If things had gone a little differently, Shontelle might perhaps have been Beatweek’s attorney instead of our cover girl. The songwriter had almost finished law school when the music industry discovered she could sing too – and now that her hit song “Impossible” has spent most of 2010 near the top of the charts, her new album is set to drop next month. The Barbados native tells us all about where she came from and where she’s headed…

Shontelle Layne’s new album is less than a month away from release, and yet she’s been in the studio working on it as recently as the day before we speak – something of a surprise, seeing as how the not-yet-finished album entitled No Gravity has already generated the biggest hit single of her career. The artist who had until this year been best known for her early hit “T-Shirt“ is now even more closely associated with the ballad “Impossible.” The song’s overwhelming success over the past several months makes it seem like an obvious choice for a single in hindsight, but that decision wasn’t so clear at the time.

“To tell you the truth,” Shontelle says as her pet dog Bubbles enters the room, “Impossible for us was a big gamble because when we released it everything on the radio was just up tempo four on the floor stuff, a lot of dance type stuff. And we were like, there’s a high possibility that this song will get swallowed up by all that. And so we were just hoping that the opposite would happen where it just stood out as a very strong song with a real message.”

As it turns out, the gamble has paid off, as the song still sits among the top twenty pop songs in iTunes nearly half a year after its release. But that hasn’t stopped the overachiever in her from continuing to try to improve No Gravity right up until the point where “you have to, today, submit a tracklisting.” The late sessions with producer Rodney Jerkins, whom she says she “always wanted to work with,” ultimately generate what is about to become the album’s next single, Perfect Nightmare. The song threatens to be a ballad for its first minute, but ultimately explodes into a dance-friendly number.

(Read more…)

Written by Leigh Belz of TeenVouge:

Last year I had the honor of getting lunch with singer Shontelle Layne to talk about her big song “Stuck With Each Other” (featuring Akon).

Since then, the Barbados-born beauty has hit the top of the charts again with the uberballad “Impossible.” (It’s been on my ‘Walk to Work” playlist for the past few months, which may have resulted in some really scared tourists in Times Square the other day.) Shontelle’s second album, No Gravity, is due out at the end of this month.

When we first met in 2009, I was impressed by her dedication/obsession with Twitter. And she’s still going strong. I asked Shontelle to give me a crash course in tweeting. Here’s what she had to say:

How long have you been on Twitter?
I joined Twitter two years ago, I believe.

How many tweets do you generally send out each day?
LOL! Well . . . according to TweetStats.com, I, @Shontelle_Layne, tweet on average, 57 times per day. #TWIDDICTED! They tried to make me go to to Tweehab, I said NO! NO! NO! o.O <= (see I even type like I’m tweeting now . . . sigh . . . v_v)

Who are some of the people you follow?
I follow over 200 people now. Mostly artists I admire or that interest me. I follow whoever is a hot topic at the moment. I just like to know what’s going on in the world around me. Keeps me sharp! I follow news, blogs, fans, fan sites, labelmates, producers, friends, magazines. It’s all usually either entertainment, art, radio stations, or fashion- or geek-related. (Yes, I’m a BIG, FAT GEEK! I read comics, watch anime, and play video games, and I’m proud!) I also follow a few charities I support.

What’s the secret to a coming up with a good Tweet?
Not sure if there’s any secret. The purpose of my Twitter is to update my followers with stuff THEY want. I use it to inspire and motivate my followers as much as I can. I tweet tour dates, pics, vids, words of wisdom, things like that. Sometimes I do #FollowFridays play around with the funny Trending Topics games. I love my followers so much! They rock my socks! They LOVE twitpics! They don’t care if it’s what I’m eating for lunch or dinner or if it’s my ride or my fashion. They just want to know what’s up. That’s why they are following. So I let them know what’s up!

What’s your favorite abbreviation (like LOL or OMG or BTW . . .)?
I use OMG and LOL a lot but LMFAO is my favorite abbreviation actually! #pottymouth IKR! ROFLis also a fave of mine but I’m more known for silly smileys like =>, \(^)_(^)/, ZzZZz[(-.-)]zZZzZ, VVO.OVV, o.O, \(O.o)/, \(*.*)/, “\(^.^)/”, *\($.$)/*, d(-_-)b, \(0)_(0)/ and last, but not least . . . O__o Sigh . . . clearly this is an FML situation!

Do you feel closer to your fans thanks to Twitter?
Oh, I’m so happy Twitter exists! I’ve never felt closer to my fans. Some of them have become like friends and family. I make music for them, so being in touch with them lets me know what they want so I can deliver it. I do a lot of Ustreams with them and I use Twitter to round them up. I do the same to let them know I’m about to play Mario Kart Wii so they can log into theirs too and we race eachother in WFC mode. So AMAZING! It shows them that I care about them. I know they care about me, and basically I use Twitter to reciprocate.

