Shakaya

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Shakaya


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born =
Origin = Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Instrument = Singing
Genre = Pop, R&B
Occupation(s) =
Years_active = 2002–2006
Label = Columbia
URL = [http://www.shakaya.com.au/ www.shakaya.com.au]
Current_members = Simone Stacey Naomi Wenitong
Past_members =

Shakaya were a two-piece girl group from Australia, that consisted of Simone Stacey and Naomi Wenitong, two Cairns, North Queensland based songwriters and performers. The two met at the Atsic Music College in 1999 while studying an Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander music course and they had both been writing individually before they met each other. [http://www.girl.com.au/shakayainterview.htm "Shakaya at Girl.com.au"] . "Girl.com.au". Retrieved June 3 2007.] [http://www.vibe.com.au/vibe/corporate/celebrity_vibe/showceleb.asp?id=71 "The power of two"] . "VIBE Australia". Retrieved June 3 2007.] The girls were initially discovered in Cairns by Reno Nicastro, and Michael Pearson-Adams. Nicastro produced most of the girls' songs and gave them free studio time for two years.

The band's name, 'Shakaya', was originally going to be 'Kashaya', but then their manager mixed the letters around and it became 'Shakaya'. Stacey and Wenitong did some research and found out that the word "shakaya" has a broad range of meanings in a lot of different cultures. The one that really stood out for them was the native Indian meaning of "voices in the wind". Shakaya established the duo as Australia's premier female urban pop act and saw them tour with Destiny's Child, Usher, Kylie Minogue and Ja Rule.

Naomi is now a member of the hip-hop group [http://www.lastkinection.com/ The Last Kinection]

Music career

hakaya: 2002-2003

The girls were in Sydney, Australia in August 2001 and that morning they had a showcase lined up at Sony Music. It was a small, intimate room where they had to perform and they performed four songs. At the end of it, they walked out of the room and within five minutes Sony Music came back and told them they were signed. On January 18, 2002, the duo released their first and debut song called "Stop Calling Me". It is a song about stalking situations based on a real-life experience that they and their male and female friends have had. The song entered the charts at number forty-five on February 25, 2002. The song rose up the charts from then on and because of more airplay the song managed to peak into the top ten at number five. [http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=Stop+Calling+Me&cat=s SHAKAYA - STOP CALLING ME (SINGLE) (287538)] . "Australian-charts.com". Retrieved June 3 2007.] It became Shakaya's biggest hit of their career, being certified platinum by ARIA, [http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-singles-2002.htm ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2002] . "ARIA". Retrieved June 3 2007.] becoming the forty-third highest selling single for 2002, [http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-singles-2002.htm ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2002 Singles] . "ARIA". Retrieved June 3 2007.] and being nominated for the "Highest Selling Single" for the 2002 ARIA Awards. [http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-artist.php?letter=S&artist=Shakaya "Artist: Shakaya ARIA Awards information"] . "ARIA Awards". Retrieved June 5 2007.] The second song released was "Sublime", released in Australia on May 17, 2002 and became the duo's second top twenty single peaking at number nineteen in June 2002. [http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=Sublime&cat=s "SHAKAYA - SUBLIME (SINGLE) (287539)"] . "Australian-charts.com". Retrieved June 3 2007.] "Cinderella" was the third and last song released by the duo; it became their third top twenty single, peaking at number sixteen, [http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=Cinderella&cat=s "SHAKAYA - CINDERELLA (SINGLE) (287536)"] . "Australian-charts.com". Retrieved June 3 2007.] and it was certified gold by ARIA. Their debut self-titled album "Shakaya" was finally released in Australia on October 18, 2002 and was received well, debuting in the charts at number five on October 28, 2002. [http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20021107/Issue661.pdf "Charts 28th October 2002"] . "ARIA Charts". Retrieved June 3 2007.] The album fell to number forty-eight the next week and only spent seven weeks in the top one hundred. On April 14, 2003 the band released a cover version of the Michael Jackson hit "The Way You Make Me Feel"; the girls said it was amazing to cover of one of his songs because he is the King of Pop. [http://www.shakaya.com.au/newsEvents/archive.do?newsId=20030411123222 "Shakaya Release New Single"] . "Shakaya.com.au". Retrieved June 5 2007.] The song had a minor success on the charts peaking at number twenty-one and staying in the top fifty for seven weeks. [http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=The+Way+You+Make+Me+Feel&cat=s "SHAKAYA - THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL (SINGLE) (287537)"] . "Australian-charts.com". Retrieved June 5 2007.]

Are You Ready: 2005-2006

"Are You Ready" was recorded over an eighteen month period in Cairns, Sydney, Australia and the United States with a range of producers. [http://www.shakaya.com.au/releases/home.do?catalogueNo=82876771582 "Are You Ready"] . "Shakaya.com.au". Retrieved June 5 2007.] The first song released from the album was titled "Are You Ready?" and was released on June 10, 2005; it was written and produced by the MadNotes team (who have previously worked with Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake). [http://www.shakaya.com.au/newsEvents/archive.do?newsId=20030829002022 "Are You Ready For Some Shakaya Instores, Sydney??"] . "Shakaya.com.au". Retrieved June 5 2007.] The song was promoted well and peaked at number twenty-five on the singles chart. [http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=Are+You+Ready&cat=s "SHAKAYA - ARE YOU READY (SINGLE) (287535)"] . "Australian-charts.com". Retrieved June 6 2007.] Five months later, the duo released the second and last song from the album, "We Ain't Goin' Down", on November 13, 2005, and it was their lowest charting single, peaking at number fifty. [http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=We+Ain%27t+Goin%27+Down&cat=s "SHAKAYA - WE AIN'T GOIN' DOWN (SINGLE) (261869)"] . "Australian-charts.com". Retrieved June 6 2007.] The album was finally released on March 5, 2006 with only those two singles released from it and did not chart in the albums top one hundred in Australia.

The group disbanded due to unknown reasons in 2006.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

* [http://www.shakaya.com.au/ Shakaya official website]