Kreesha Turner

Born in Edmonton, Canada, to a Canadian father and Jamaican mother, R&B/pop singer/songwriter Kreesha Turner grew up studying dance while absorbing a wide range of sounds from jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, vocalist Erykah Badu, and hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest. At fifteen she lived for a year in Jamaica, where she first sang in a Pentecostal church; that period strengthened her ties to her Jamaican roots and fueled her desire to keep performing. After returning to Canada, she immersed herself in the local hip-hop community before starting to write and perform original material. In 2005 she won a local radio talent contest, which led her to record a four-track EP that included the song "Bounce with Me." The track became a hit and appeared on multiple television programs, among them Gossip Girl. Her Virgin/EMI debut album, Passion, was scheduled for release in the spring of 2008.