director X. Later, in June 2004, Chanté's fourth single "Does He Love Me?" ft. Foxy Brown reached the top 5 on radio. The video was also directed by Director X and became No. 1 on

for 3 weeks. The video also garnered her an Urban Music Video Award for "Video of the Year." On June 22, 2004, Chanté released her self-titled debut album. On December 3, 2004, it was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. In October 2004, at the Canadian Urban Music Awards Chanté swept all three of her nominations, winning awards for "Best New Artist," "Video of the Year" (for Bad Boy), "Fans' Choice Award" as well as the "Rising Star of the Year" award. This brought the attention of the President of BET, Stephen Hill, who became Chanté's mentor and put the video for "Bad Boy" into heavy rotation. The same month, she sang the national anthem at the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

's Grey Cup championship game. She was also selected to represent Canada at

Expo 2005 Expo 2005 was a world expo held for 185 days between Friday, March 25 and Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city of Nagoya. Japan has also hosted Expo '70 Osaka (World Expo), Expo '75 Okinawa (Specialised Expo) ...

held in Japan. In July 2005, Chanté went on a cross-Canada tour and later opened for

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

during the Canadian leg of their Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It tour, and is also included on the Destiny's Child Live in Atlanta Tour

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

. In October 2005, she received four nominations at the Urban Music Awards. In 2006, Chanté toured with Teen People Magazine and Seventeen Magazine across select cities in the U.S. In July 2006, she released her new single "Been Gone" with a video shot by Director X (marking her third collaboration with him). Her second single, "2U" was released in early November. Also in 2006, she made a featured cameo appearance in Bow Wow and

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

's music video " Shortie Like Mine." Chanté's second album, '' 2U'', which she produced, was released on December 5, 2006, in Canada and Japan through Sony Music Canada.

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's "The Diary of Keshia Chanté" aired in Canada on December 6, 2006, showing footage following Chanté as she travelled to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and LA working on her album. In 2007, during her last year of high school, Chanté left to learn more about the music business and be mentored by respected entertainment lawyers in LA and Toronto. She later moved to Atlanta and

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

, where she worked with

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

and

OutKast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...

. She starred as the lead actress in the TV series "Soul." In 2010, Chanté released her third album ''Night & Day'' in Canada through Universal Music Canada. Chanté released "Table Dancer" and "Test Drive" which were both nominated for

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

; R&B Recording of the Year for "Test Drive" and Dance Recording of the Year for "Table Dancer." Both songs entered the Top 10 on radio. On February 14, 2011, Chanté released the

Taio Cruz Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere (born 23 April 1980), known professionally as Jacob Taio Cruz ( ), is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Cruz was discovered in the mid-2000s by American record producer Tricky Stewart, joinin ...

penned song "Set U Free." On December 31, 2011, Chanté performed on ET Canada's New Year's Eve Bash in

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

, which later set a record becoming Canada's No. 1 Year End Countdown Show with 4.8 million viewers. In April 2012, Chanté was announced as the new music judge for a music competition show on YTV called The Next Star. On the week of November 28, 2012, Chanté's first single release "Table Dancer" went No. 1 on the Billboard Charts in Japan and No. 6 on Hot 100, No. 3 on Digital & Airplay & No. 11 on regular chart. Chanté guest starred & judged on TV shows ''Top Chef Canada'' and ''Canada's Best Beauty Talent'' with supermodel Coco Rocha and Flare magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Lisa Tant

2013–2015: TV personality ''BET's 106 and Park''

On June 14, 2012, Chanté made her US television debut on BET's ''

'' as a co-host on two separate occasions co-hosting with Terrence J. On June 30, 2013, Chanté attended the 2013 BET Awards as a correspondent for the event and began co-hosting select episodes of ''106 & Park''. On September 26, 2013, BET President Stephen Hill announced on the '' Rickey Smiley Morning Show'' that Chanté will be a new co-host for ''106 & Park'' alongside rapper Bow Wow starting October 1. On December 18, 2013, Chanté was invited by United States President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

& first lady Michelle Obama to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

holiday party in DC. In December 2014, she received a star on the Brampton Arts Walk of Fame. In January 2015, after two years of hosting ''106 & Park'', the show announced it was going digital. In June 2014, 2015 and 2016, Chanté hosted the

''106 & Park'' Pre-Show in LA.

2016–2022: California

On November 11, 2016, BET premiered Chanté's song "The Valley" off her upcoming album. On January 11, 2017, radio host Ebro Darden debuted Chanté's single "Fuck It Tho" on his

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

radio show on

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

. On March 22, Ebro Darden announced Keshia Chanté's track listing for ''Unbound 01'' and premiered "Bryson Tiller" exclusively with Apple Music on the

radio show. On March 23, Noisey premiered "RedLight," citing the track as "the sonic equivalent of a cool, still night: beautiful but there is something eerie in its midst, hidden in the dark" and AUX TV premiered "Harmless" citing that Chanté is "re-igniting her signature R&B sound" and that "Chanté's soaring vocals lend the track a distinctly modern edge." On March 24, 2017, Chanté released '' Unbound 01'', an EP and in February 2018 it was nominated for a Juno Award for Best R&B Recording. ''Unbound 02'' was released on March 23, 2018. In 2017, Chanté moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and joined an acting school. In August 2018, it was announced that Chanté would be a celebrity Hollywood correspondent for Entertainment Tonight Canada, and she has since conducted interviews with

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American TV and radio host presenter, author, and former spokesman. He was a WMBM radio interviewer in the Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s and beginning in ...

Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime ...

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. List of awards and nominations received by C ...

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American model, television personality, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15 and was the first Black A ...

Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for List of Jamie Lee Curtis performances, her performances in the horror and slasher film, slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream qu ...

, Trevor Noah,

Charlie Hunnam Charles Matthew Hunnam (; born 10 April 1980) is an English actor. He portrayed Jax Teller in the FX (TV channel), FX drama series ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2014), for which he was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for ...

Rami Malek Rami Said Malek (; , ; born May 12, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for portraying computer hacker Elliot Alderson in the USA Network television series '' Mr. Robot'' (2015–2019), for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...

and many more. In November 2018, Chanté hosted WE Day in Washington,

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

and Ottawa for WE Charity. Chanté gave a motivational speech in front of 17,000 youths at WE Day in Vancouver advocating for mental health and sharing her personal experience with depression and anxiety. She also interviewed

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

. In January 2019, Chanté served as an international judge on The World's Best as an expert in music. On July 22, 2019, it was announced that Chanté would return to acting by joining the cast of Private Eyes. On October 1, 2019, it was announced that Chanté would guest star in JANN. On August 7, 2020, Big Brother announced Chanté as host of their Official

Big Brother (American TV series) ''Big Brother'' is an American television reality competition show based on the Dutch reality show of the same name created by producer John de Mol Jr. in 1997; the series takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1949 novel ''N ...

Aftershow, BB Rewind. On October 1, 2020,

DeSean Jackson DeSean William Jackson (born December 1, 1986) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Delaware State Hornets football, Delaware State University. Known for his speed, he is recog ...

released a single titled "Girlfriend" featuring Chanté. On October 16, it was announced that Keshia would host Battle of the Blades with Ron MacLean.

2023-present: Hair care range and acting

In February 2023, Chanté announced she had founded a hair care brand called KHAIR including hair oils for Black women. In April 2023, Chanté became an International Voter for the

. In April 2025, Chanté acted in the Lifetime film ''Fame: A Temptations Story'', alongside American singer and actress

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, she began her musical career as a songwriter and backing vocalist for other artists under the wing of record producer Anthony De ...

. In June 2025, Chanté kicked off the 106 & Park Tribut

at the BET Awards, hosted by Kevin Hart, celebrating it's 25th Anniversary, introducing singer Ashan

https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/49as46/bet-awards-2025-top-10-moments-of-the-night] She joined the stage with former 106 & Park hosts, as well as Bow Wow, Ashanti, Keyshia Cole, T.I, Jermaine Dupri, Amerie, B2K, Mya

Artistry

Musical style

Tara Henley of ''

The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...

'' noted that Chanté had "an arresting voice, magnetic charisma, and driving ambition." ''Denise Sheppard'' from Amazon.ca also noted, " hanté isa teen-targeted pop phenom" whose "music has the one-two punch of melodic hooks and the voice to back them up; a combination that can and will appeal to dance/pop music fans of any age.”

Influences

Chanté cited

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...

and

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

as her childhood influences, as well as

, with whom she shares the same birthday.

Public image

Chanté was noted for her resemblance to late singer

and

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

on ''106 & Park''. Chanté was set to play Aaliyah in the biopic film but Chanté declined after speaking with Aaliyah's mother who was against the film being made. In Canada, Chanté is considered a fashionista by fashion's high rankings, performing at Marchesa's first runway show in Toronto, as well as the

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

event for the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

. Chanté is an avid supporter of Canadian fashion designers and labels. That same year, Chanté served as a judge on Canada's Best Beauty Talent with Coco Rocha and Editor-in-Chief of

FLARE Magazine ''Flare'' was a Canadian online fashion magazine in print until 2016. Owned by St. Joseph Communications, it was an online brand until 2021 and was folded into ''Fashion magazine'' in early 2023. History ''Flare'' was created by Maclean-Hunter ...

, Lisa Tant.

Personal life

Chanté resides in

, California and

Drake

Chanté was rapper Drake's first girlfriend and first love. They dated in Toronto during their teen years. Drake has written songs about Chanté, most famously " In My Feelings" where he confirmed her as "KIKI," as well as "Wu-Tang Forever" and "U With Me?" off his 2016 album Views, "Madonna" from his 2015 mixtape '' If You're Reading This It's Too Late,"'' and "

Wait for U "Wait for U" is a song by American rapper Future featuring Canadian rapper Drake and Nigerian singer Tems. It was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio as the second single from Future's ninth studio album, '' I Never Liked You'', on May 3, 2022 ...

