Shakaya 1857470 216632403 2008-06-02T14:48:56Z Lillygirl 838079 updated infobox and put into format {{Infobox musical artist 2 |Name = Shakaya |Img = ShakayaCinderella.jpg |Img_capt = Shakaya on Their single "Cinderella |Background = group_or_band |Birth_name = |Alias = |Born = |Origin = [[Cairns, Queensland]], [[Australia]] |Instrument = [[Singing]] |Genre = [[Pop music|Pop]], [[R&B]] |Occupation(s) = |Years_active = 2002–2006 |Label = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] |URL = [http://www.shakaya.com.au/ www.shakaya.com.au] |Current_members = Simone Stacey<br/>Naomi Wenitong |Past_members = }} '''Shakaya''' are a two-piece [[girl group]] from [[Australia]], consisting of [[Simone Stacey]] and [[Naomi Wenitong]], two [[Cairns]], [[North Queensland]] based songwriters and performers. The two met at the Atsic Music College in [[1999]] while studying an Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander music course and they had both been writing individually before they met each other.<ref name="Shakaya interview">[http://www.girl.com.au/shakayainterview.htm "Shakaya at Girl.com.au"]. ''Girl.com.au''. Retrieved [[June 3]] [[2007]].</ref><ref name="Deadly Vibe">[http://www.vibe.com.au/vibe/corporate/celebrity_vibe/showceleb.asp?id=71 "The power of two"]. ''VIBE Australia''. Retrieved [[June 3]] [[2007]].</ref> 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.<ref name="Shakaya interview"/> 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 a broad range of meanings in a lot of different cultures. The one that really stood out for them was the native Indian meaning of "voices in the wind".<ref name="Shakaya interview"/> Shakaya established the duo as Australia's premier female urban pop act and saw them tour with [[Destiny's Child]], [[Usher (entertainer)|Usher]], [[Kylie Minogue]] and [[Ja Rule]]. ==Music Career== ===Shakaya: 2002-2003=== [[image:Shakayaalbum.jpg|left|thumb|150px|''Shakaya'' (2002)]] The girls were in [[Sydney, Australia]] in August 2001 and that morning they had a showcase lined up at [[Sony Music Entertainment|Sony Music]]. 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.<ref name="Shakaya interview"/> On [[January 18]], [[2002]], the duo released their first and debut song called "[[Stop Calling Me]]". It is a song about stalking situations based on a real-life experience that they and their male and female friends have had.<ref name="Shakaya interview"/> The song entered the charts at number forty-five on [[February 25]], [[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.<ref name="charts">[http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=Stop+Calling+Me&cat=s SHAKAYA - STOP CALLING ME (SINGLE) (287538)]. ''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved [[June 3]] [[2007]].</ref> It became Shakaya's biggest hit of their career, being certified platinum by [[Australian Recording Industry Association|ARIA]],<ref name="End of year charts 2002">[http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-singles-2002.htm ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2002]. ''ARIA''. Retrieved [[June 3]] [[2007]].</ref> becoming the forty-third highest selling single for 2002,<ref name="Certifications 2002">[http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-singles-2002.htm ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2002 Singles]. ''ARIA''. Retrieved [[June 3]] [[2007]].</ref> and being nominated for the "Highest Selling Single" for the 2002 [[ARIA Award]]s.<ref name="ARIAAwards">[http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-artist.php?letter=S&artist=Shakaya "Artist: Shakaya ARIA Awards information"]. ''[[ARIA Award]]s''. Retrieved [[June 5]] [[2007]].</ref> The second song released was "[[Sublime (song)|Sublime]]", released in Australia on [[May 17]], [[2002]] and became the duo's second top twenty single peaking at number nineteen in June 2002.<ref name="charts2">[http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=Sublime&cat=s "SHAKAYA - SUBLIME (SINGLE) (287539)"]. ''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved [[June 3]] [[2007]].</ref> "[[Cinderella (song)|Cinderella]]" was the third and last song released by the duo; it became their third top twenty single, peaking at number sixteen,<ref name="charts3">[http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=Cinderella&cat=s "SHAKAYA - CINDERELLA (SINGLE) (287536)"]. ''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved [[June 3]] [[2007]].</ref> and it was certified gold by ARIA.<ref name="Certifications 2002"/> Their debut self-titled album ''[[Shakaya (album)|Shakaya]]'' was finally released in Australia on [[October 18]], [[2002]] and was received well, debuting in the charts at number five on [[October 28]], [[2002]].