Shola Ama facts for kids

Shola Ama (born on March 8, 1979) is a British singer from London. She is famous for her hit songs like "You Might Need Somebody" from 1997. This song was a cover of an older hit by Randy Crawford. She also had success with "You're the One I Love" and "Still Believe" in 1999. "Still Believe" was one of the first songs produced by the Norwegian team Stargate.

Shola Ama's Music Journey

Starting Her Career

When Shola Ama was 15, she was singing to herself at Hammersmith tube station. A music producer named Kwame Kwaten heard her. In 1995, a small music label released her first song, "Celebrate." It was a slow, emotional song produced by D'Influence. Even though it wasn't a big hit, it helped people notice Shola Ama's talent. On her 16th birthday, she signed a music contract with WEA.

Breakthrough Hits and First Album

In 1996, Shola Ama released "You're the One I Love" with WEA. It reached number 85 on the music charts. Her next song, "You Might Need Somebody", became a huge success. It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1997. This song stayed in the top 40 for almost two months. It became one of the biggest hits of 1997.

Later in 1997, "You're the One I Love" was released again and reached number 3. Her third song, "Who's Loving My Baby," came out in November 1997 and reached number 13. When she was 18, Shola Ama released her first album, Much Love (1997).

In May 1997, Shola Ama performed "You Might Need Somebody" at Wembley Stadium. This was part of the event before the rugby league Challenge Cup Final.

Awards and Second Album

Because her album was so successful, Shola Ama won a Brit Award for Best British Female. She also won two MOBO Awards for Best Newcomer and Best R&B Act.

In 1999, Ama released her second album, In Return. For this album, she worked with famous producers like Fred Jerkins III and Stargate. Other talented people like Angie Stone and Babyface also helped write songs.

Even with support from her record label, In Return did not sell well. After this, Shola Ama took a break from making music.

Later Music and Collaborations

In 2002, Shola Ama went back to the studio to record her third album, Supersonic. She couldn't get a deal with a major music label. Instead, she worked with Pony Canyon for distribution.

In 2004, Ama sang on the song "You Should Really Know" by The Pirates. This song was a response to Mario Winans' "I Don't Wanna Know". It reached number 8 on the UK chart.

Shola Ama also helped her sister, Sadie Ama, who became a singer too. Sadie released songs like "So Sure" (2004) and "Fallin" (2007).

Ama was also a singer on the song "DJ Play" by Perempay & Dee. This song was released in October 2009 and was played a lot on the radio. She also sang on songs with rapper Giggs, including "Cut Above the Rest" and "Blow Em Away."

In February 2010, Shola Ama joined a new music group called A-List. This group was started by Wiley. Her sister Sadie Ama and other grime music artists were also part of it.

In 2013, Ama narrated a TV show called My Crazy Jamaican Life.

In October 2015, Shola Ama released a new 8-song album called Surreal. It featured new songs with a reggae style. This was 13 years after her last album, Supersonic.

In April 2016, she sang on the song "Rocket" from the album System Killer by Frisco.

About Shola Ama's Life

Shola Ama was born in London. Her father was Scottish, and her mother was from Dominica with family from Saint Lucia. Her father left when she was young.

Shola Ama's Music

Albums

• Much Love (1997)
• In Return (1999)
• Supersonic (2002) (Released only in Japan)
• Surreal (2015)

Singles

• "Celebrate" (1995)
• "You're the One I Love" (1996, re-issued 1997)
• "You Might Need Somebody" (1997)
• "Who's Loving My Baby" (1997)
• "Much Love" (1998)
• "Someday I'll Find You" (with Craig Armstrong) (1998)
• "Still Believe" (1999)
• "Imagine" (1999)
• "This I Promise You" (with D'Influence and D-Vas) (2002)
• "Symphony" (featuring Moïse) (2002)

Songs She Was Featured On

• "Taboo" (Glamma Kid featuring Shola Ama) (1999)
• "Mai più" (Sottotono featuring Shola Ama) (1999)
• "Feels So Good" (B-15 Project featuring Shola Ama and Ms. Dynamite) (2001)
• "You Should Really Know" (The Pirates featuring Shola Ama, Naila Boss, Ishani and Enya) (2004)
• "DJ Play" (Perempay & Dee featuring Shola Ama) (2009)
• "Cut Above the Rest" (Giggs featuring Shola Ama) (2009)
• "Blow Em Away" (Giggs featuring Shola Ama) (2010)
• "Take It Back" (Toddla T featuring Shola Ama and J2K) (2011)
• "For You" (Roses Gabor featuring Shola Ama) (2014)

See also

In Spanish: Shola Ama para niños