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Early Life

Keyshia Cole was born October 15th, 1981 in Oakland, California, United States. Her birth mother, Frankie Lons, was unable to look after her due to a drug addiction and Keyshia was adopted by Yvonne Cole at the age of five. She has one sister, Neffeteria "Neffe" Pugh, who she did not meet until she was in her twenties and one brother Sean Cole. Keyshia began singing at the age of ten being influenced mainly by Sean and his taste in music including his friend Tupac Shakur. At the age of 12 she convinced MC Hammer, at the time a huge star and fellow Bay Area resident, to give her an experience of recording for the first time. However it wasn’t until four years later when she left Bay Area to seek a better future in Los Angeles that she got her big break. A few months later she was introduced to A&M Records executive Ron Fair who then introduced her to Jimmy Iovine. She was then signed to the label in December 2002 and started working on a debut album.

For the next few years Keyshia worked on numerous projects and had songs featured on the soundtracks of productions such as Step Up and Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married. During this time Cole worked with Fair and a production team that included Hip Hop superstar Kanye West, John Legend and Alicia Keys and released her first single "Never", Featuring Eve, as part of the Barbershop 2: Back in Business soundtrack in 2004. Cole released her debut album, The Way It Is, under Interscope/A&M Records, on June 21, 2005. The album debuted at #6 on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first week sales of 89,000. It was certified gold within seventeen weeks, and then platinum just eight weeks later. The album stayed on the charts for over a year, eventually selling over 1.4 million copies.

"I Changed My Mind" was the debut single from The Way It Is and featured West and Legend on backing vocals. The song was mildly successful, peaking at #71 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #23 on the R&B and Hip Hop charts. The second single "(I Just Want It) To Be Over" also had moderate success on the R&B and Hip Hop charts, peaking at #30. The third single "I Should Have Cheated" rose to #4 on Billboard's Hot R&B and Hip Hop Songs and #30 on Billboard's Hot 100 and was certified platinum. The fourth and final single from the album was the most successful peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and at #3 on the R&B and Hip Hop charts.

Cole started work on her second album, Just Like You, towards the end of 2005 and it was released on August 7, 2007. Just Like You debuted at # 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 281,419 copies in its first week, more than quadruple the first week of her last album. The lead single from the album, "Let It Go", an upbeat club track that featured Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim, would prove to be her biggest success to date. The single peaked at # 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top spot on Billboard's Hot R&B and Hip Hop Songs. The song was # 59 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007 and according to Billboard.com has sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. alone. The follow up to "Let It Go" "Shoulda Let You Go" (featuring Amina) also charted well reaching # 2 on the R&B and Hip Hop chart. Two further singles "I Remember" and "Heaven Sent" both topped the R&B and Hip Hop chart and reached the top 30 on the Hot 100. The album was nominated in the Best Contemporary R&B Album category at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards that was held February 2008, but lost to Ne-Yo's Because of You. "Heaven Sent" was also nominated for two Awards. As of December 2007, the album has been certified platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America.

In December 2008 Keyshia Cole, released her third studio album, A Different Me. The album received generally favourable reviews and debuted at # 2on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 322,000 copies in its first week. As of March 2009 the album has sold over 800,000 copies. And has been certified Gold by the RIAA. The albums lead single, "Playa Cardz Right", featured Tupac. It originally appeared on Tupac's, Pac's Life, but was rearranged by Cole and producers Ron Fair and Carvin & Ivan. The single peaked at # 9 on the R&B and Hip Hop chart. The second single, "You Complete Me", faired slightly better reaching # 7. The third single to be released will be a re-recording of the song "Trust", which first appeared on her second studio album Just Like You, as a duet with fellow R&B singer Monica.

2005 The Way It Is

2007 Just like You

2008 A Different Me

2004 "Never" (featuring Eve)

2004 "I Changed My Mind" (featuring Kanye West)

2005 "(I Just Want It) to Be Over"

2005 "I Should Have Cheated"

2006 "Love"

2006 "Last Night"

2007 "Let It Go" (featuring Lil Kim and Missy Elliott)

2007 "Shoulda Let You Go" (featuring Amina)

2008 "I Remember"

2008 "Heaven Sent"

2008 "Playa Cardz Right" (featuring 2Pac)

2009 "You Complete Me"

• Keyshia is featured on the 2008 Stand Up to Cancer charity song "Just Stand Up" along with a host of stars including Mariah Carey, Beyoncé Knowles and Mary J. Blige.
• Since 2006 she has appeared in her own reality show, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is which airs on BET and is filmed in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Cole cites Mary J. Blige and Brandy as her biggest influences and inspirations.
• Keyshia graced the Fall 2007 covers of Sister 2 Sister, Essence, VIBE, Jet, and Dub magazines.
• Her vocal range is soprano with a 2.5/3 octave.
• She made the decision to move to Los Angeles within minutes of catching her boyfriend cheating on her and set off in the middle of the night.

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