Támar
Encyclopedia
Támar is an American R&B singer who came to prominence through the artist, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

. She sang the co-lead vocals on his Grammy-nominated song "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed" from his 2006 album, 3121
3121 (album)
3121 is the thirty-first studio album by Prince. The album, released March 21, 2006 in the U.S., is distributed through Universal Records.-Album information:...

and on backup vocals throughout the album. Originally, Támar started off her musical career in Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...

, when they were still named Girl's Tyme.

Early life

In 1990, 30 girls including Keke Wyatt
Keke Wyatt
Ketara Shavon "Keke" Wyatt is a multi-talented American R&B recording artist. She became popular after a highly successful collaboration with R&B singer Avant on his platinum album My Thoughts...

 competed for a spot in Girl's Tyme. The selected members were singers Ashley Davis, Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...

, and Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland
Kelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child...

 (aged 12, 10 and 11), and dancers/rappers LaTavia Roberson
LaTavia Roberson
LaTavia Marie Roberson is a two-time Grammy Award–winning American contralto singer-songwriter, as well as an original member of Girl's Tyme which later became Destiny's Child. She was eventually replaced by Farrah Franklin in 2000. She was an original founder of the group with Beyoncé as they...

, Nikki Taylor, and her sister Nina Taylor (aged 10, 13 and 11). In 1992, the group competed but lost on Star Search
Star Search
Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...

. Shortly after, Támar (Ashley Davis) left for a solo career and was replaced by childhood friend Letoya Luckett
LeToya Luckett
LeToya Nicole Luckett , known professionally as LeToya, is an American R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She was a member of the R&B group Destiny's Child, with whom she won two Grammy Awards and released many successful commercial recordings.After signing a record deal with Capitol Records, she's...

.

Prince and Támar

Around 1994, Prince heard a demo by Támar and told her that one day when she was older, he wanted to hear her again. A few years later, Prince called her into his Paisley Park studio. Nothing transpired from that visit, nor did she get to meet with Prince, so Támar went about doing her own thing, graduating from Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and then studying music business at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

, all while focusing on her musical career. Támar who also speaks French, German and Swahili became part of an all-female jazz/funk band called Angaza (which means "to give light" in Swahili), who released an album called Light. At the time, she went by the name Ashley T'Amar Davis.

In 2004 she auditioned for Star Search once again as a solo artist but did not prevail through the competitions. In the fourth season of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

she auditioned but did not make the cut. While living in Los Angeles, she snared an invite to one of Prince's house parties and introduced herself to him. He remembered meeting the saucy singer and asked her to audition for him on the spot, which she did. He then asked her to sing in a video he was working on. Since then, Támar has joined the ranks of female artists Prince has mentored, including Vanity
Vanity (performer)
Denise Katrina Matthews , better known as Vanity, but sometimes credited as Denise Matthews-Smith or D.D. Winters, is a Canadian-born former singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and model from the 1980s until the early mid-90s...

, Sheila E.
Sheila E.
Sheila Escovedo , known by her stage name Sheila E., is an American drummer and percussionist, perhaps best known for her work with Prince, George Duke and Ringo Starr.-Early life and Prince period:...

, Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton is a Scottish recording artist. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television programme The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.Easton rose to fame in the early 1980s with the pop...

, Apollonia Kotero
Apollonia Kotero
Apollonia Kotero, born Patricia Kotero on August 2, 1959, is an actress, singer, former model and talent manager. Kotero, born in Santa Monica, California, is of Mexican descent...

, Carmen Electra
Carmen Electra
Tara Leigh Patrick , professionally known as Carmen Electra, is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, singer, and dancer...

 and Martika
Martika
Martika is an American pop singer-songwriter and actress. As a singer she released two internationally successful albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s, selling over four million copies worldwide.-Early life and career:Martika entered mainstream show business in an uncredited role as one of the...

. She signed with Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...

 the same day Prince did in December 2005.

In 2006, Támar toured with Prince, helping to promote his album 3121. She appeared with him on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

(Feb 4, 2006), Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...

, the BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...

, as well as his video, "Fury
Fury (song)
"Fury" is a song by Prince, from his 2006 album 3121. The single was debuted live on Saturday Night Live on February 4, 2006. It was also part of Prince's four song set at the 2006 BRIT Awards....

", where she appears alongside fellow female singer/dancers the Twinz, two former Australian Idol
Australian Idol
Australian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...

contestants.

