Skylar Simone

Skylar Simone, a vocalist, composer, and player of several instruments, crafts an alluring fusion of silky R&B and personal dance rhythms. Early in her twenties she adopted her current professional name after previously topping dance charts as Skylar Stecker with material geared toward teens, a move that aligned with her signing to Def Jam. Her first release for the label arrived as the sultry SHIVER EP in 2024.

She entered the world in Tampa, Florida, yet spent most of her childhood in Wisconsin after repeated family moves tied to her father Aaron’s NFL commitments. Vocal talent emerged early, accompanied by command of drums, guitar, and piano; as a preteen she delivered the national anthem at dozens of gatherings, among them a NASCAR race and contests in both the NFL and Major League Baseball. Mid-2013, at age eleven, she began filming and posting cover renditions online. The household later shifted to Irvine, California, to advance her recording goals.

A 2014 collection of covers, featuring her interpretations of Sia, Disclosure, and Sara Bareilles, led to a deal with Cherrytree Records/Interscope and the seven-track Firecracker EP, which highlighted her range across ’90s R&B, electronic pulses, hip-hop low end, and buoyant pop. Echoing the styles of Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Leona Lewis, Stecker unveiled her first full-length album, This Is Me, in September 2015, boasting production from RedOne, Rock Mafia, and the Stereotypes. That month she also sang her single “Crazy Beautiful” on NBC’s Today, while another track, “Rooftop,” reached the Billboard Dance Songs Chart. In 2016 she issued This Is Me: Signature Version, and her JX Riders-assisted take on Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams” returned her to the Dance Club Songs chart, this time at number one. Two further dance chart-toppers followed in 2017—“Only Want You” and “Blame”—both produced by Tricky Stewart. Afterward she resumed independent status and self-released her second album, Redemption, in March 2019.

Entering the new decade she offered a 2020 rendition of 50 Cent’s “In Da Club,” then the seasonal “This Christmas” and additional singles. Her third EP, Earth Signs, surfaced in July 2021, succeeded by a run of tracks that included the moody “Hate That for You,” the 2022 collaboration “What’s Good” with Tone Stith, and the sinuous “Know It’s Wrong.” She closed 2022 with the Mariah Carey cover “Miss You Most (At Christmas Time).”

Following a subdued 2023, Stecker adopted the name Skylar Simone and secured a Def Jam Recordings contract in the first half of 2024. Pursuing more mature, relationship-focused themes and a heightened sensual palette, she launched her Def Jam era with the August 2024 EP SHIVER, whose title track also received a Sistek club remix.