." Many speculated on the identity of Kiki, however Drake's artist, Preme confirmed it on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. Drake discussed their relationship while featured on Chanté's song titled "Fallen." When questioned by

's VJ, Sarah Taylor, about his past relationship with Chanté,

stated he is "proud to call hantéan ex-girlfriend." On July 26, 2022, Drake announced a live concert with Chanté as a performer for the OVO World Weekend Festival in Toronto called "All Canadian North Stars," highlighting Chanté as one of the artists who "paved the way for all of us." On July 28, 2022, at OVO Fest in Toronto, Drake introduced Chanté to the world, saying "This next person coming to the stage as a, "real legend. Somebody I love with all my heart. Chanté called it the "most heartfelt & meaningful introduction."

Ray Emery

In June 2010, Chanté began dating

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

netminder Ray Emery. Their relationship was featured in the series '' Hockey Wives''. On June 16, 2016, Emery proposed to Chanté in Nassau, Bahamas. Emery and Chanté were set to wed in June 2017, however, simultaneously with the release of her cover on ''Today's Bride'', Chanté announced via her Instagram that she called off the wedding. On September 18, 2017, TMZ reported Emery was arrested for uttering threats and assault with a weapon towards Chanté after she went to the police seeking a restraining order. Chanté required Emery to attend anger management in exchange for charges being dropped, which Emery agreed to and completed. On July 16, 2018, two days after his accidental drowning, Chanté penned an emotional tribute to Emery. She stated that they "may have had differences" but they "forgave each other and continued to love each other right to the very end."

Other ventures

Philanthropy

Chanté served as a youth ambassador for CANFAR ( Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research) traveling to

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

to build schools and visiting schools across Canada to raise awareness. She has visited the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

to work with World Vision and has worked with

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

to throw a fundraising concert for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. In 2014, Chanté starred in

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's PSA for

Mariska Hargitay Mariska Magdolna Hargitay Mariska says her own first name and the name of her father; the interviewer, James Lipton, also says her full name near the start of the show. (; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and philanthrop ...

's Joyful Heart Foundation alongside

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning family, he is the youngest ...

, Hilary Swank and others to raise awareness of domestic violence. Chanté hosted WE Day Calgary and Ottawa and spoke in front of 16,000 young people on her passion to raise awareness on mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.

Endorsements

Chanté has been endorsed by brands such as

CANON Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

, Bacardi,

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

, Rogers, Stila Cosmetics,

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. In November 2010, Chanté became the face of Pepsi and its Pepsi Refresh Project campaign. In 2007, Chanté served as the face of Ontario Tourism and sang the theme song in their commercials.

Discography

Studio albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

*'' Keshia Chanté'' (2004) *'' 2U'' (2006) *'' ''Night & Day'''' (2011) *''Unbound 02'' (2018) EP *'' Unbound 01'' (2017)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

2003 *Canadian Urban Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single for "Shook (The Answer)" – Won *Canadian Radio Music Award for "Best New Solo Artist" (Dance Urban Rhythmic) – Won *Canadian Radio Music Award for "Best New Solo Artist" (CHR) – Won 2004 *Canadian Urban Music Award for Best New Artist – Won *Canadian Urban Music Award for Video of the Year for "Bad Boy" – Won *Canadian Urban Music Award for Fans Choice – Won *Rising Star Award for Rising Star of the Year – Won *MuchMusic Video Award for "Best R&B Video" for "Does He Love Me?" – Won 2005 *Juno Award for "R&B/Soul Recording of the Year" – Won *Juno Award for "New Artist of the Year" – Nominee *Canadian Urban Music Award for "Video of the Year" for "Does He Love Me?" – Won *MuchMusic Video Award for "People's Choice: Favorite Canadian Artist" – Won *MuchMusic Video Award for "Best Pop Video" for "Does He Love Me?" – Won 2007 *Juno Award for "R&B/SOUL Recording Of The Year" for "Been Gone" – Nominee 2008 *Juno Award for "R&B/SOUL Recording of the Year" for "2U" – Nominee 2011 *Juno Award for "Dance Recording of the Year" for "Table Dancer" – Nominee *Juno Award for "R&B/SOUL Recording of the Year" for "Test Drive" – Nominee 2018 * Juno Award for "R&B/SOUL Recording of the Year" for "Unbound 01" (EP) – Nominee 2022 * Canadian Screen Award for Best TV Show Host for "ET Canada LIVE" - Winner 2023 * Canadian Screen Award for Best TV Show Host for "ET Canada" - Winner 2024 * Canadian Screen Award for Best TV Show Host for "The Legacy Awards" - Nominee * Canadian Screen Award for Best TV Show Host for "Entertainment Tonight Canada" - Nominee

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chanté, Keshia 1988 births Living people 21st-century Black Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Ottawa Actresses from Toronto Black Canadian actresses Black Canadian dancers Canadian expatriate actresses in the United States Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Canadian contemporary R&B singers Canadian female dancers Canadian female models Canadian film actresses 21st-century Canadian philanthropists Canadian people of Portuguese descent Canadian people of Puerto Rican descent Canadian people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Canadian television actresses Canadian television hosts Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian women television hosts Female models from Ontario Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year winners Singers from Ottawa Singers from Toronto 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters