Diondria Elaine Thornton (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Thomas) (born October 7, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter born in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Early life

Thomas was born in

, United States, and raised in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

. Her father was a public transit driver for OCTA (Orange County Transit Authority) and her mother worked for the Human Services dept. She has a younger sister named Brittany Thomas. She began her artistic endeavours at Huntington Beach Academy for The Performing Arts (APA) in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of ...

. At APA, she studied Musical Theatre, Chamber Choir, Chamber Orchestra (as a violinist), Show Choir, Actors Repertoire and Improvisational Acting. After graduating High School she attended University of Houston with a major in Psychology and joined a local Houston girls group. After moving back to California in 2002, she pursued her solo career writing and producing her own songs. She began performing live and singing national anthems for USTA/UWTA tennis matches and NFL football games.

Career

Early career: The Frontrunnaz

In 2008, alongside her then-partner Christopher Thornton, Dria founded the songwriting and production team The Frontrunnaz, which has since collaborated in several pieces for successful hip-hop artists such as

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

Ray J William Ray Norwood Jr. (born January 17, 1981), known professionally as Ray J, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, television presenter, and actor. Born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Carson, California, he is the younger brother o ...

and

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...

. As an AFTRA vocalist, Dria's vocals have also been featured on Rick Ross "Money Dance" and "Lamborghini Doors", Meek Mill's "Shine" and Young Thug's "Wyclef Jean". As co-founder of the Frontrunnaz, Dria has co-written records such as Seamus Haji's Remix of "After Midnight" and Logic's "Stainless" and "Till the End".

Solo career: The beginning (2013–2014)

As a solo singer, she has either been featured or provided additional vocals for artists like

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group the Blo ...

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979) is an American Christian rapper, singer-songwriter, actor, and Record producer, recording producer and Music executive, executive. Since having begun his career in 2004, he has released ten studio alb ...

, and others. Dria started her solo career when she was featured in Ray J's single "ATM". The single featured her for the first time under the artistic name of "Dria", and was later used for licensing for the show "Love and Hip Hop Hollywood". It was initially written by The Frontrunnaz team as a song for Miley Cyrus or Rihanna. Ray j's management team heard Dria's vocal on the song and decided to keep her on the song as a feature. Dria's voice is featured on the Pre-Chorus and the Chorus of the song. ATM received generally positive reviews with ThisisRnB describing it as a "bouncy single for his unreleased album" and Sue Robinson (from AXS) commenting on how "the trio ay J, Dria and Migoscreates just the right blend to this energized rhythm which contains a multitude of sexual innuendos – possibly a hint to fans on what can be expected in the upcoming studio album"

2015–2016: Logic, Lecrae and Dove nomination

In 2015, Dria's solo career took off. She was a featured artist on the mixtape release: "Frontrunnaz presents Ready, Set, Go ft. Dria, Keme Davis and Dutchess" produced by The Frontrunnaz. That year she also collaborated with

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

in the production of the soundtrack for

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...

’ Signature Statement Fall Collection for the HSN with KIA STYLE360. While working with her writing partner, Chris Thornton in Los Angeles, they were invited to an impromptu recording session with rapper

. After being asked to stay another day for more vocals, she would go on to co-write "Till the end" and sing background vocals on 4 songs on his debut album ''Under Pressure''. As the relationship and success with Logic progressed, Dria was hired to compose and sing on Logic's 2nd and 3rd albums. She and Chris were invited to Hawaii to provide vocals on 8 songs on the ''Under Pressure'' album including one co-write and a featured artist spot on "Stainless". Logic's successful hip-hop album '' The Incredible True Story'' (2015) debuted at number 3 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

in the US and sold 135,000 album-equivalent units and 118,000 copies in its first week. The album debuted at number 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, surpassing ''

Under Pressure "Under Pressure" is a song by the British rock band Queen and singer David Bowie. Originally released as a single in October 1981, it was later included on Queen's tenth studio album ''Hot Space'' (1982). The song reached number one on the U ...

'', which opened at number 2. Dria was featured on Lecrae's "Illuminate" released in February 2016, where she performed the chorus and background vocals. "Illuminate" was released as an exclusive pre-download for the people that preordered Lecrae's new book, ''Unashamed'', that was released on May of the same year. In August 2016 she was featured in

's new album '' No, my name is Jeffery'' with additional vocals as well as in Monn's "Not Missin U", on which the Crssbeat critics stated "The sweet vocals of Dria are one of the key elements which flow through the track alongside the melodies which have been made." In September 2016, Dria teased in her Twitter account about a new project to come that was "completely God driven" and she was very excited about.

