Sasha Sierra Allen (born June 4, 1982) is an American singer and actress. Born and raised 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 ...

, she began her career in the music industry as a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

for

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

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 ...

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...

, and Usher. In January 2016, she joined the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

touring band. In May 2020, she joined

The Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a neo-burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the troupe mainstrea ...

touring band. Allen portrayed Dionne in the 2009 Broadway revival of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'' at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and the 2010 West End revival at the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...

. In 2013, she was a semi-finalist on the fourth season of the American version of the singing competition TV series '' The Voice''. She is not to be confused with Sasha Allen, a transgender man who was a semi-finalist on the 21st season of The Voice.

Life and career

Early life

Allen's maternal Bermudian grandmother was one of the first people of African descent to attend

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

. Sasha's maternal grandfather and father were of African American descent. Allen is the elder of two children. She was educated at LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. At the age of 14, she starred in

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

's '' Whistle Down the Wind''. While still in high school, she was featured in commercial and print work, including advertisements in ''TIME'' magazine for

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

. At 17 she was signed to

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

, working with producers

Warryn Campbell Warryn Stafford Campbell, Jr. (born August 21, 1975) is an American record producer. He has worked with a number of contemporary gospel, gospel, hip hop and Contemporary R&B, R&B artists. Campbell originally got his start as a session musician a ...

(

Mary Mary Mary Mary is an American urban contemporary gospel duo formed in 1998, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell and Trecina Atkins-Campbell. Their name is inspired by two biblical figures: Mary, mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene. They ar ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

) and J. Moss (

Karen Clark Sheard Karen Valencia Clark Sheard (née Clark; born November 15, 1960) is an American gospel singer and songwriter. Clark-Sheard is the youngest member of gospel group the Clark Sisters, which was formed in 1973. She is also the mother of contemporary ...

, Kiki Sheard). Later, she was signed by

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

when LA Reid was president. Her album, unfortunately, never came together. Allen says regarding her failed record contracts, “I got caught up in one of those crossroads moments in the record business ..It was heartbreaking, because singing is what comes most naturally to me.” This caused Sasha to pursue other avenues of performing, such as acting.

2000s

She was cast in the cult film '' Camp'' (2003) starring as "Dee." Allen was spotlighted on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's ''Born to Diva'', a pre-''American Idol'' talent reality TV show highlighting her talent. She has performed on world tours and

platinum album Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

s of several performers, including

's Back to Basics Tour and resulting DVD ('' Back to Basics: Live and Down Under''),

's album '' Once Again'', and Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds' album ''

Playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...

''. Allen was also the feature vocalist on Babyface's "Playlist" World Tour, singing the classic hits with Babyface that he wrote and produced for

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won seven ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

, and others. Sasha has also toured with

, and

, performed with Usher and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, and recorded with

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

. Allen's television work as a vocalist with musical director Rickey Minor garnered her performances with

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Johnson (née Simpson; born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albu ...

, Fantasia, and

Clint Black Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 1989, Black's debut album '' Killin' Time'' produced four straight number one singles ...

Allen's music showcases her love for rock, soul and R&B. Her first single, "Let's Fly Away", was released on July 4, 2008, and the follow-up, a cover of

Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...

's "One Of Us", was released in September 2008. The remix for "Let's Fly Away", produced by Rob Lewis and TrakFire Productions climbed the dance charts.

2012–present, ''The Voice'' and afterwards

Returning to reality TV, Allen was selected as a participant for the fourth US season of '' The Voice''. She auditioned with " Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks, which turned all four coaches' chairs. Sasha decided to join Adam Levine's team. In the battle round she competed against Judith Hill, who Adam would end up picking, making Sasha available to be stolen. Both Usher and

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

pressed their button for Sasha, and she opted to join team Shakira. Allen would be the final remaining member of Team Shakira, and the first stolen contestant on ''The Voice'' to advance to the semifinals. Between September 2014 and July 2015, Allen toured the US as "Leading Player" in a revival of the Broadway musical '' Pippin''. Allen joined

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

on their América Latina Olé Tour 2016 as a backing vocalist, filling the role handled by Lisa Fischer since 1989 as Fischer had prior touring commitments. The role included duetting with

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

on "

Gimme Shelter "Gimme Shelter" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Jagger–Richards, it is the opening track of the band's 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. The song covers the brutal realities of war, including murder, rape and f ...

". Her songs Oh! Darling peaked # 29 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs, Ain't No Way # 17, Next To Me # 39, and I Will Always Love You # 39.

''The Voice'' performances and results

: – Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Sasha 1982 births Living people 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters African-American actresses 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers African-American women singer-songwriters African-American rock singers American contemporary R&B singers American women rock singers American women singer-songwriters American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American people of Bermudian descent Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Participants in American reality television series The Voice (franchise) contestants 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American singers Singer-songwriters from New York (state)