<ref name="charts4">[http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20021107/Issue661.pdf "Charts 28th October 2002"]. ''[[ARIA Charts]]''. Retrieved [[June 3]] [[2007]].</ref> The album fell to number forty-eight the next week and only spent seven weeks in the top one hundred. On [[April 14]], [[2003]] the band released a [[cover version]] of the [[Michael Jackson]] hit "[[The Way You Make Me Feel]]"; the girls said it was amazing to cover of one of his songs because he is the King of Pop.<ref name="MJcover">[http://www.shakaya.com.au/newsEvents/archive.do?newsId=20030411123222 "Shakaya Release New Single"]. ''Shakaya.com.au''. Retrieved [[June 5]] [[2007]].</ref> The song had a minor success on the charts peaking at number twenty-one and staying in the top fifty for seven weeks.<ref name="chartsTWYMMF">[http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=The+Way+You+Make+Me+Feel&cat=s "SHAKAYA - THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL (SINGLE) (287537)"]. ''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved [[June 5]] [[2007]].</ref> ===Are You Ready: 2005-2006=== [[Image:Shakayaareyoureadyalbum.jpg|right|thumb|150px|''Are You Ready'' (2006)]] ''[[Are You Ready (Shakaya album)|Are You Ready]]'' was recorded over an eighteen month period in [[Cairns]], [[Sydney, Australia]] and the [[United States]] with a range of producers.<ref name="Areyouready1">[http://www.shakaya.com.au/releases/home.do?catalogueNo=82876771582 "Are You Ready"]. ''Shakaya.com.au''. Retrieved [[June 5]] [[2007]].</ref> The first song released from the album was titled "[[Are You Ready? (Shakaya song)|Are You Ready?]]" and was released on [[June 10]], [[2005]]; it was written and produced by the MadNotes team (who have previously worked with [[Alicia Keys]] and [[Justin Timberlake]]).<ref name="Areyouready2">[http://www.shakaya.com.au/newsEvents/archive.do?newsId=20030829002022 "Are You Ready For Some Shakaya Instores, Sydney??"]. ''Shakaya.com.au''. Retrieved [[June 5]] [[2007]].</ref> The song was promoted well and peaked at number twenty-five on the [[ARIA Charts|singles chart]].<ref name="chartsAYR">[http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=Are+You+Ready&cat=s "SHAKAYA - ARE YOU READY (SINGLE) (287535)"]. ''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved [[June 6]] [[2007]].</ref> Five months later, the duo released the second and last song from the album, "[[We Ain't Goin' Down]]", on [[November 13]], [[2005]], and it was their lowest charting single, peaking at number fifty.<ref name="chartsWAGD">[http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shakaya&titel=We+Ain%27t+Goin%27+Down&cat=s "SHAKAYA - WE AIN'T GOIN' DOWN (SINGLE) (261869)"]. ''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved [[June 6]] [[2007]].</ref> The album was finally released on [[March 5]], [[2006]] with only those two singles released from it and did not chart in the [[ARIA Charts|albums]] top one hundred in Australia. ==Discography== ===Albums=== {| class="wikitable" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" |- |align="left"|'''''[[Shakaya (album)|Shakaya]]''''' *Released: [[October 18]], [[2002]] (Australia) *Chart positions: #5 (Australia)<ref name="charts4"/> *Singles: **"[[Stop Calling Me]]" (January 2002) **"[[Sublime (song)|Sublime]]" (May 2002) **"[[Cinderella (song)|Cinderella]]" (September 2002) |- |align="left"|'''''[[Are You Ready (Shakaya album)|Are You Ready]]''''' *Released: [[March 5]], [[2006]] *Singles: **"[[Are You Ready? (Shakaya song)|Are You Ready?]]" (June 2005) **"[[We Ain't Goin' Down]]" (November 2005) |} ===Singles=== {| class="wikitable" !width="40"|Year !Song !width="40"|<small>[[ARIA Chart|Australia]]</small><ref name="charts"/> !Album |- |align="center" rowspan=3|[[2002]] |"[[Stop Calling Me]]" |align="center"|5 |rowspan="3"|''[[Shakaya (album)|Shakaya]]'' |- |"[[Sublime (song)|Sublime]]" |align="center"|19 |- |"[[Cinderella (song)|Cinderella]]" |align="center"|16 |- |align="center" rowspan=1|[[2003]] |"[[The Way You Make Me Feel]]" |align="center"|21 |Single-only |- |align="center" rowspan=2|[[2005]] |"[[Are You Ready? (Shakaya song)|Are You Ready?]]" |align="center"|25 |rowspan="2"|''[[Are You Ready (Shakaya album)|Are You Ready]]'' |- |"[[We Ain't Goin' Down]]" |align="center"|50 |} ==Awards and recognition== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Award-giving Body !! Award !! Result |- |2002 || [[ARIA Award]]s<ref name="ARIAAwards"/> || Highest Selling Single ("[[Stop Calling Me]]") || style="background: #ffdddd" | Nominated |- |} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.shakaya.com.au/ Shakaya official website] [[Category:Australian hip hop groups]] [[Category:Girl groups]] [[Category:Indigenous Australian music groups]]