2017– present: Logic, Meek Mill and solo career

In 2017, Dria worked with Logic on his third album ''Everybody'' and contributed background and lead vocals to 5 records including the 7× platinum, Grammy nominated, " 1-800-273-8255" by Logic ft. Alessia Cara and Khalid. The album has been certified RIAA Platinum. While doing vocal work for Lil Wayne's producer Streetrunner, Dria's background vocals were featured on "Shine" by Meek Mill and "Lamborghini Doors" by Rick Ross. Using vocals created by The Frontrunnaz from a vocal kit with S1 called "Voices" ft. The Frontrunnaz; Producer Jake One embedded Dria's vocals in the track to create "Money Dance" ft. The Dream. Using the same vocal kit, producer Supah Mario created "Wyclef Jean" for Young Thug. As of 2018, Dria is currently working on her own music. She released her first single independently, called "Brand New" on December 28, 2017. Dria was featured as a co-writer on a song called "Ladida" by Japanese Artist Kumi Koda, scheduled to be released in February 2018.

Personal life

Dria is a childhood friend of tennis player

. She is married to Christopher Thornton, who is also her business partner in The Frontrunnaz production team. In late 2017, Dria was bridesmaid at Serena's wedding, along with

Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American inactive tennis player. She has been ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA for 11 wee ...

Discography

* ''The Frontrunnaz presents Ready, Set, Go ft. Dria, Keme Davis and Dutchess'' * '' Symbolyc One (S1) Kits: Voices Vocal Collection ft. The Frontrunnaz'' * ''When I Grow Up" -2022 Dria Thornton''

Singles

* "Baby I Got You (2017) * "Brand New" (2018) * "Mama"(2021) * "Imperfect Behavior" (2021) * "I Can Do It" (2022)

Collaborations

Featured artist

* "Not Missin U" by Monn ft. Dria (2016) * "Illuminate" by

ft. Dria (2016) Vocals * "Stainless" by

ft. Dria (2015) * "ATM" by

ft. The Migos ft. Dria (2014) Vocals

Lead and background vocals

* "Lamborghini Doors" by

Rather You Than Me ''Rather You Than Me'' is the ninth studio album by American rapper Rick Ross. It was released on March 17, 2017, through Maybach Music Group and Epic Records. The album features guest appearances from Raphael Saadiq, Chris Rock, Young Thug, Wale ...

(2017) Lead Vocals * "Black Spiderman" by

in Everybody (2017) Lead Vocals *RIAA certified: Gold * "Confess" by

in Everybody (2017) Lead Vocals * "Everybody" by

in Everybody (2017) Background Vocals *RIAA certified: 2× Gold * "Anziety" by

in Everybody (2017) Background Vocals * "1–800" by

in Everybody (2017) Background Vocals *RIAA certified: 3x times platinum * "Illuminate" by

ft. Dria (2016) Lead Vocals * "Not Missin U" by Monn (2016) Vocals * "Wyclef Jean" by

(2016) Lead Vocals * "Shine" by

in DC4 (2016) Lead & Background Vocals * "Blessed Up" by

in DC4 (2016) Background Vocals * "Money Dance" by

(2015) Lead & Additional Vocals * "Till The End" by Logic in

(2014): Lead & Additional Vocals * "Stainless" by

ft. Dria (2015) Vocals * "Like Whoa" by

in The Incredible True Story (2015) Lead & background Vocals * "Contact" by

in The Incredible True Story (2015) Lead & background Vocals * "Never Been" by

in The Incredible True Story (2015) Lead & background Vocals

Songwriting

* "After Midnight" by

Seamus Haji Seamus Haji (born 30 December 1968) is an English DJ and record producer. Biography Seamus Haji had a chart-topper, number one on the List of number-one dance hits of 2007 (UK), UK Dance Chart, with a cover version, cover of Indeep's "Last Nig ...

(2013) Co-Written * "Till the End" by

(2014): Co-Written * "Stainless" by

(2015) Co-written * "Like Whoa" by

(2015) Co-written * "Never Been" by

(2015) Co-written * "Money Dance" by

(2015) * "Not Missin U" by Monn Ft Dria (2016) Co-Written * "Can't Do You" by

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group The Click (band), The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 stud ...

(2016) Co-Written * "Shine" by

in DC4 (2016) Co-Written * "Blessed Up" by

in DC4 (2016) Co-Written * "Anywhere" by

Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...

in After The Storm (2016) Co-Written * "Wyclef Jean" by

(2016) * "Confess" by

in Everybody (2017) Co-Written * "Lamborghini Doors" by

(2017) Co-Written

Award nominations

GMA Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

s 2016: Nominated with Lecrae's "Can't Do you" as Rap/

Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

Recorded Song of the Year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dria Living people American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas Record producers from Texas 1981 births 21st-century American women