It’s always been about the voice for Shanice. Boasting a five-octave range, which she handles with beauty and ease, Shanice began her career scatting with the late great legendary Ella Fitzgerald for Kentucky Fried Chicken at the tender age of 8 years old. At age of eleven, she would be discovered by John McClain, of A&M records as she performed in the musical “Get Happy”, the music of Harold Arlen, at the Westwood Playhouse. She went on to become the grand champion of Star Search that same year. Her first album, “Discovery” on the A&M label, released when Shanice was just fourteen, would garner two urban hits, “Can You Dance?” and “No Half Stepping”. It was her worldwide smash, I Love Your Smile, a number one pop hit in twenty two countries, which would bring her a Grammy nomination, Germany’s Golden Lion Award and international stardom at the age of eighteen! Shanice would become the very first recording artist to perform on the “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. Shanice, with her beaming smile and incredible vocal mastery, would set the standard that many young singers would follow.
With her phenomenal voice and delightful personality, Shanice has won the admiration of many of the music industry’s most respected names. She has collaborated with the likes of Kenny Loggins on his “Live in the Redwoods” Album, Kenny Babyface Edmunds on his MTV unplugged project as well as performing the duet, “If I Never Knew You” in English and Spanish with Latin pop star John Secada, on the multi-platinum “Pochahontas” soundtrack. On her closing night, opening for the infamous pop group N’ Sync she graced the stage with pop icon Justin Timberlake at Atlanta’s Lakeview Amphitheatre, when he joined her in a duet performance of her memorable ballad “Yesterday”! Shanice has performed with pop star Josh Groban in heart melting renditions of “The Prayer” in both English and Italian live at the Belagio in Las Vegas for a fundraiser given by philanthropist Michael Milken and hotel Impresario Steve Wynn.
Adding to her list of accomplishments is her thirty year record breaking chart jump in Billboard with “When I Close My Eyes”, her first single on album entitled “Shanice” which she recorded on LaFace records! But not only has Shanice made history on the recording end, she also became the first African American to star in the Broadway production of “Les Miserables” where she was widely received in her incomparable portrayal of Eponine!
At the request of the record executive who discovered her and introduced her to her idol, Michael Jackson, Shanice had the pleasure to lay her vocals on the first Michael Jackson’s posthumous CD. You can hear her powerful vocals and tremendous range, singing “I Love You Michael” on the recording of “Behind the Mask”! Now ready for her major return to the stage, more talented, stronger and sexier than ever, Shanice has collaborated with writers and producers extraordinaire and has recorded a collection of irresistible hits which tell the stories of pain, love, loss and triumph!
