Birthdate: August 21, 1982
I know what you're thinking. Not another young pop star. Sure there are lots of young singers out there - who doesn't want to be a popstar? But trust me, if I'm writing about Tonya Mitchell now, it's because she's worth getting to know.
The young girl from Huron, Tennessee has been singing since she was old enough to talk. Her parents discovered that she could sing when they caught her singing along to Debbie Gibson and Tiffany songs. They began entering Tonya in talent shows and by the time she was seven she was doing recordings in Barbara Mandrell's studio. When she started doing the fair circuit she sang covers of country songs even though she wanted to become a popstar - listening to Toni Braxton and Mariah Carey. Her father was also in the business of entertaining people. He performed as a local magician under the name of Cowboy Louie. Her mom was a homemaker.
Tonya's big break came in 1998 when she 15 years old. She was discovered at a benefit for St. Jude's Hospital. Even though Tonya sang with a cold, when she finished a man came up to her and said he really liked her voice. This wasn't just an admirer from the crowd -the man was Justin Timberlake's grandpa. He told her who his grandson was and said that maybe he could help her. This was before the name *NSYNC brought girls to their knees and Tonya didn't even know who they were. The encounter led to a meeting with Lynn Harless, Justin Timberlake's mom and head of Just In Time Management. She became Tonya's manager and eventually Tonya signed to Universal Records and was off to the studio to record her first album.
The studio visits led to the release of her album in April of 2001, called I Represent. For Tonya the album represented a wonderful final product and the result of years of struggle and sacrifice. "When I saw the finished version of my record for the first time, I was like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe this!' It was just the best thing in the world," she says. The first single Broken Promises started getting airplay in January 2001 to promote the new album. One of Tonya's best promotional gigs was opening some shows for *NSYNC. Not too shabby for an unknown artist just starting out. With the release of her album in April Tonya is a busy girl adjusting to the life of an up-and-coming popstar.
Source: http://www.kidzworld.com
