Kreesha Turner facts for kids

Kreesha Turner (born June 10, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Kreesha grew up in both Canada and Jamaica. She started her music career after a successful audition with Virgin Records. She signed a deal with the Capitol Music Group. EMI Music Canada also signed her to reach more fans in Canada.

She has released two albums in Canada. Her first album, Passion (2008), featured popular songs like "Bounce With Me," "Lady Killer," and "Don't Call Me Baby." The song "Don't Call Me Baby" became the most played song by a Canadian artist on Canadian radio in 2008. It also became her first number one song on Billboard's U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. That year, she was nominated for two big awards called Juno Awards. These were for "Best New Artist" and "Best Pop Album of The Year."

Her second album, Tropic Electric (2011), was a double album. With this album, Turner changed her look and went back to her original music style. She released three successful songs: "Rock Paper Scissors," "I Could Stay," and "Love Again." This album got her another Juno Award nomination for "Best R&B Album." Kreesha Turner is also known for her unique style and image. She has appeared on many Canadian magazine covers and in a national Kit Kat commercial. Her music has been used in popular TV shows like Entourage, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, and Gossip Girl.

About Kreesha Turner

Her Early Life

Kreesha Turner was born in Edmonton, Alberta. She is the oldest of three children. Her father is Canadian with Scottish roots, and her mother is Jamaican with African and Chinese heritage. Her mother came to Canada in 1978 with nothing. "Now, she owns an industrial engraving company," Kreesha said. "She feels like she has accomplished the impossible."

As a young child, Turner loved to dance in her room to jazz music. She especially liked artists like Oscar Peterson. Turner often says that jazz music inspires her. She looks up to singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Peggy Lee.

In 2000, when Kreesha was 15, her mother sent her to Jamaica. This was so she could live there and experience Jamaican culture. Turner quickly learned that singing is a big part of daily life in Jamaica. This was especially true at the Pentecostal church. Friends convinced her to try out for the youth choir. She didn't think she could sing. But she sang Canada's national anthem and was accepted into the choir. She began singing gospel songs at the Faith Temple Tabernacle. Turner says this is when she realized she loved to sing. She went to Victoria School of the Arts in Edmonton before her high school years in Jamaica. She attended Wolmer's Girl School in Kingston, Jamaica, from 2000 to 2002. After returning from Jamaica, she went to Harry Ainlay Composite High School in Edmonton. She graduated from there in 2003.

Starting Her Music Career

Right after graduating high school in 2003, Turner became active in the underground urban/hip-hop music scene. She wrote, recorded, and performed her own songs. She worked hard to start her music career. Turner quickly got attention from other artists. She built a fan base that excited many people in the music industry. Turner performed on every stage she could find. She entered and won several competitions. But it took a few more years for her to become widely successful.

In 2005, Turner won a talent contest in Edmonton. It was organized by a local radio station called The Bounce (91.7 FM). Winning this contest allowed her to record four songs in Vancouver. She worked with a team called Hipjoint Productions. The most important song for Kreesha's career was "Bounce With Me." Chris Smith, a music manager who worked with artists like Nelly Furtado, noticed this song. This led to the start of her mainstream music career.

First Album: Passion (2007–2010)

Turner at the 2009 Juno Awards

After a successful audition with Virgin Records, Kreesha signed a record deal. This deal was with the Capitol Music Group, which Virgin Records is part of. At the same time, EMI Music Canada also signed her. This helped her reach more fans in the Canadian market.

Before her big success, Kreesha's song "Bounce With Me" was heard on Vancouver radio stations in 2006. But it wasn't officially released as a single until 2007. Her first official music video was for "Bounce With Me." It was released on iTunes on December 4, 2007. This song was later featured as 'The Free Song of the Week' on iTunes. It became her first song to enter the music charts, reaching number 53 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Her next song, "Don't Call Me Baby," was released to radio in April 2008. It came out on iTunes on May 20, 2008. This song climbed the Canadian Hot 100 chart from No. 41 to No. 8. This made "Don't Call Me Baby" her first Top 10 song in Canada. It also reached No. 1 on the Canadian sub HOT AC Charts and stayed there for eight weeks.

On August 5, 2008, Turner's first album, Passion, was available to listen to early on MuchMusic.com. On August 12, 2008, Passion was released in Canada. On November 22, 2008, Turner had her first number-one song in the US. This was with "Don't Call Me Baby" on the US Billboard Dance Charts. Turner performed some of the year's biggest hits live on New Year's Eve in Toronto.

On March 13, 2009, Turner won an award for "Best New Group/Solo Artist" at the Canadian Radio Music Awards. This was her first award for her music. Turner was nominated for two Juno Awards: New Artist of the Year and Pop Album of the Year. Before the 2009 Juno Awards, Turner appeared in many Nestle Kit Kat Senses commercials. These commercials featured her and her hit song "Bounce With Me."

In spring 2009, Turner worked with Hipjoint Productions again. She sang on "Dust in Gravity," a song by the band Delerium. This song was on a new remix collection released in 2010. "Dust In Gravity," with Kreesha's vocals, reached number-one on The US Billboard Dance Charts on June 5, 2010. This gave Turner her second number-one song in the US.

Second Album: Tropic Electric (2011–2012)

On July 5, 2011, Kreesha released her new song, "Rock Paper Scissors." In September of that year, Turner released another new song, "I Could Stay," on Canadian radio. Turner released her second album, Tropic Electric, in November 2011. It was a double album with two sides: Tropic and Electric. The Tropic side was recorded in Jamaica. It aimed to mix reggae and pop music. The Electric side was for fans who liked the sound of her first album, Passion.

