Good Singer Alert: Shontelle

Shontelle via Plan A

Chances are you've already heard of diva-on-the-rise Shontelle, thanks to a little ditty called “T-Shirt” that’s making its way up the charts as we type. Plus, her song “Battle Cry” is featured on the new album Yes We Can: Voices of Movement, a collection celebrating Barack Obama’s leadership and vision.

And you’re likely to be hearing a lot more about this chanteuse, a 23 year-old talent from Barbados. Yep, that’s the same Caribbean paradise that Rihanna hails from. Actually, the two are good friends! In high school, they both attended Cadets camp, where the older Shontelle was Rihanna's drill sergeant. Shontelle has recalled Rihanna being “a good cadet . . . though there was one occasion when I had to make her drop and give me ten push-ups! We laugh about it now . . . I think she’s forgiven me.”

CGG is loving the name of her new CD, Shontelligence, which features tracks that are heavily dosed with pop, R&B, soul and reggae; it drops November 18. The title is a perfect fit for the singer/songwriter, who has her own publishing company, Sholay, in Barbados and plans to start her own label.

"I hunger for knowledge – it feeds my life and my music,” Shontelle has said. “The more I learn, the more I want to learn...the more I grow as a person and as an artist.” We particularly dig the tunes that tout the power of women. Holla! One of our favorites, "Life Is Not An Easy Road," addresses a major social issue: poverty. But it’s not a total downer – even as the song recognizes the suffering and hardship faced by people the world over, it also reminds everyone to have hope, to "just trust you will survive and keep your dignity."

Check it out – some more Shontelle lyrics from “Life Is Not An Easy Road”, a title we can all relate to!

Hopeless youths dem out inna de street

And dem no have no job so just to win they have to cheat

Tell me why so many see it and don’t speak

And why they’ll never find a peaceful home they cyaan retreat

And dem cyaan find no food to eat

And where you lay your head dem have a bed of concrete

And your momma she ah cry when she ah see it

It’s not a revolution just a cycle that repeats cause

Life is not an easy road

A true you jus a struggle wid your heavy load

I know

It seems it seems you lose the battle more and more

Life is not an easy road

You have to play your part and take control

Don’t you ever ease up

Never give up

Don’t let go

Stay tuned: CGG looks forward to chilling with Shontelle sometime soon, and we’ll keep you updated on when and where we can all catch her live. CGG was in the house recently when she sang at an NYC showcase for Universal/SRC, and she and her “T-Shirt” had the whole place singing along!

Shontelle via Plan A Media