Melanie Fiona et DURAND BERNARR

Born Melanie Fiona Hallim to Guyanese immigrant parents, the singer began writing songs age 16, having been influenced by her guitar playing father. In 2002, Fiona joined the girl group X-Quisite alongside Nicole Holness and Nirvana Savoury, through which they released a self-titled album in 2003. Subsequent to the release X-Quisite were nominated for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards for the album “X-Quisite”, which spawned the singles “Bad Girl” and “No Regrets”.

The group disbanded in 2005 and Fiona sung in the group The Renaissance alongside rapper Drake, regularly performing in nightclubs around the Toronto area. The singer subsequently co-wrote songs for recording artists including Rihanna and Kardinal Offishall, and worked with the super producer Mike City.

After appearing on the “Reggae Gold 2008” compilation under the stage name Syren Hall, Fiona singed with SRC Records and Universal Motown in 2007. Following supporting Kanye West on his Glow in the Dark Tour and being introduced to Jay-Z, the singer signed with Roc Nation who released her debut solo album “The Bridge” in 2009. The album has sold over 250,000 copies and spawned the single “It Kills Me” which topped the Billboard Hop R&B/Hip-Hop charts for 10 weeks and earned Fiona a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Fiona subsequently toured in support of Alicia Keys on her The Freedom Tour in 2010 ahead of returning to the studio to record her sophomore album. Released in March 2012, the singer-songwriter released the album “The MF Life” to across the board positive reviews. The album was led by the single “Gone and Never Coming Back” and “4AM”, the latter of which charted at No. 8 on the US R&B chart. Later in 2012 Fiona earned two shared Grammy awards, for Best Traditional R&B Performance and Best R&B Songs, with singer Cee-Lo Green for their song “Fool for You”, and a Juno award for her recording of “Gone and Never Coming Back”.