Lumidee

Lumiana DeRosa (better known by her stage name Lumidee) is making a comeback. Though only twenty-three, she first tasted fame at the age of nineteen when her debut single "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)" rose to the #3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, prompting a record deal with Universal Records. She went on to release her first full length album, Almost Famous, later that year. Almost Famous - which combines vestiges of her Hispanic heritage (she was born in the vibrant ethnic neighborhood of Spanish Harlem in New York City) with elements of pop, hip-hop and R&B - went on to move over 800,000 copies worldwide. Along with "Never Leave You", standout tracks from Almost Famous include "Crashin’ a Party" and "For Keeps".

Although her first album was a success, Lumidee dropped off the radar soon afterwards, severing her ties with Universal. Rumors spread like wildfire that she was leaving the music biz, but in reality nothing could be further from the truth. In 2004 she moved to Europe, gravitating towards dance, dancehall, and reggaeton music. While alternately living in Belgium, France, and Germany, Lumidee charted a number of hits on the other side of the Atlantic including the powerful single "Dance!", which copiously samples Whitney Houston’s 1987 hit "I Wanna Dance With Somebody".

In 2006, executives from TVT Records (Ying Yang Twins, Da Muzicianz) convinced Lumidee to release another album stateside. Her sophomore album - aptly named Unexpected - materialized in early 2007 on TVT. Featuring both a revamped sound (with a focus on a reggaeton-esque aesthetic) and a long list of contributors (among them Wyclef Jean, N.O.R.E., and Pitbull), Unexpected proved to be an unexpectedly good album. It has so far produced four singles, three of which ("She’s Like The Wind", "Crazy", "Feel Like Makin’ Love") have so far charted on the Billboard Hot 100.