Source: TeenVogue

Looking for music to pump you up, inspire you and sing along to? That’s the kind of music that R&B star Shontelle makes and her new album No Gravity will make you feel lighter than air. Seventeen Magazinecaught up with Shontelle to find out all about growing up in Barbados, her first big heartbreak and the celebrity crush you’ll surely relate to!

Cosmogirl: When did you start singing?

Shontelle: I started singing right out of the womb! My mom and aunt are singers as well. My entire family is very musical. Almost all the kids play some kind of instrument, sing, dance or write. I was always around my aunt’s band growing up and I always knew I wanted to do the same thing. But it was when my grandmother starting showing me documentaries about Michael Jackson growing up, that I really knew I wanted to do that. I wanted to be just like him. Make people so happy they cry. Give them hope. Make them think. I always wanted to heal the world…

CG: Who do you consider your first big influence?

Shontelle: I really do think Michael Jackson was the first star to really hit me in a major way, where I saw myself doing what he was doing. Thanks Gran Gran! But after watching Disney’s The Little Mermaid, I really more than ever before, wanted to be “part of that world.” I really wanted to be Ariel, tail and all. But I also grew up watching my aunt perform and all the other local acts from Barbados as well.

I always listened to my parents’ Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder albums and they listened to a lot of Motown music like Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye and legends like Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Prince, Madonna, Donny Hathaway, my favorite voice ever, and Ella Fitzgerald. We also loved Bob Marley and The Beatles. Stuff like that. My first record was – well actually I got two at the same time as a gift from my aunt. Usher “My Way” and Brandy “Never Say Never.” The first album I ever bought was The Fugees “The Score.” Good stuff right?

CG: What was growing up in Barbados like?

Shontelle: Growing up Barbados isn’t much different than growing up anywhere in America, except that Barbados is a tropical paradise in the Caribbean. We do all the same things that kids anywhere else do. We live on MySpace and Facebook, text like maniacs, go to the movies, play the latest video games, watch MTV, FUSE and BET, go clubbing, have barbecues, beach parties, go to school, go to concerts, go on dates, get into trouble, obsess over celebrities and fashion. We love sports and probably know just as much about the NBA as kids in America.

(Read more…)

As if Shontelle’s catchy song “T-Shirt” wasn’t hard enough to get out of your head just two summers ago, her newest single, “Impossible,” is a ballad that’s worth singing along to as well. The singer stopped by the J-14 office where she chatted about her upcoming album, touring with Beyoncé, and her friendship with fellow Barbados native Rihanna.

J-14: What’s the story behind your single “Impossible”?
Shontelle: First of all, I really felt like ballads were missing from radio for a minute, and I knew that there was no song out there for heartbroken people. I just wanted to put a song out that gave people hope — things may not work out the way you want them to, but you can move past it and everything is gonna be okay.

I know that a lot of people have a similar story and sometimes you need to feel like you’re not alone. I knew that I might have to tell embarrassing stories about myself, but I might help someone realize, ‘Okay, if Shontelle can figure it out, then I’ll be alright.’ It’s not the end of the world — you can move on, and this is song is going to help you find the strength somehow.

J-14: When did you realize that you might have to break up with the boy you’re singing about in the song?
Shontelle: You get tired of hearing people. A big part of why you hurt when someone cheats on you or when you break up is because everyone is going to find out. You’re always going be embarrassed when someone betrays you like that or you’re walking around blind.

You feel really stupid because you feel like here I am walking around like, ‘I have this hot boy and everything is all good,’ and then he’s really not there and you’re looking really stupid, giving everything to this person who really isn’t giving their all to you. It’s very embarrassing.

J-14: Is it true that you wanted to go for more of a rock vibe on the new album?
Shontelle: A lot of people wouldn’t think that this — I am this girl who grew up in Barbados — but I listened to so much rock music growing up. Green Day is one of my favorite bands! I’m very much influenced by that music. People don’t really know that rock spawned from reggae and ska and all that music that is so natural to us where I’m from, so I feel like it’s just a natural attraction that makes me want to infuse it into my music.

My album has a lot more drums and guitars now — the last one had a lot of piano. It’s a little known fact about me that I play the drums, so I really love rhythm and bass. I like messing around with “Empire State of Mind” or “Umbrella,” those sorts of beats where it’s very simple but so catchy and they just make you move and want to dance.

(Read more…)

“Impossible” singer Shontelle stopped by the J-14 office today, where she filled them in on deets about her upcoming second album, No Gravity, and spoke all about the super busy week she had for J-14′s newest web series, “Your 14-Second (or more!) Diary!” which includes flying across the country and spending time at the “If I Can Dream” house in LA.

Congrats to Shontelle for landing her first magazine cover in the USA! We’re not sure when it will be published but should be soon, but of course we’ll post it asap when we get it!

Pulse Airways Magazine Scan (April 22, 2010) - click banner to enlarge

Given a chance to pursue her passion, Shontelle didn’t think twice. The 24-year-old pop princess from Barbados leapt at the opportunity to explore a career in music when the chance arose, even though it meant walking away from everything she’d worked so hard for.

As a young girl, Shontelle Layne’s passion for music compelled her. While all of her friends were lying to their parents in order to meet up in the nightclubs, Shontelle was telling her parents she was going to a friend’s house, and instead going to a local recording studio. “Of course, when she found out, she was actually glad,” the singer told me in a recent phone interview. “She said, ‘You know what? I think I’d might rather you be in the studio than in the club, anyway.’” That time in the studio would pay off down the road.

After high school, Shontelle attended Harrison College and the University of the West Indies, where she was studying to become a lawyer. She had only two courses left to complete her law degree when opportunity came knocking. She had caught the attention of SRC, the same label known for discovering her friend (and fellow Barbadian) Rihanna. The chance was too good to pass up; she put her degree on hold, and signed the recording contract.

(Read more…)

Last night Shontelle and label mate Hal Linton attended Gotham Magazine’s Annual Gala in NYC hosted by Alicia Keys and presented by Bing. Below is a blog extract from fashion journalist Adrien Field. I find it quite funny Lol

I also ran into my girl Shontelle, who’s single T-Shirt blew up last year, and is now finishing up her sophomore album. It was hilarious – we were actually sitting next to one another at a table and I kept looking over at this ravishingly beautiful girl thinking, “Is that Naomi Campbell?” and only when she turned we had a gasp of mutual recognition! I’m so excited for her!

- Adrien Field

Photo Credit: Thanks Rodrigo & Christie!

Last Friday was a busy day for Shontelle, here are a few photos on the set of her in-person video make-up session feature with Amber Magazine, dropping some liners for Z100 in NYC, and meeting with celebrity blogger Jared (JustJared) later that night!

Check out this exclusive HQ scan of Shontelle featured in the December 5th issue of Billboard Magazine, in stores today! For those who might not be familiar with Billboard Magazine, it is one of the most popular music magazines in the US for music industry professionals and fans.

The article also introduces four of the other upcoming young, gifted and talented Barbadian artists who relocated to the U.S. in search of stateside success (Vita Chambers, Jaicko, Hal Linton & Livvi Franc), who without a doubt are all going to get it! Get familiar!

Click the banner above to proceed to the photogallery, then click the image again for HQ.

Photo credit: Billboard (Marketing Dept)

Check out Shontelle in this September’s issue of InStyle Magazine (UK). It features the R&B songstress beautifully showing the latest trends in the ever popular smokey eye. Make sure you check out these HQ magazine scans below. She looks extraordinarily beautiful!

Adele Roberts from GalaxyLife (UK) caught up with Bajan beauty Shontelle to chat about boys, Tinchy Stryder and Alesha Dixon’s legs. Listen to the exclusive interview below:

ONSTAGE MUST – The saucy songbird “can’t live without shimmer for a performance.” She loves GIRLACTIK sparkle shadow, she’s been late to gigs for taking the time to dust it on!

OFF-DUTY STAPLE – During her downtime, Shontelle moisturizes from head to toe with CAROL’S DAUGHTER Body Butter. The rich formulas keep her skin “ready to rock and roll”.

GUILTY PLEASURE – “I love everything from L’OCCITANE.” she says, “especially the hand cream.” She stashes it in her purse for impromptu meet and greets with fans.

SKIN REMEDY – This Barbados native has been using VEET Hair Removal Gel Cream since she was on the national swim team as a teen. “My legsstay smooth for such a long time; It’s perfect for when I’m touring.”

STRAND SAVER - The “small and portable” TIGI BED HEAD Superficial Smoothing Liquid adds loads of shine and fits into any bag for on-the-go touch-ups.

Click Here to check out the magazine scan which also features Ciara and Lily Allen!

Shontelle is featured in the Reinventing Beauty Magazine (Handbook) – May/June issue. This beauty handbook is a magazine that is available in CVS Pharmacy’s across the United States.

Click here or the banner above to view a scan of the full article.

• Hype Hair Magazine – May/June 2009
• Vibe Magazine – November/December 2008
• Billboard Magazine – October 2008
• Essence Magazine – May 2009
• XXL Magazine – December 2008

(Thanks so much Nastya!)