Shanell Lynn Woodgett (born November 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. She is best known for her guest appearance on

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

's 2009 single "

Prom Queen A promenade dance or prom is a formal dance party for graduating high school students at the end of the school year. Students participating in the prom will typically vote for a ''prom king'' and ''prom queen''. Other students may be honored ...

", which peaked within the top 20 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The year prior, she signed with Wayne's

Young Money Entertainment Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne in 2005. It was launched as an imprint of Cash Money Records — a joint venture colloquially branded as Young Money Cash Money Billionaires (abbreviated as YMCMB ...

, a then-imprint of Birdman's

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Birdman (rapper), Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans– ...

and

Universal Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially a ...

Biography

Born in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

, Shanell was raised in

and is the older sister of recording artist D. Woods. Her introduction to music was from her father, a Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor. A classically trained dancer in the disciplines of

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, ballet and

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...

, she began her career as a music video dancer for artists like

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

. Dancing by day, Shanell penned songs by night to production from Iowa producer and friend

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, garnering a name for herself as a songwriter.Biography!
Shanell aka SnL Fans!. Retrieved 17 August 2011. As a principal dancer for

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

, who later signed her to his publishing company, Shanell headed out on tour where she continued to record and hone her writing skills, penning songs for

Danity Kane Danity Kane is an American music group whose most recent line-up consisted of Aubrey O'Day, Dawn Richard, and Shannon Bex. The group originally had five members, but D. Woods, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett left the group in 2008, and Aundrea Fimbre ...

, Ne-Yo,

Melanie Fiona Melanie Fiona Hallim (born July 4, 1983) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario.Kelis Kelis Rogers (; born August 21, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and chef. She attended Manhattan, New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she played saxophone and was selected for the Girls Ch ...

and

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, producer, and talk show host. Having received List of awards and nominations received by Jennifer Hudson, numerous accolades for ...

. She was introduced to

, who offered her a slot on his

roster, creative control of her projects, and the opportunity to join him on stage during his

I Am Music Tour The I Am Music Tour, was a concert tour headlined by American rapper Lil Wayne. The tour was following his Grammy Award-winning album '' Tha Carter III''. The tour concluded with America's Most Wanted Tour featured Wayne's record label, Young ...

. Shanell was also on the 40-city

I Am Music II Tour The I Am Music II Tour (also referred as I Am Still Music Tour), was a North American concert tour headlined by American rapper Lil Wayne, and with several special guests. The tour was announced on January 24, 2011, and the tickets went on sale o ...

with Lil Boo, Lloyd,

Kidd Kidd Curtis Stewart (born November 26, 1983), better known by his stage name Kidd Kidd (formerly known as Nutt Da Kidd), is an American Rapping, rapper and singer and songwriter and record producer from New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. He was one ...

, Kevin Kev and Big Dawg Movement which started in Hartford, CT July 13, 2011 and ended in Woodlands, TX September 11, 2011. Most recently, Shanell released a visual for "Boy Stop Playin'" in January 2014, which was included on her June 2013 EP Midnight Mimosas.

Discography

Albums

Extended Plays

Compilation albums

Mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

On “ That’s All I Have” she is under the, seemingly one-off, name “Zipp” on streaming platforms.

References

External links

*
Shanell Artist Information
{{Authority control 1984 births American choreographers American dance musicians American electro musicians American female dancers American dancers Cash Money Records artists Living people Musicians from Anaheim, California Songwriters from California Young Money Entertainment artists 21st-century American singers Singers from Massachusetts Songwriters from Massachusetts American women in electronic music 21st-century American women