AMERIE ROGERS

Amerie's exotic looks come from a comination of a Korea-born mother and an African-American father from North Philly. She lived the life of a child who was born into a military family, which as you know, includes many moves.

Amerie was exposed to fine arts at an early age as her moms is a painter, singer and a classical pianist. Some of her musical influences include Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Madonna and Whitney Houston. She also loves classical compsers and old school soul.

Since her desire to entertain came early, Amerie actually began to enter talent shows while in the third grade. She also studied dance and continued to entertain her friends throughout her high school years. Upon graduation, Amerie's family moved yet again.

Amerie has lived on bases from Alaska to Germany, but her family finally settled on the East Coast. Her final stop was in Washington DC and that's the place that she still calls home. Amerie settled right into her new hometown and this was the place where she finally decided to get on the ball and began looking for an opportunity to get into the music business.

She explains that being in DC offered more opportunities for her to sing and meet other people in the music biz. At the same time, Amerie was taking classes at Georgetown University, where she ultimately graduated with a degree in English and Fine Arts."

Amerie made several friends and it was a that introduced her to singer/songwriter Rich Harrison. Harrison had already made a name for himself through his production skills. Rich and Amerie worked great together and their creative chemistry was fantastic. Within months they had a demo and that demo made its way to Columbia Records, where Amerie was immediately offered a deal. Soon, she was not only recording her own album, but also working on collaborations with labelmates Nas and Royce da 5' 9".

Her first album "All I Have" was a major hit and it resulted in hit singles like "Talkin' To Me," "Nothin' Like Loving You," and "I Just Died." Her sophomore album "Touch" burst onto the scene with a hot single "1 Thing" and is currently burnig up the airwaves.