Shontelle

Barbadian pop singer Shontelle (born Shontelle Layne) gained notice as the songwriter behind Alison Hinds' "Roll It Gal," a hit in her native country. The SRC label, home to friend Rihanna, offered a contract, which prompted her to put her studies behind to focus on a music career. Shontelligence, her debut album, was released in November 2008 and stalled out of the gate, despite input from the likes of Stargate. It was given a second push the following February. The album peaked at number 24 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart; somewhat surprisingly, for being such a pop-oriented album, it failed to appear on the Billboard 200 chart. She had greater success with the lead single to her second album. The regretful breakup song "Impossible," a preview of her second album, was released in February 2010 and hit the Top 20 of the Hot 100 by July. No Gravity was released in September. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi