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Mya Marie Harrison (born October 10, 1979), professionally known as Mıa or Mıa Harrison, is an American R&B and pop singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, actress, model, and philanthropist who rose to fame during the late 1990s. She is best known for hits such as "It's All About Me", "The Best of Me", "Case of the Ex", a 2001 chart-topping version of "Lady Marmalade" (for which she won a Grammy Award), and "My Love Is Like...Wo", as well as appearances in films such as Chicago (2002) and Cursed (2005). As an accomplished dancer and singer, it was inevitable for Mya to venture into film. Born in Washington, DC as Mya Marie Harrison, she started dance lessons at 4 years-old—concentrating on ballet, tap and jazz but briefly lost interest when she was 9. After reviewing tapes of her performances, Mya’s interest was reinvigorated and she joined the dance troupe, T.W.A. (Tappers With Attitude). After her stint with T.W.A., she studied dance with renowned choreographer Savion Glover (“Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk”) at the Dance Theater at Harlem. Her ability for improvisation so impressed Glover that he showcased the fourteen year-old at the Kennedy Center for a solo performance. Following the footsteps of her teacher, Mya began teaching dance to children. By then her talent for dance was apparent, but her vocal skills were soon to be discovered. Mya was born in Washington, DC but raised in Glenn Dale, Maryland to Theresa, an accountant, and Sherman Harrison, a musician and singer. Her father is Jamaican-American and her mother is Italian-American. She also has two younger brothers, Chaz and Nijel. Though her second studio effort, Fear of Flying, released in April 2000, burned up the charts to number 15 on the Billboard 200, it suffered from a lack of originality and emotional depth while relying too much on ballads. Next, she found herself alongside Pink, Lil’ Kim and Christina Aguilera performing the hit remake Lady Marmalade on the soundtrack for “Moulin Rouge” (2001). She then appeared in her second feature, the Oscar-winning “Chicago” (2002), as an inmate who explains why he had it coming in the Cell Block Tango. Then her third album, Moodring, trumped her preceding records by landing at number 3 on the charts. The effort highlighted Mya’s emotional and stylistic maturity, as Moodring became her most accomplished effort to date. Meanwhile, her acting career continued unabated, appearing in episodes of “Sister, Sister” (ABC, 1993-1999), “The Wayne Brady Show” (ABC, 2000-2002) and “Missing” (Lifetime, 2003- ). After a small role in “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” (2004), she showed up in “Cursed” (2004), the much-maligned werewolf thriller courtesy of horror mavens Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson. In 1997, Mıa signed a recording contract with Haqq Islam's University Records, after being brought to the label by her friends an R&B group Dru Hill. The four members of the group, Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin, Mark "Sisqó" Andrews, Larry "Jazz" Anthony', and James "Woody" Green, wrote and produced half of Mıa eponymous debut album, Mıa. The first two singles, "It's All About Me" and "Movin' On", were co-written by Sisqó; the former song also featured Sisqó on guest vocals, while the latter featured rapper Silkk da Shocker. Both songs reached top ten on the U.S. Billlboard R&B/Hip Hop chart while "It's All About Me" also reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The videos for these two songs and for her third single "My First Night With You" were MTV staples through 1998. Mıa received 2 Soul Train Music Awards nomination for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist for Movin' On and Best R&B/Soul Album Mıa (both beaten by Erykah Badu). The album was certified platinum in October 1998. In addition to her solo work, Mıa was also a featured artist with Ol' Dirty Bastard on Pras' 1998 Grammy nominated hit, "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)", from the Bulworth soundtrack. During the same year, Mıa also scored another hit as a featured vocalist on BLACKstreet's "Take Me There" from the The Rugrats Movie soundtrack, which also featured guest raps from Mase and Blinky Blink. On April 25, 2000, Mıa released her second album, Fear of Flying. The album debut at number 15 on the Billboard 200 album charts with first week sales of 72,000 copies. Its first single, "The Best of Me", was an urban R&B song that featured rapper Jadakiss and had an even more urban hip hop remix which featured rapper Jay-Z. The song and its remix were hits at urban radio but did not crossover to mainstream radio. Mıa's biggest pop hit came with the second single, "Case of the Ex". The song reached #2 in the U.S. and its music video performed well on MTV's TRL. Following the success of "Case of the Ex", Interscope re-released Fear of Flying on November 7, 2000 with a revised track listing containing two new songs, including the third single "Free". (which was previously on the Bait soundtrack) and a new track titled "Again and Again". "Free" was even more pop-friendly and became quite successful at MTV's TRL and pop radio. Fear of Flying, landed Mıa a Soul Train Music Award nomination for R&B/Soul album. Eventually Fear of Flying went platinum on March 28, 2001 selling more than 1.2 million copies in the U.S. Although Fear of Flying was received with mixed reviews, the album still became a huge commercial success for Mıa launching her career into superstardom. Fear of Flying hit nearly as hard as Mıa's debut, remaining on Billboard 200 for a combine 52 weeks. In May 2001, Mıa collaborated with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, and Pink on a remake of LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade". The track was produced by hip hop producers Missy Elliott and Rockwilder and