Melanie Fiona

Everything Melanie Fiona does is coated in a vintage soul sheen. Born Melanie Hall, the Guyanese-Canadian singer-songwriter was raised in Toronto by a guitarist father and a mother who introduced her daughter to classic R&B ranging from the Ronettes to Whitney Houston. As an artist, she has developed a heavily retro sound that pays tribute to the girl groups, Motown crooners and soul divas who've gone before her -- and she's got the powerhouse R&B vocals to back it up. So it only makes sense that, after several years of plugging away in the business (including the attention-getting track "Somebody Come Get Me," featured on Reggae Gold 2008), she was signed to Motown. Fiona's vintage leanings aren't limited to soul, however. Her first single, "Give It to Me Right" (off debut album The Bridge, which dropped in 2009) sampled the Zombies' classic "Time of the Season." Fiona also has plenty of contemporary support: She worked closely with songwriter Andrea Martin on her debut and toured with Kanye West when her album was still just a glimmer in Motown's eye.