Following on the heels of the success of Barbados native Rihanna, another Bajan songbird has hit the Billboard mainstream charts looking to score similar success.
Shontelle is an irresistible new talent who is not only well rounded and confident, but she has the vocal chops and the songwriting sass to eliminate any form of competition within a quick swipe.

Earlier this week, when this writer caught up with Shontelle via telephone from New York, the singer was quite bubbly and excited about the early success of her single T-Shirt. "I'm not at all surprised at the success of the song. The whole theme of the song is something that everyone can relate to. I'm just happy that all of our predictions about the song are finally coming through," Shontelle said matter-of-factly.

Managed by Barbados music manager, Sonia Mullins, and signed to SRP/SRC/Universal Motown, Shontelle's T-Shirt has shot into the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has maintained steady rotation at more than 150 mainstream Top 40 rhythmic crossover radio stations across America. The video clip for the track which is in heavy rotation at BET, MTV and VH1, has drawn over 1.1 million audio streams on Shontelle's MySpace page and a similar number of video hits on YouTube.com.

"The musical journey for me has been pretty exciting because it's everything that I have wanted to do. So far so good," Shontelle explained.

The song T Shirt came about after she was in the studios trying come up with the idea for a song. "I got a phone call to check my e-mail because a song was e-mailed to me. We listened to the demo and from there we knew the song was going to be a hit. Right away we got working on the song," she said.

Shontelle gave up her studies at the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill Campus) to pursue her musical aspirations. "I started my law studies at Cave Hill and didn't get to finish because I got signed to the label. My intention was to graduate with my law degree and pursue entertainment law," said Shontelle.

For a while she resided between Bridgetown, Barbados and New York. She currently calls New York home. Interestingly, she met fellow Bajan singing sensation Rihanna while both attended the same high school in Barbados. 'We were both active in the cadets, and I was her drill sergeant. There was one occasion when I had to make her 'drop and give me ten push ups'. We laugh about it now', said Shontelle.

Shontelle says her songwriting talent and vocal capabilities are standout qualities which differentiate her from the pack of female artistes currently on the scene. 'I am an island girl and it's not that many of them out there. Definitely what I bring, I feel I have something that a lot of today's artistes don't have.
Which is, I write. I try my best to make really great music. I feel people like something that's fresh and I guess that's why people gravitate to artistes from other regions. The wow factor in me being signed was definitely the fact that I am a songwriter', Shontelle pointed out. Her songwriting credits include Roll It Gal and Focus Pon Me both by Alison Hinds.
Asked whether she felt that the success of Caribbean acts including Rihanna, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Sean Paul and Kevin Lyttle have somewhat made it easier for acts such as herself to make an impact, Shontelle said "Absolutely!
People are now more open minded and willing to embrace something more unique than they are accustomed to."

Alicia Keys, Michael Jackson, Donny Hathaway, and Mary J Blige are listed among Shontelle's musical influences.
"I also love Lil Wayne," she added.

Her debut album Shontelligence is due for a November 18 release, the same day as Beyonce's upcoming album. The 11-track opus is described as a state-of-the-art, magnetic and musically comprehensive playlist for today's global pop and urban fan. The album contains the track Battle Cry which was chosen for the unique all-star CD/download compilation Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement developed for the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama.

Other tracks on the album include Superwoman, Crave You, Naughty featuring Beenie Man, Life is Not an Easy Road featuring Sizzla; and Blaze it Up featuring Collie Buddz. Producers and songwriters include Dave Kelly, Star Gate, Sturken and Rogers, Wayne Wilkins, Andrew Frampton and Black Chiney's Supa Dups.

Shontelle hopes to contribute in a major way to up-and-coming talent back home in Barbados. "I'm very happy right now and I just want to keep building on my career. I want some Grammys of course and also to start my own production company and record label. I also want to go back home to Barbados and build a state-of-the-art studio to help young talent and to make as many connections as I can," said Shontelle.

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