Skylar Stecker

Skylar Stecker first gained notice as a teenage R&B vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose early cover videos and National Anthem appearances paved the way for a major-label signing in 2015. Two years afterward she scored consecutive Billboard Dance Club Songs number ones with a pair of tracks, then issued her independent follow-up album, Redemption, in 2019. She shifted toward more sensual R&B textures on the 2021 EP Earth Signs and on later singles such as the 2022 release “Know It’s Wrong.”

Although born in Tampa, Florida, she spent her childhood in Wisconsin while the family relocated in step with her father Aaron’s NFL career. Her voice matured rapidly, accompanied by growing command of drums, guitar, and piano; the household later settled in Irvine, California, so she could concentrate on music full-time. Following a 2014 iTunes collection of covers that featured her renditions of Sia, Disclosure, and Sara Bareilles, Cherrytree Records/Interscope signed her and released the seven-track EP Firecracker, which mixed ’90s R&B, electro beats, hip-hop bass lines, and buoyant pop. Echoing the style of Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Leona Lewis, she delivered her first full-length project, This Is Me, in September 2015, with RedOne, Rock Mafia, and the Stereotypes handling production. In 2017 Tricky Stewart–helmed singles “Only Want You” and “Blame” both reached the top of the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart; afterward she reverted to independent status and self-released the sophomore set Redemption in 2019.

Entering the new decade she offered a 2020 cover of 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” and the holiday track “This Christmas.” Earth Signs, her third EP, arrived in July 2021 and was followed by standalone releases including the moody “Hate That for You,” the 2022 Tone Stith collaboration “What’s Good,” and the slinky “Know It’s Wrong.”