Shanice - Shanice (1999)

Shanice scored her biggest hit in 1991 with the joyous "I Love Your Smile," a global Top Ten pop hit that led to a Grammy nomination. Known previously for her role on the music-oriented television series Kids Incorporated and a couple Top Ten singles on the R&B/hip-hop chart, the lilting soprano and songwriter went on to notch 16 more additional charting singles throughout the 1990s and 2000s, achieving gold status with her albums Inner Child (1991) and Shanice (1999). Since releasing her independent fifth album, Every Woman Dreams (2006), Shanice has released singles such as "He Won't" (2019) and "Take Care of U" (2022), and has continued to appear on television, most notably in the reality series Flex & Shanice.
Shanice started singing before her first birthday, and during her early childhood moved from her native Pittsburgh to Los Angeles with her mother and aunt. At the age of eight, she scatted with jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald in a commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken, and shortly thereafter landed a role on Kids Incorporated, appearing throughout the series' first season. Signed to A&M Records at the age of 11, Shanice made her recorded debut in her early teens with the 1987 album Discovery. She co-wrote each song with producer Bryan Loren, and its first two singles, "(Baby Tell Me)" "Can You Dance" and "No 1/2 Steppin'," both peaked at number six on the R&B/hip-hop chart. (The former also crossed into the Hot 100, reaching number 50.) Between LPs, Shanice was featured on Kiara's number two R&B/hip-hop hit "This Time."
Not until 1991 and a new deal with Motown did Shanice follow-up her promising early success. Paired with Narada Michael Walden and a small team of fellow songwriters, the singer returned with "I Love Your Smile," which topped the R&B/hip-hop chart, peaked at number two on the Hot 100, and was similarly popular elsewhere, landing within the Top Ten in the U.K. and Germany, among other countries. (The song's saxophone solo was provided by Branford Marsalis.) Inner Child, the parent album, consequently fared well too, and was further propelled by additional singles "I'm Cryin'" (number 11 R&B/hip-hop) and "Silent Prayer" (number four R&B/hip-hop, number 31 pop), a duet with Johnny Gill. Shanice also directly acknowledged her influences on the album with a version of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You." She then contributed to a handful of soundtracks, charting with "Don't Wanna Love You" (Boomerang), the Diane Warren/David Foster collaboration "Saving Forever for You" (a number four pop hit for Beverly Hills, 90210), and "It's for You" (a number 14 R&B/hip-hop single that appeared in The Meteor Man). During this run, Inner Child was certified gold, and "I Love Your Smile" earned Shanice a Grammy nomination in the category of Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female.
Unlike Discovery and Inner Child, Shanice's third album, 21...Ways to Grow, saw the singer work with a large group of writers and producers, few of whom assisted with more than one song. Released in 1994, 21 spawned four charting singles highlighted by "Somewhere" and the whistle-register showcase "Turn Down the Lights," Top 30 R&B/hip-hop entries that respectively featured input from Christopher Williams and Babyface. Among the album's other contributors were Jermaine Dupri, Chris Stokes, and Tim & Bob. Still in demand for the big screen, Shanice was heard on the soundtracks of a couple disparate films in 1995. She covered "If I Were Your Woman" (originally recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips) for Panther, and with Jon Secada voiced the original love theme for Disney's Pocahontas, "If I Never Knew You." (The latter soundtrack topped the Billboard 200.)
During the second half of the '90s, Shanice recorded background vocals for a number of Babyface's projects, appearing on recordings by Toni Braxton, Usher, and Whitney Houston. She also signed with Babyface and L.A. Reid's LaFace label, returning as a headliner in 1999 with Shanice. The biggest single off the self-titled album was a collaboration with Warryn Campbell, "When I Close My Eyes," though the Babyface collaboration "Fall for You" became a well-known album cut. Shanice took a lengthy break from music to raise her family and returned in 2006 with the self-released Every Woman Dreams. Her fifth album featured appearances from fellow Kids Incorporated alum Rahsaan Patterson and Sheila E., and another cover of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You." Recording less frequently over the next decade, she issued "Gotta Blame Me" and "We Can Fly" in 2014 -- the year her family reality series Flex & Shanice premiered -- and through the rest of the 2010s cut additional singles "Breakdown" and "He Won't." "Take Care of U" arrived in 2022.~Andy Kellman