Shola Ama
| Shola Ama | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mathurin Campbell |
| Born |
18 March 1979 Paddington, London, England |
| Genres | R&B, soul, garage |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Associated acts | A-List, Craig David, Devlin, Giggs, Mz. Bratt, Sadie Ama, Toddla T, Wiley |
Shola Ama (born Mathurin Campbell on 18 March 1979), is an English R&B singer, who scored her biggest hit in 1997 with a cover of Turley Richards' "You Might Need Somebody".
Campbell was born in Paddington, London, England, of a white father (Scottish and Irish) and St. Lucian mother. She attended Quintin Kynaston School in the early 1990s.
At 15, she was singing to herself on a platform at Hammersmith tube station, and was overheard by Kwame Kwaten, a producer at the FreakStreet record label.
In 1995, an unknown independent label released a single titled "Celebrate", which was a ballad produced by D'Influence. Although the single was not a commercial success, it did draw attention to Shola Ama as an artist. On her 16th birthday, she signed a recording contract with WEA.
The single "You're the One I Love" was her first single release for WEA in 1996; it barely made an impact on the charts, only managing to reach No. 85. Her second WEA single, "You Might Need Somebody", remains her biggest hit. This Turley Richards cover reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1997. It remained in the top 40 for almost two months, becoming one of 1997's biggest hits. A re-release of "You're the One I Love" followed in August 1997 and reached #3. Her third single "Who's Loving My Baby" was released in November 1997 and reached #13. At the age of 18, Shola Ama released her debut album Much Love (1997).
On the success of the album, Shola Ama won a Brit Award for Best British Female and two MOBO Awards for Best Newcomer and Best R&B Act.
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