Melanie Fiona
Melanie Fiona Hallim (born July 4, 1983) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario.[1] She began her career in 2002 as part of a Canadian R&B trio X-Quisite, who was nominated for a Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for their self-titled album (2004). She went on to form the duo The Renaissance with hometown native Drake, although they released no albums.
Melanie Fiona
Melanie Fiona Hallim
Syren Hall
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
Vocals
2002–present
Hallim's debut studio album, The Bridge (2009), was preceded by her debut single, "Give It to Me Right", which peaked at number 20 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and number 41 on the UK Singles Chart.[2] Her follow-up single, "It Kills Me,” became her breakout song on the US Billboard Hot 100 where it entered the top 50, peaked on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Her next single "Monday Morning" became her biggest hit in Europe to date. The Bridge also earned her a NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding New Artist.
Hallie’s second studio album, The MF Life (2011), peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard 200. The same year, Hallim won two Grammy Awards for Best Traditional R&B Performance and Best R&B Song for her song "Fool for You" with CeeLo Green.
Life and career[edit]
1983–2006: Early life and career beginnings[edit]
Melanie Fiona Hallim, (who goes by Melanie Fiona professionally) was born on July 4, 1983, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[3][4] She is the daughter and second child of Guyanese immigrant parents, who immigrated to Canada in the late 1970s.[3][5] Her parents are of Afro-Guyanese, Indo-Guyanese, and Portuguese descent.[1]
Her father was a janitor before working in finance, and her mother worked in banking.[3] Fiona began writing songs at age 16.[6] Living in a music-filled household, Fiona says she always knew music was her passion. Her father was a guitarist in a band and would allow her to sit on the stage when she was younger as he would play. In 2002, Fiona was part of a girl group called X-Quisite[7] alongside Nicole Holness and Nirvana Savoury. Signed to Warner Music Canada, the group released their self-titled debut studio album X-Quisite in 2003. At the 2004 Juno Awards, the group was nominated as one of five finalists for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for the album X-Quisite. The group had a number of singles from the album, notably "Bad Girl" and "No Regrets". The group disbanded in 2005.
She was also in a group called The Renaissance with rapper Drake. Early in her career, she would perform at nightclubs in Toronto.[8] In 2005, Fiona traveled to Los Angeles, in search of a recording contract. According to Fiona, record labels "loved" the way she looked and sung, but she "knew that the minute I worked with them or would have signed with them, they would have tried to change me into someone else completely different. That was something that I didn't want to do."[7] She went on to co-write songs for recording artists Rihanna and Kardinal Offishall,[7] working with, amongst others, super producer Mike City.[9] Fiona also recorded the reggae song "Somebody Come Get Me" under the stage name Syren Hall, which was included in the Reggae Gold 2008 compilation album.[10][11]
Personal life[edit]
Fiona and songwriter Jared Cotter have a son born on 14 March 2016.[23] They became engaged on 14 February 2018.[24] Originally they planned to marry on Amalfi Coast, Italy; but the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to postpone their wedding three times. The couple married privately on 12 December 2020 in Los Angeles. They welcomed a daughter in December 2021.[25][26]
Artistry[edit]
Voice[edit]
Fiona is a dramatic soprano.[27] Her voice has been referred to as being both "soulful" and "sassy."[27] Some have praised her vocals for being "very passionate, but clean and controlled, and not over-the-top singing."[28]
Musical style and influences[edit]
Fiona cites Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Sam Cooke, Sade, Amy Winehouse, India.Arie, Patsy Cline and Bob Marley as her musical influences.[5][6][11] Furthermore, she mentioned Brandy as major inspiration,[29] naming her the only artist that had her starstruck next to Prince.[30] She also cited Janet Jackson's career as inspirational, who she called an icon.[31] She called Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill the album that changed her perspective, calling it an "amazing body of work".[6] She attributes her parents for her vintage sound. Her father was a guitarist in a band, while her mother would sing around the house. She explained that "[m]y parents were big music lovers and played soul music all the time", who would play The Supremes, The Ronettes and Cooke, as well as Caribbean music like soca, calypso and reggae.[3][32]
Fiona's occasional songwriting revolves around her personal experiences. She stated that she attempts to "keep [the songs] as universal as possible, unless I am writing about something very personal, even then the themes are universal".[5] She has received comparisons to Amy Winehouse, Lauryn Hill, Macy Gray, Chrisette Michele, Marsha Ambrosius and Jill Scott.[33]