Mini-tour with Prince

In March, 2006, Támar was supported by Prince with an ensemble of session musicians and performed a number of small club concerts in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 and Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 to promote her upcoming album. The concerts included cuts from her Milk & Honey album, as well as cover versions of such artists as Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...

 and Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

. Prince fans, who were really there to see him, were also treated to him performing rare tunes during her costume changes, including "Anotherloverholenyohead
Anotherloverholenyohead
"Anotherloverholenyohead" is a 1986 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Parade, the soundtrack to the film Under the Cherry Moon. The song is essentially a solo performance by Prince, but with backing vocals from Susannah Melvoin, and the horn section of Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss....

", "Partyman
Partyman
"Partyman" is a song by Prince from his 1989 Batman album, and the follow-up to his number one hit, "Batdance". The song is one of the few on the album that is prominently featured in the film, accompanying the scene where the Joker and his minions gleefully desecrate the Gotham City Art Museum...

" and "Calhoun Square" (from Crystal Ball). Also of interest was the full complement doing a cover of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" is a single by American recording artist Michael Jackson. Released under Epic Records on July 28, 1979, the song is the first single from Jackson's fifth studio album, entitled Off the Wall. Written by Jackson, it is in the key of B major and in common time...

" with Prince playing the synthesizer solo from the original recording on the guitar. The concerts were approx. 90 minutes in length. Bootlegs are currently in circulation of some (if not all) of these concerts.

My Name is Tamar

Set to be Támar's debut album, Milk & Honey was originally to be titled Beautiful, Loved and Blessed, but was later renamed after one of the other tracks. The album appeared to feature significant input by Prince: many of the song titles employed his style of abbreviations. Milk & Honey was originally set to be released on May 5, 2006, but was delayed for unrevealed reasons. Several other rumored release dates came and went and the album was eventually canceled except Japan area (and then canceled in Japan after all), even though a few promotional singles had been issued. Kwamé
Kwamé
Kwamé Holland is an American emcee who enjoyed brief popularity in the late-1980s and early-1990s. He is currently a music producer sometimes credited as K-1 Million or K1 Mil.-Biography:...

 then produced a new debut, "Jus Do It" which was cancelled as well. "My Name Is Tamar" was released on March 24, 2011.

Work with Tyler Perry

She appears in multiple Tyler Perry plays, such as: The Marriage Counselor
The Marriage Counselor
The Marriage Counselor is a 2008 play directed by, written by, and produced by American playwright Tyler Perry. 'The Marriage Counselor' is Perry's 10th play....

, Laugh to Keep from Crying
Laugh to Keep from Crying
Laugh to Keep from Crying is a play written and directed by American playwright Tyler Perry. The show first opened in the fall of 2009. The play is a mixture of comedy, drama, and music, set at a inner-city building in a predominantly African-American neighborhood.-Plot:The story revolves around a...

, Madea's Big Happy Family
Madea's Big Happy Family
Madea's Big Happy Family is a 2010 American musical play created, written, produced, and directed by Tyler Perry. It stars Tyler Perry as Mabel "Madea" Simmons, Cassi Davis as Aunt Bam, Palmer Williams, Jr. as Uncle Monroe, and Chandra Currelley-Young as Shirley.Perry began writing "Big Happy...

. She also starred in Perry's most recent play, A Madea Christmas
A Madea Christmas
A Madea Christmas is a 2011 American musical play created, written, produced, and directed by Tyler Perry. It stars Tyler Perry as Mabel "Madea" Simmons and Cassi Davis as Aunt Bam.-Plot:...

.

Discography

Milk & Honey (2006) (Unreleased)
  1. Closer 2 My Heart
  2. Milk & Honey
  3. Can't Keep Living Alone
  4. Holla & Shout
  5. Kept Woman
  6. Holy Ground
  7. Beautiful, Loved & Blessed
  8. Redhead Stepchild
  9. All Eye Want Is U
  10. First Love
  11. Sunday In The Park
  12. Beautiful, Loved & Blessed (Reprise)


My Name Is Tamar (2011)
  1. Intro 0:32
  2. Juz Do It 3:34
  3. Heartbeat 3:34
  4. Kind Words 4:16
  5. I've Been Waiting 3:40
  6. Do It (Interlude) 0:55
  7. Slow Down 4:09
  8. All by Myself 3:47
  9. Red Carpet 3:17
  10. Static 3:43
  11. Love Speaks 4:13
  12. Yesterday 3:00
  13. You'll Never Know 3:34
  14. Out of Control 3:30

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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