Dante Thomas

Pop-oriented R&B vocalist Dante Thomas nearly abandoned his artistic ambitions before embarking on a sporadic yet extended path that gained traction through the worldwide 2001 success of “Miss California.” Fresh from high school, the Sacramento, California native departed his adopted hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah, boarding a bus bound for New York City with no connections in the metropolis. His initial evening there unfolded on a bench inside the Port Authority terminal, after which he lodged in youth hostels while attempting to gain footing in the industry. At the Hit Factory, an encounter with Pras led to an impromptu audition featuring a Stevie Wonder number—plus selections drawn from Donny Hathaway and Jodeci, key influences on the young performer. The Fugees member was sufficiently struck to begin collaborating with Thomas immediately. The singer’s debut single, “Miss California,” delivered substantial commercial impact by reaching the summit in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, landing inside the Top Ten across multiple additional markets, and climbing to number 85 stateside. Its accompanying album, Fly, paired with opening slots for *NSYNC, expanded his audience considerably, yet Thomas soon entered a prolonged break from releasing material. He resurfaced in 2004 via “Get It On,” which peaked at number 20 in France, and maintained a trickle of standalone tracks plus the follow-up LP Hardcore on Videotape until 2013. He also appeared on European chart entries from KRIS and Michael Mind Project. In the second half of the 2010s, Thomas put out uplifting cuts including “Lonely,” “Put It Down on Me,” and “Get Up!”