The third song from the album was "Love Again," released in April 2012. In May 2012, Kreesha sang on Spanish DJ Wally Lopez's first song, "Keep Running the Melody." The song quickly reached No. 1 on the iTunes sales charts in Spain. It became a summer hit across the country. Turner performed her song "Love Again" on the Much Music Video Awards pre-show.

New Music and Projects (2013–Present)

Turner performing for MAC Cosmetics in Santa Monica

In February 2013, Kreesha and producer Young Yonny hinted at a new project. They used the hashtag "#EvolutionInevitable." Kreesha later said this would be the title of her upcoming EP (a shorter album). She said the project would be very different from her past music. It would include Hip-Hop and Dancehall sounds.

On April 12, 2013, Kreesha released a new song called "Mo' Fire (Remix)." A music video for the song came out on April 17, 2013. Turner announced in an interview that her new album was finished. She described it as "aggressive and in your face, full of sass and completely swagged out." She said the overall energy was different from her earlier albums. "It’s very hip hop," she added. The first song from this album was "MJ." Its music video premiered on VEVO on May 13, 2014. The album features Kardinal Offishall.

After releasing "MJ," Turner found new management with Nick Cannon and his Ncredible company. She then signed with Republic Records. Her music style changed towards dancehall and reggae. She released a song with T.O.K. called "... Gal (Feat. T.O.K.)." This song had some success in the Caribbean. She also recorded a song with Shaggy and Costi called "Reggae Dancer." This song was very successful overseas.

Turner also worked with other reggae artists. These included Collie Buddz, Ky-Mani Marley, and Konshens. She released several successful songs with them. Her last music release was in 2017. After that, she started focusing on finance. She teaches online about money, investing, and the stock market. She uses the nickname #StockBae for this. Besides finance, Turner also works behind the scenes in film and television as a producer. Even with her new focus, Turner's music has made a lasting impact. Her mix of reggae, dancehall, and hip-hop continues to inspire other artists.

Kreesha's Music Style

Billie Holiday (left), Jill Scott (middle) and Erykah Badu (right), among others, are cited as inspirations by Kreesha Turner.

Her Musical Style and Voice

Kreesha Turner has a vocal range like a Jazz singer or a soprano. She explained how she started learning about music. "I started doing everything I possibly could," she said. "I did vocal, guitar, piano, music theatre, acting." She was also part of a gospel choir and a jazz choir. "I started writing, recording my own material," she added. "It was about increasing my odds, and also, increasing my knowledge."

For her first album, Passion, Kreesha helped write five songs. One of them was the album's title track. When she first started, she approached every writing session like a student. "I’d work with a songwriter and they’d ask ‘how do you want to approach this?’" she recalled. "And I’d say, ‘no, how do you work as a songwriter?’ I wanted to learn." She wanted to gain tools for her own songwriting. In early 2010, when Kreesha started writing for Tropic Electric, she used those tools. "Last time I watched them build the house," she said. "This time I felt I could grab the tools and do it myself." She was involved in creating every song and influenced every part of it.

Who Inspired Her

Turner says the music scene in Jamaica inspired her to start a music career. She also mentions jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Peggy Lee as inspirations. Turner's musical tastes grew when she found the music of Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and D'Angelo. She also liked A Tribe Called Quest, Kylie Minogue, Grace Jones, Andre 3000, Common, the Foo Fighters, and Our Lady Peace. Kreesha's early way of expressing herself through music was through modern, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and African dance.

Her Personal Life

Kreesha Turner has a pet Shiba Inu dog named Panda.

Awards and Nominations

Discography

Studio Albums

Singles

Collaborations and Features

• Dust in Gravity (2010) – Delerium featuring Kreesha Turner
• Keep Running The Melody (2012) – Wally Lopez featuring Kreesha Turner
• Scattin' On Me (2013) – DeStorm Power featuring Kreesha Turner
• ...' Wit Me (2013) – DeStorm Power featuring Koowplayy and Kreesha Turner
• Champagne Dreams (2015) – Ky-Mani Marley featuring Kreesha Turner
• On To You (Remix) (2015) – Marley Waters featuring Kranium, Kreesha Turner and Verse Simmonds
• Bring Me Back (2015) – Sultan & Shepard featuring Kreesha Turner
• The Youth (2015) - Kay Cola featuring Kreesha Turner & Jon Famous
• Ready Fi Di Action (2015) - The Wizard featuring Kreesha Turner
• Can't Wait (2016) – Konshens featuring Kreesha Turner
• Bombae (2016) – Siya featuring Jake&Papa and Kreesha Turner
• Blu Dot (Remix) (2016) - Dott Richey featuring Kreesha Turner
• A.N.F.W.M (2016) – Yonni featuring The Game and Kreesha Turner
• Blowin' Up (2016) – Yonni featuring Tank (American singer), Eric Bellinger and Kreesha Turner
• I Will Be Here (2016) - Precision Productions featuring Kreesha Turner
• Showstopper (2017) - KD Soundsystem, The Wizard featuring Kreesha Turner
• Good Day (2017) - The Great Escape featuring The Soul Syndicate & Kreesha
• Love How You Whine (2017) – K'Coneil featuring Kreesha Turner
• Used to (2017) – Collie Buddz featuring Kreesha Turner
• Inna Di Club (2019) - DJ Septik featuring Kreesha Turner & Leftside

Images for kids

• Kreesha Turner ... Gal.jpg

  Headshot of Kreesha Turner taken onset of "... Gal" Video Shoot in 2014

See also

In Spanish: Kreesha Turner para niños