Shakaya are an Australian

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

formed in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, in 2002 by Simone Stacey and Naomi Wenitong. The two met in 1999 while studying an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music course and they had both been writing individually before they met each other."Shakaya at Girl.com.au"
''Girl.com.au''. Retrieved 3 June 2007."The power of two"
. ''VIBE Australia''. Retrieved 3 June 2007. The girls were initially discovered in Cairns by Reno Nicastro and Michael Pearson-Adams. Nicastro produced most of the girls' songs and gave them free studio time for two years. The band's name, 'Shakaya', was originally going to be 'Kashaya', but then their manager mixed the letters around and it became 'Shakaya'. Stacey and Wenitong did some research and found out that the word "shakaya" has many meanings in various cultures. The one that really stood out for them was the meaning "voices in the wind" (which they incorrectly credit as "Native American Indian", but is actually a Hindu female name)."Meaning of Shakaya"
Retrieved 2 February 2014. For a time, Shakaya became Australia's most successful female urban pop act and they toured with

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

, Usher,

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

and

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known for blending gangsta rap with pop rap, pop and contempo ...

. Naomi went on to become a member of the hip hop group The Last Kinection. In April 2013, Simone auditioned for

Season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album by Unk, 2008 * "Season 2", a song by Phoenix from ''Alpha Zulu ''Alpha Zulu'' is the seventh studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released on 4 ...

of ''

The Voice Australia ''The Voice'' is an Australian singing competition television series. It premiered on the Nine Network on 14 April 2012, before moving to the Seven Network in 2021. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', a ...

'' and after successfully having three judges turn their chairs she chose

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

as her coach.

Music career

2002–2003: ''Shakaya''

The girls were in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in August 2001 and that morning they had a showcase lined up at

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. It was a small, intimate room where they had to perform and they performed four songs. At the end of it, they walked out of the room and within five minutes Sony Music came back and told them they were signed. On 18 January 2002, the duo released their first and debut song called "

Stop Calling Me "Stop Calling Me" is a song written by Reno Nicastro, Simone Stacey and Naomi Wenitong, produced by Nicastro for Australian music duo Shakaya's first album, ''Shakaya (album), Shakaya'' (2002). The song is about relationships, about "boyfriends w ...

". It is a song about stalking situations based on a real-life experience that they and their male and female friends have had. The song entered the charts at number forty-five on 25 February 2002. The song rose up the charts from then on and because of more airplay the song managed to peak into the top ten at number five.SHAKAYA - STOP CALLING ME (SINGLE) (287538)
''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved 3 June 2007. It became Shakaya's biggest hit of their career, being certified platinum by

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

,ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2002
''ARIA''. Retrieved 3 June 2007. becoming the forty-third highest selling single for 2002,
''ARIA''. Retrieved 3 June 2007. and being nominated for the "Highest Selling Single" for the 2002

ARIA Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

s."Artist: Shakaya ARIA Awards information"
. ''

s''. Retrieved 5 June 2007. The second song released was " Sublime", released in Australia on 17 May 2002 and became the duo's second top twenty single peaking at number nineteen in June 2002."SHAKAYA - SUBLIME (SINGLE) (287539)"
''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved 3 June 2007. "

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

" was the third and last song released by the duo; it became their third top twenty single, peaking at number sixteen,"SHAKAYA - CINDERELLA (SINGLE) (287536)"
''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved 3 June 2007. and it was certified gold by ARIA. Their debut self-titled album ''

Shakaya Shakaya are an Australian girl group formed in Cairns, Queensland, in 2002 by Simone Stacey and Naomi Wenitong. The two met in 1999 while studying an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music course and they had both been writing individually ...

'' was finally released in Australia on 18 October 2002 and was received well, debuting in the charts at number five on 28 October 2002."Charts 28 October 2002"
''

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

''. Retrieved 3 June 2007. The album fell to number forty-eight the next week and only spent seven weeks in the top one hundred. On 14 April 2003 the band released a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

hit "

The Way You Make Me Feel "The Way You Make Me Feel" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on November 9, 1987, as the third single from his seventh studio album, '' Bad''. It was written and composed by Jackson and produced ...

"; the girls said it was amazing to cover of one of his songs because he is the King of Pop."Shakaya Release New Single"
. ''Shakaya.com.au''. Retrieved 5 June 2007. The song had a minor success on the charts peaking at number twenty-one and staying in the top fifty for seven weeks."SHAKAYA - THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL (SINGLE) (287537)"
''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved 5 June 2007.

2005–2006: ''Are You Ready''

'' Are You Ready'' was recorded over an eighteen-month period in

, Sydney and the United States with a range of producers."Are You Ready"
. ''Shakaya.com.au''. Retrieved 5 June 2007. The first song released from the album was titled " Are You Ready" and was released on 10 June 2005; it was written and produced by the MadNotes team (who have previously worked with

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

and

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

)."Are You Ready For Some Shakaya Instores, Sydney??"
. ''Shakaya.com.au''. Retrieved 5 June 2007. The song was promoted well and peaked at number twenty-five on the

singles chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

."SHAKAYA - ARE YOU READY (SINGLE) (287535)"
''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved 6 June 2007. Five months later, the duo released the second and last song from the album, " We Ain't Goin' Down", on 13 November 2005, and it was their lowest charting single, peaking at number fifty."SHAKAYA - WE AIN'T GOIN' DOWN (SINGLE) (261869)"
''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved 6 June 2007. The album was finally released on 5 March 2006 including the two singles but did not chart in the

top 100 albums. The group disbanded due to Naomi Wenitong joining the group The Last Kinection in 2006.

2021–present: Reunion

In October 2021, Wenitong and Stacey reunited as Shakaya for the first time in over 15 years to perform at the Pride Fair Day in their native Cairns. They would later perform as part of Yabun Festival in January 2022, and performed at the Quandamooka Festival on Stradbroke Island in August 2022.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards and recognition

ARIA Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

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. , - ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, , "

" , , Highest Selling Single , ,

Deadly Awards

The Deadly Awards The Deadly Awards, formally titled National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music, Sport, Arts and Community Awards and commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ac ...

(commonly known simply as The Deadlys) was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. They ran from 1996 to 2013. , - , rowspan="4",

, rowspan="2", themselves , Band of the Year , , - , Most Promising New Talent , , - , "Stop Calling Me" , Single of the Year , , - , "Sublime" , Video of the Year , , - ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, ''Shakaya'' , Album of the Year , , -

References

{{Authority control Australian hip-hop groups Australian pop music groups Musical groups established in 2002 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Australian girl groups R&B girl groups Pop girl groups Indigenous Australian musical groups Queensland musical groups