Skylar Star Stecker (born April 24, 2002), known professionally as Skylar Simone, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. In 2015, she released her debut studio album, ''This Is Me''. In March 2019, she independently released her second album, ''Redemption''. Skylar released her acclaimed EP ''Earth Signs'' in the fall of 2021, the follow-up to ''Redemption''. In 2022, she released a string of new R&B singles: "hate that for you", "What’s Good", and "Know It’s Wrong".

Life

Born on April 24, 2002, in

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Stecker is the daughter of Aaron Stecker and Kara Hendricks. She has a brother, Dorsett. She was raised in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. She has been a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

since January 2015.

Career

In 2012, she sang the national anthem at

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

, New Orleans Saints,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

games, as well as a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

race. She performed the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

more than one hundred times, including at an Anaheim Angels' game in May 2014. In August 2013, she began actively recording and releasing cover videos on her YouTube channel. In the fall of 2013, Stecker had a guest-starring role in the ABC comedy '' Super Fun Night''. Her first studio album, ''This Is Me'', was released on September 25, 2015. "Rooftop" debuted on the

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart at No. 45 on June 13, 2015. It peaked at No. 11 on July 25, 2015. She also appeared in 2015's Holiday Music Special. She released another version of her album ''This Is Me'' in June 2016, titled ''This Is Me: Signature Version''. In September 2016, her cover of Sweet Dreams with JX Riders reached number 1 on the

chart. On March 10, 2017, Stecker released the single " Only Want You". It was written by Crystal Carr and Shantee "Kissie Lee" Tyler and produced by

Tricky Stewart Christopher Alan "Tricky" Stewart (born January 4, 1974) is an American record producer, record executive, songwriter, and music publisher. Stewart, a five-time Grammy Award recipient, began producing music in 1992 and has contributed to unit s ...

. Following the release of "Only Want You", she was named

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

's Next Big Thing in May 2017. "Only Want You" became Stecker's second number one on ''Billboard's'' Dance Club Songs Chart in its September 2, 2017 issue. Stecker's song, "Crazy Beautiful", was used in '' The Sims 4'' soundtrack, where she recorded the song entirely in the Simlish language used in the game. It is available to play through music devices during gameplay. In 2015, Stecker portrayed Ridley in two episodes of ''

Austin & Ally ''Austin & Ally'' is an American comedy television series created by Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert that aired on Disney Channel from December 2, 2011 to January 10, 2016. The series stars Ross Lynch, Laura Marano, Raini Rodriguez, and Cal ...

'', "Karaoke & Kalamity" and "Mini-Me's & Muffin Baskets". Stecker's song, "How Did We", was featured on the soundtrack for the 2017 film ''Everything, Everything''. Prior to the release of the soundtrack and film, she released a music video for the song featuring scenes from the movie. Stecker released a single titled "Blame" on October 27, 2017, which became her third number one on ''Billboard's'' Dance Club Songs Chart in its March 24, 2018 issue. She then released a new

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

single called "This Year" on November 2, 2017. In May 2018, Stecker, formerly with

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

and Cherrytree, became an independent artist. She also performed the

at the Los Angeles Chargers' season opener home game in September 2018 and the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

' game in October 2018. On March 15, 2019, Stecker released her second studio album, ''Redemption'', her first independent release. Shortly after its release, Stecker performed the national anthem at an Anaheim Ducks game. Her LA release show for the album, held at The Roxy, sold out, and was followed by a show in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. In 2020 and 2021, Stecker has released a number of singles. On October 16, 2020, Stecker released a duo of songs called "Figure You Out" and "Really". On November 13, Stecker released a cover of "In Da Club" by

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, ...

. Stecker released a holiday song called "This Christmas" on December 10. On January 15, 2021, Stecker released a single called "Superman". On February 24, Stecker released another song called "FWY". On April 23, Stecker released a song called "Questions". On May 3, 2024, Stecker made her debut under

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

with her single and music video “Shiver."

Influence

Her main influences are

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...

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, ...

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

and

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 ...

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simone, Skylar 2002 births Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers Actresses from Tampa, Florida American child actresses American child singers American women pop singers American television actresses American child pop musicians Interscope Records artists Singers from Florida Musicians from Tampa, Florida 21st-century American singers