Christelle (born Christelle Avomo in 1992) is a R&B/pop singer from

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. Her debut offering ''R&B/Pop EP'' was released on February 20, 2009 and it entered the Billboard Top 40 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on May 9, 2009. She immigrated to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

in 2006 without speaking English and started her music career in 2008, only 18 months prior to becoming a Top 40 success. She defines her sound as "

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

meets

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

Early life

Christelle was born in

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

in French speaking Gabon where she grew up listening to African, French and American music. Her inspirations were

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

, Ashanti,

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

and

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

, even though she did not understand the English lyrics. She immigrated to America in 2006, settling in Las Vegas with the initial goal of becoming a dental hygienist. She enrolled in an intensive English school and graduated in December 2007. In 2008, she started studies at the

International Academy of Design and Technology The International Academy of Design and Technology (IADT) was a private for-profit media arts college in the United States with over ten branches. It was owned by Career Education Corporation. The institution was briefly merged with Sanford-Bro ...

along with vocal training with Jeffrey Skousan.

Recording career

In 2008, she started working with producers and songwriters Don McGann and Neil Ebanks. They completed recordings of "Money Machine", "I'm A Tease" and "My Last Love" and submitted them to the A&R panel at

HitQuarters HitQuarters was an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It was noted for its in-depth interviews with industry figures, as well as its A&R and manager contact directory, free artist promo pages and song ...

, where she became Artist of the Week. In 2009, she recorded "Can You Handle Me" featuring Agacee and released the ''R&B/Pop EP'' and "What You Gon' Do Wit It" featuring Dizzy D which was released as a maxi single and reached Billboard Top 10 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales in May.

Discography

Albums

Track listing

''R&B/Pop EP'' # "Can You Handle Me" featuring Agacee — 3:06 # "You're Busted" featuring mcdc — 3:17 # "I'm a Tease" — 3:10 # "Feelin' You (La La La)" — 4:34 # "I Can't Be Me" — 4:08 # "Excess Vibration" — 3:29

Singles

References

External links

Interview with Christelle & Don McGann, HitQuarters May 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avomo, Christelle Living people 1992 births People from Libreville Rhythm and blues singers Gabonese emigrants to the United States