T.Y.

T.Y.

Tynan R. Stringfellow "T.Y.", a young African American R&B recording artist, was born May 13th, 1989, in Nashville, TN. He is the first of two ( 2 ) sons born to parents Theresa R. Shelton ( Social Worker ) and Tony Stringfellow ( Carpenter/Coach ).

Tynan "T.Y." Stringfellow began singing when he was ten ( 10 ) years old, joining the youth choir at his maternal grandmother's church. "T.Y.'s" first lead song at Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church was entitled "The Sheperd's Song". "T.Y.'s" deliverance of that song was very inspiring to the listening congregation. From the time of his first church performance "T.Y." exhibited increased interest and enthusiasm about music and about displaying his vocal abilities to others.

Even before his teen years, "T.Y." showed a great interest in old school artists, such as Sam Cooke and Luther Vandross. He would go through his mothers collection of music and sing along with what later became his favorite artists. Those artists that he has enjoyed and identified as his idols and mentors are ; Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Boyz To Men, Tank, Musiq Soulchild, and Usher. "T.Y." has actually adopted Sam Cooke's version of "A Change Is Gonna Come" as his signature song. He did actually sing "A Change Is Gonna Come" at his paternal grandmother's funeral, in March of 2006, as a tribute to her, eliciting an emotional response from all and thus making this song very special to him.

As a child "T.Y." was always surrounded by a very diverse group of peers, thus being introduced to many different cultures and ethnicities. During his kindergarten and 1st grade years "T.Y." attended The University School Of Nashville, then St. Pius Parochial School his 2nd and 3rd grade years; Gateway Elementary School his 4th grade year; then Wharton Arts Magnet School throughout his middle school years. While at Wharton Arts Magnet School, "T.Y." enhanced his musical abilities by training to use other musical instruments such as the alto saxophone, the piano, and the acoustic guitar. Being introduced to these diverse crowds helped to mold and develop "T.Y.'s" personality as a very nice, friendly, helping, understanding, and open minded individual.

In 2003, "T.Y." auditioned as a vocalist for the Nashville School of the Arts, and was accepted into the program, where he continued his high school education. During his high school years at Nashville School of the Arts, he was involved in all of the choral departments; including Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers ( for advanced vocalist ), the Blues Band, and the Pop Ensemble. His first public performances were school-related, however, they were annual performances for the Nashville community. While in the Blues Band he was the lead singer and performed many of Stevie Wonders hits. When performing with Pop Ensemble he led a few songs as well, amongst those songs was the great old school hit song " Get Ready " by the Temptations, which he performed more than others.

In 2008, at age 19, "T.Y." moved from his parents home, into his own apartment. He remained gainfully employed with Firehouse Discount Liquor Store during this time, working sixteen (16) hour days, six (6) days a week. Initially, this strenuous work situation started to limit his ability to fully pursue his passion of singing and entertaining. He was eventually able to find spare time to link up with a self-developed group of ten ( 10 ) aspiring musicians, calling themselves "Streetmade Music". This group included singers, rappers, producers, engineers, and graphic artist. Within "Streetmade Music", "T.Y." formed a group, which was named "360". "360" consisted of "T.Y." and 2 (2) other male vocalist.

"T.Y." has auditioned for American Idol on 4 separate occasions, however, on the 4th try he advanced to the 3rd round out of New Jersey ( Season 8 ) 2008. Towards the middle of the year 2008 "T.Y." encountered a young protege' of Lil Wayne, by the name of Lil Twist, an artist on the Young Money label; which resulted in him and his group "360" doing studio work with Lil Twist in Atlanta, GA. "T.Y." and his former group "360" are currently featured on 4 songs with Lil Twist. Later in the year, "Streetmade Music" was invited to perform as the main opening act to T-Pain and Rick Ross at Tennessee State University's Homecoming. On November 19, 2008, "T.Y." appeared on B.E.T.'s 106 & Park ( Wild Out Wednesdays ), as a feature on a song with another Atlanta artist.

"T.Y." is a very active R&B artist in Nashville, TN. He performs at least three (3) times a week at various Nashville venues. "T.Y." was recently nominated Best R&B Male of Nashville in the N.I.M.A's ( Nashville Independent Music Awards ). During the year 2010 WQQK (92Q) radio station has featured a "T.Y." original titled "Hello" on a few occasions.

"T.Y."s name has grown greatly in Nashville and the demand for his voice on othe