MySpace Hottie of the day - Mya Harrison

Today, let's meet the sultry, sexy chanteuse, Mya Harrison, an R&B singer, dancer and actress from Greenbelt, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. An exotic mix of Jamaican and Italian heritage, Mya studied both singing and dancing while growing up, and she quickly became proficient at both at an early age, at one point taking lessons in New York City from famed Broadway dancer and choreographer Savion Glover. As a teenager, she appeared as a dancer on BET's talk show for young people, Teen Summit. A gifted student, Mya graduated from high school at age sixteen.

In 1997, Mya signed a recording contract with Haqq Islam's University Records after being brought to the label by R&B group Dru Hill. The group wrote and produced half of her self-titled debut album, and it spawned three singles. The first two singles, "It's All About Me" and "Movin' On", were co-written by Sisqó, with the former song also featuring Sisqó on guest vocals, while the latter featured rapper Silkk Tha Shocker. Both songs reached top ten on the U.S. Billlboard R&B/Hip Hop chart while "It's All About Me" also reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The videos for these two songs and for her third single "My First Night With You" were MTV staples through 1998. Mya received 2 Soul Train Music Awards nominations for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist for "Movin' On" and Best R&B/Soul Album (but lost both to Erykah Badu). The album went platinum on October 1, 1998 and has sold 2 million copies to date in the US alone. That same year, Mya was featured as a guest artist along with Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard on Pras' 1998 grammy nominated hit, "Ghetto Superstar", from the Bulworth soundtrack.

On April 25, 2000, Mya released her second album, Fear of Flying. It debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 album charts with first week sales of 72,000 copies. Its first single, "Best of Me", was an urban R&B song that featured rapper Jadakiss and had an even more urban hip-hop remix which featured rapper Jay-Z. The song and its remix were hits at urban radio but did not crossover to the mainstream. Her biggest pop hit to date came with the second single, "Case of the Ex". The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. and its music video performed well on MTV's TRL. Following the success of "Case of the Ex", her new label. Interscope Records, re-released Fear of Flying on November 7, 2000 with a revised track listing containing two new songs, including the third single "Free". (which was previously on the Bait soundtrack) and a new track titled "Again and Again". "Free" was even more pop-friendly and became quite successful at MTV's TRL and pop radio. Fear Of Flying landed Mya another Soul Train Music Award nomination for R&B/Soul album. The album went platinum on March 28, 2001, selling more than 1.2 million copies and launching her career into superstardom.

In May 2001, Mya would have her biggest chart success to date when she ccollaborated with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, and Pink on a remake of LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade". The track was produced by hip-hop producers Missy Elliott and Rockwilder and was featured in the movie musical Moulin Rouge. The single sold 5.5 million copies, becoming the most successful airplay-only single in history. Much of the song's success was driven by its sexually suggestive video, which featured the four singers dressed in burlesque outfits. Pink and Mya later described that the immodest concept almost prevented the video from being aired on MTV; nonetheless, the video was a huge hit on MTV, VH1, and BET and collected several MTV Video Music Award nominations in 2001. The song was also one of the year's biggest at pop, rhythmic, and even adult top 40 hits, and won a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration. "Lady Marmalade" went on to collect numerous awards including 2 MTV Video Music Awards for Video Of The Year and Best Video From a Film.

After the release and success of Fear of Flying and "Lady Marmalade", Mya began to dabble in acting with a supporting role in the 2002 Academy Award-winning musical film, Chicago, in which she would win a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance. In the following years, she continued appearing in films such as Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Shall We Dance?, and Cursed . In 2004, Mya appeared as a Bond girl in the video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing; and she also sang the video game's self-titled theme song. She also became a spokesperson for the Coca-Cola company alongside rapper Common with their ad campaign "Real Compared To What."

In July 2003, Mya released her third studio album, Moodring. In the U.S., it peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, selling more than 113,000 in its first week of sales, making it her highest-selling debut week ever. The first single, the Missy Elliott-produced "My Love Is Like... Wo", became a top twenty hit in the U.S. due to its success on mainstream radio. The video featured Mya acting as a "one woman circus", performing various circus tricks throughout the song. "My Love Is Like...Wo" was nominated for 2 MTV awards, one for Best Dance Video and one for Best Choreography in a Video. The album's second single, "Fallen", was not as successful, only managing to peak at #51 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts. Moodring was certified gold of September 25, 2003.

Later that year, Mya posed for Maxim magazine, and she subsequently was featured in a photo spread for King magazine. She was signed to Ford Models in 2005.

Mýa is currently working on her fourth album, Liberation. The lead single "Lock U Down" featuring Lil Wayne, just recently hit urban radio in March, and the video for "Lock U Down" Premiered on BET's "106 & Park" on April 25th. According to Rap-up.com, Mya has confirmed that Liberation will be released on August 14, 2007. In the meantime, she has put some sample tracks on her MySpace page.

If you would like to know more about this sultry singer or listen to tracks from her upcoming album, check out her profile at http://www.myspace.com/therealmya.

Mya - Lock U Down


Mya - My Love Is Like...Wo