Cheri Janae is a singer and songwriter from Chicago. Her first public performance was as a teenager when a school music director asked her to sing in her school graduation. No one else knew Cheri Janae was talented because she was shy until others continued to request her performance in which she collaborated with dance groups at local talent shows and plays.
Cheri Janae began to open up her repertoire and earned a music and theater scholarship at a Chicago private University with training in classical music especially her favorite vocal performance of Mozart and Gershwin. However, her heart was in Pop and R&B music. After her first year of college, Cheri Janae began singing at open mic nights, hair and beauty shows, and sporting events, which led to opportunities as a voice-over in a commercial jingle, print advertisements , commercials, as well as a Chicago finalist in the historical NBC show “Fame”.
She also performed in a mini-stage production of Spike Lee’s film “School Daze”, a co-starring role in a TV pilot demo, music festivals, a music at the House of Blues in Chicago, and a Sony BMG music showcase at the now famous Excalibur Nightclub in Chicago. Eventually, Cheri Janae began to write and co-produce her own music. Cheri Janae fuses various styles of R&B, Hip Hop, Reggae, and Dance music with a 4.5-octave vocal range. She received airplay on college radio stations and weekend radio shows for songs “How Wud U Like” and “I Can Love You”. Mariah Carey, Adele, Whitney Houston, Jacksons family, Sade and Missy Elliot are a few of her musical influences.
Her producer and beat makers collaboration list includes veteran and new producers from Chicago, Philadelphia, and the Caribbean: Get Em Louie, J Blade, B Hadley, Turreekk, and Gee Notez. Lyrically, Cheri Janaepaints pictures of various phases of love, club nights, and inspiration. When asked during an interview at the Sony BMG showcase to describe who she is as an artist, Cheri Janae stated, “I’m an artist that brings fun to music through storytelling, fashion, and rhythmic melodies like a modern-day Diana Ross and Donna Summer."
Cheri Janae past performances include various venues such as House of Blues, Hollywood Aurora Casinos, the International Music Festival, a 107.5 Clear Channel Summer Block Party and ESPN Boxing Match to name a few. She also wrote and recorded vocals on pre-productions with Panther and Individualz of the Swizz Beats production team featuring VH1’s reality star and hip-hop singer Ray J, Will Jordan the writer of Nicki Minaj’s as well as Rihanna’s hit song “Fly”, and UK writer Mick Lee who also wrote commercially for several successful pop artists.