was featured in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!. The single sold 5.5 million copies becoming the most successful airplay-only single in history. The song's success was driven by its sexually suggestive video, which featured the four singers dressed in burlesque outfits. P!nk and Mıa later described that the immodest concept almost prevented the video from being filmed; nonetheless, the video was a huge hit on MTV, VH1, and MTV2, and collected several MTV Video Music Awards nominations in 2001. The song was also one of the year's biggest at pop, rhythmic, and even adult top 40. Mıa alongside Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, and Pink not only performed at the Grammys, but also won a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration. "Lady Marmalade" went on to collect numerous awards including 2 MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year and Best Video from a Film. After the release and success of Fear of Flying, Mıa began to dabble in acting with a supporting role in the 2002 Academy Award-winning musical film, Chicago, in which she would win a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. In the following years, she continued appearing in films such as Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004), Shall We Dance? (2004), and Cursed (2005). In 2004, Mıa appeared as a Bond girl in the video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing; she also sang the video game's theme song, "Everything or Nothing". Mıa also went on to become a spokesperson for the Coca Cola company alongside Common with their ad campaign Real Compared To What. In July 2003, Mıa released her third long awaited studio album, Moodring. In the U.S., it peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart selling more than 113,000 in its first week of sales, making it Mıa's highest first week sales ever. The first single, the Missy Elliott-produced "My Love Is Like... Wo", became a top 10 hit in the U.S. due to its success on mainstream radio. The video featured Mıa acting as a "one woman circus", performing various circus tricks throughout the song. "My Love Is Like...Wo" was nominated for 2 MTV awards(one for Best Dance Video which was beaten by Justin Timberlake and one for Best Choreography in a Video which was beaten by Beyoncé). The album's second single, "Fallen" (which samples "Saudade Vem Correndo" by Stan Getz, as does "Runnin'" by The Pharcyde), was not as successful only managing to peak at #41 on the Billboard 100 single charts. Moodring was considered a commercial disappointment for the singer, selling just 592,000 copies to date, becoming her lowest selling album as well. In 2003, Mıa posed for Maxim magazine; her pictorial is featured on their Girls of Maxim gallery. She was also a model for King magazine. Mıa has also appeared in various print ads. She signed a seven figure contract with Ford Models in 2005. Mya has been working on her fourth studio album on and off since 2004. Originally conceived as a project called Control Freak, the album's first version was actually scheduled for a mid-2005 release and involving main production by Scott Storch, Dr. Dre, Lil Jon, Rockwilder and songwriter Sean Garrett. She founded the Mya Arts Foundation in 2005. Although she intended to release a dance track called "Let It Go" at a particular time, the singer eventually decided to leave A&M Records in fall 2005 before signing a new contract with Motown Records. Mya began consulting a few other producers to collaborate on the album, renamed Liberation, including Bryan Michael Cox, Tim & Bob, J. R. Rotem and Tricky Stewart. In mid-2006, however, a buzz single entitled "Ayo!" was leaked onto the internet but due to time-consuming "litigations, court, transitioning from label to label, teaching kids and building a studio" Liberation was bumped from the schedule numerous times. On March 5, 2007, the album's first single "Lock U Down", a Storch-produced collaboration with Lil Wayne and Daniel E Rivera, was sent to radio. After it's failure, a second single entitled "Ridin'" was released in July 2007. The video for "Ridin'" was released in September 2007. On November 2, 2007 the album was leaked online, since it had been made available for purchase on the Japan iTunes site the week earlier. The album was scheduled for release in Fall 2007, but has been pushed back numerous times. In January 2008, rumors swirled that Mya was dropped from her label but were confirmed not true. The album is rumored to finally be released later this year as a double album. In a recent interview, Mya says that she will part ways with Motown this year and possibly go independent. Mya endorsed Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, in the 2008 U.S. elections. As a philanthropist, Mıa continues to devote her time and resources to various causes. From 1998 to 2001, she became the spokesperson for Secret to Self Esteem. In 2005, Mıa founded TMATF: The Mya Arts & Tech Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing disadvantaged youth growth and opportunity through arts & technology education, where she serves as both executive director and teacher. Mya is also an advocate of breast cancer, as her mother is a 10 year survivor. In 2006 & 2007 she collaborated with the Lifetime Television Network in the Stop Breast Cancer for Life campaign, recording "My Bra" a song sold on iTunes donating 100% of proceeds to breast cancer research. In 2007, Mya was also the internationally featured artist in Heatherette’s Fashion Show for LifeBall in Vienna, Austria to fight Global AIDS, hosted a fundraiser for Skool’d to aid homeless LGBT youth, and advocated gay rights by opening the Out 100 Awards. Mıa is also a spokesperson for North Shore Animal League; she is helping kick off the 8th Annual North Shore Animal League’s Tour For Life at the North Shore Animal League America. |
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