b. Mya Harrison, 10 October 1979, Washington, DC, USA. Growing up in suburban Maryland, Harrison took up tap-dancing and ballet as a child. She appeared with the TWA (Tappers With Attitude) troupe, and went to New York to study with choreographer Savion Glover (best known for the Broadway hit Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring In 'Da Funk) in a residency with the Dance Theater Of Harlem. By the mid-90s, Mya had started to concentrate on her other great love, music. Her father was a professional R&B musician, and recorded demo tapes of his daughter singing. He played one tape to Haqq Islam of University Music, who made the unprecedented move of coming to the family home to hear the 16-year old prodigy sing. Signed to Interscope Records, Mya spent the next two years recording her debut album in New York, Philadelphia and Atlanta with notable contributors including labelmates Dru Hill, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Babyface, Darryl Pearson and Diane Warren. Released in April 1998, Mya was a mature urban R&B collection built around the singer's assured vocals and reflective lyrics. "It's All About Me" featured Sisqo of Dru Hill, and climbed to US number 6 in May.
Mya maintained her high profile with appearances on Pras' hit single "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)", taken from the soundtrack to the Warren Beatty movie Bulworth. In September, her album climbed to a US chart peak of 29, and "Movin' On", featuring No Limit Records' star Silkk The Shocker, reached number 34 on the Hot 100 singles chart. "Take Me There", a collaboration with BLACKstreet, Ma$e and Blinky Blink taken from the Rugrats soundtrack, reached number 14 in January 1999. The subsequent Babyface/Diane Warren collaboration, "My First Night With You", surprisingly failed to break into the US Top 50. Mya subsequently retreated to the studio to work on her sophomore set, Fear Of Flying, which featured the US Top 5 hit "Case Of The Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do)".
