When Tamyra Gray sang "And you, and you, and you, you're gonna love me," little did we realize how quickly or much we were going to love her. This captivating performer with the killer voice wowed audiences nationwide with her emotionally-charged performance of "A House Is Not A Home" on the American Idol Top 10 tour.

As a child she "sang to everything that came on the radio" and entered her first talent show in the 7th grade at Montgomery Village Intermediate School. "It's always been a dream of mine," stresses Tamyra, "it's always been my passion [to be in the music industry]". Her first music mentor at Watkins Mill Elementary School was her chorus teacher Mrs. Garcia. "She taught me how to breathe, and taught me the foundations. That's the only structured training that I've ever had," adds Tamyra.

The 3rd youngest, of 12 brothers and sisters, Tamyra was born in Takoma Park, MD grew up in Gaithersburg, MD until her family moved to Georgia when she was 13. As teenagers growing up in Atlanta, Tamyra and sister Kim formed a duo called the Silhouettes after their parents encouraged them to explore the music industry.

At Georgia State University, she majored in business, law and sound recording technology. "I want to know everything there is to know about the music industry," explains Tamyra, "the behind-the-scenes action that most artists don't have time to get involved in, as well as learning the production side of things."

"Everything I've ever done was to prepare me for this moment," says Tamyra. She did everything and anything that would bring her closer to realizing her dream: performed in two musicals, danced for a hip-hop company, did commercials when they came her way, and also sang at corporate functions for Coca-Cola. When she wasn't trying to get her foot in the music industry door, she was teaching pre-kindergarten kids at the Primrose School. "I love children," says Tamyra excitedly, "I enjoy going back to my kids, being with them, working with them. We would sing and dance and do everything that I was doing when I wasn't in school."

This summer, millions of people welcomed the idols into their homes - watching, voting, cheering - and experiencing the highs and lows with their favorites on the American Idol show. In discussing the show, Tamyra says, "My mindset was that winning or losing was irrelevant." When a performer is on stage, you have to take risks. "In my view," she continues "I wanted to get as much as possible from the competition before being eliminated. It was a matter of learning how to trust myself." She adds, "I was determined to challenge and compete against myself. Every week, I set out to do better than I did the previous week. I made sure that I gave everything that I possibly could, each and every week."

After the tour, Tamyra looks forward to shooting four episodes as a Winslow High School student on Fox's "Boston Public", with her guest appearance beginning with the February sweeps. Her role has not been written yet. "I have no clue about my role, but I'm hoping that my character is far away from myself," she says with a giggle.

Tamyra points out, that her overriding goal "is to put out an album with good music and songs". "We'll be doing stuff with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and I'll be writing some material. I'm looking forward to that process. I just want my music to appeal to everyone, in the hope that people will get something out of my music."

Tamyra wants to savor and take each day one step at a time. "It's been a long road getting here," she continues, "And I'm so grateful to have finally begun my journey". Her heartfelt words echo her emotions. "There could never be enough words that could adequately describe the joy in my heart. I feel very blessed and fortunate to be where I am right now. Thank you for giving me the opportunity and for helping to make my dreams come true."

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Tamyra Trivia

Did you know that Tamyra/Tamyra's:

• attended Georgia State University and majored in Business Law and Entertainment Management
• likes earthy colors, more especially green!
• is a big Prince fan and attended one of his concerts when she was 18 years old and got to hang out with him after the show backstage.
• favorite female performer is Janet Jackson
• is a big fan of Julius the Monkey by designer Paul Frank
• a snippet of "Too strong to be weak" from her upcoming album was played in the fourth episode of her Boston Public appearance. This song was playing on the radio in the scene where JT ( DeJuan Guy) hands her an engagement ring and proposes to her.
• was a cheerleader in high school
• worked as an actress, a dancer for a hip hop company and also worked with kids as a preschool teacher
• did the background vocals for DMX's 1998 song "Slippin"
• has a lot of inspirations for her music. She is planning to incorporate the richness and uniquess of the 60's, 70's and 80's music eras into her music for her upcoming album.
• owns the " Oh Brother where art though?" soundtrack
• is a big Aerosmith fan and is a big fan of live music
• was crowned Miss Atlanta in 1998.
• is lactose intolerant and is in fact a vegan.
• amazing sense of style comes from her love to experiment with clothes and different looks
• uses products like Bed head Uptight Curl Maker and Aveda Purefume Brilliant Emoillent for Hair to maintain her gorgeous hair
• loves to use Mac cosmetics and she also uses Shiseido Lipstick in Macadamia Beige,Prescriptives Traceless Foundation in Level 4 and also Nars Multiple Stick in Palm Beach for her beautiful face.
• is signed to J records and is also signed to 19 management
• has been signed up to do 3 more episodes on Boston Public which will make it a total of 7 appearances.
• likes to perform barefoot sometimes and is really into the bohemian feel.
• collection of CD's includes Vietnamese and Persian music!
• A young woman wrote Tamrya on the message board during the competition saying that she was going to name her baby girl after her (Tamyra).
• rendition of "A house is not a home" was noted as one of the best performances of the show.
• has 11 siblings.
• has had the chance to meet with Lisa Lopez and did background vocals for " Not tonight" which featured Lil Kim, TLC and Missy Elliot.
• likes sorbert or italian ice!
• was a viewers and judges favorite to win during the show.
• elimination from the show spurred the biggest reaction on the message boards and in the media then any other elimination during the shows run.
• Oprah is a big fan of Tamyra and felt that she should have carried the show!
• was spotted at Justin Timberlake's birthday party?
• doesn't have a boyfriend?
• middle name is Monica?
• lives in California?
• was a member of a hip hop dance community & her stage name was Element.
• was initially in a group with her sister Kim and they called their duo "The Silhouettes"
• almost didn't audition for AI b/c she thought it was for a male performer
• had shot a commercial for Coca Cola
• was the youngest daughter but older than all her brothers.
• moved to Atlanta at age 11
• admits to being shy her early high school years.
• loves Jelly donuts
• has appeared on Caroline Rhea, Good Morning America, NYLA, and Soul Train Awards
• Alot of major celebrities think highly of Tamyra? Mary J, Ja Rule, Missy, Donald Trump, etc..
• was in the "Ladies Night" video and she sung on the hook?
• is also on the new TLC album (3D) singing the hook on the tribute to Left Eye?
• didn't charge them for singing because she said it was from the heart?
• was going to name her first album Haunted?
• was going to name the album "Haunted because of a past relationship?
• The name of Tamyra's character on BP is the same as her sister (spelling is defferent Aisha and Ieesha)?
• Tamyra and Kelly are doing a duet called "You thought wrong"
• is working with some of R & B's top producers and song writers for her upcoming album? (Babyface, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Clive Davis)
• was listening to Nikki Costa on her first episode of BP in her headphones?
• was a preschool/kindergarten teacher prior to her recent success?
• lives in Atlanta, but she is from the Maryland area?
• Tamyra's fans were so proud of her that we sent her 4 dozen roses, a dozen of chocolate covered strawberries, and a teddy bear that said "Tamyra is our Superstar!" while she was on the AI tour?
• Tamyra entered AI for publicity? She didn't set out to win, but to make her talent known.
• comes from a very talented family. Most of her immediate family members are as talented as she is?
• favorite CD is Emancipation Disk 2
• favorite movie is Dark Crystal

(compiled by vivian)