The Academy: PROFILE ON DIANA KING

 PROFILE ON DIANA KING

Diana King, born November 8, 1970, in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Jamaica, also known as KingSinga. A Jamaican-American singer-songwriter who performs a mixture of reggae, reggae fusion and dancehall. She was born to an Indo-Jamaican mother and an Afro Jamaican father.

She signed a recording contract with Sony Music and her first release was a remake of the Bob Marley song "Stir It Up" for the "Cool Runnings" soundtrack that same year. King's next single, "Shy Guy" co-written and produced by Andy Marvel was released in 1995. The song which only took them 10 minutes to write became a hit, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and being certified gold by the RIAA in the U.S.

The single also hit No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart as well as reaching No.1 on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart, going on to sell nearly five million singles worldwide. "Shy Guy" was also ranked by the Japanese radio station J-Wave as the No. 1 song of 1995.

"Shy Guy" served as a single from the soundtrack to the 1995 film "Bad Boys" in addition to being the lead release off her debut album "Tougher Than Love" which was released on April 25,1995. The album peaked at No.1 on Billboard's Reggae, No.85 on R&B and No.179 on the Billboard 200 charts. Two follow-up singles "Love Triangle" and "Ain't Nobody" followed that same year.

In 1996, her version of " Piece of My Heart " was included on the soundtrack to the film "The First Wives Club". In 1997, King also scored another hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Dance Club Play with her cover version of the song "I Say a Little Prayer" (originally recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1967) which was featured on the soundtrack to the film "My Best Friend's Wedding". Her second album "Think Like a Girl" was released on September 30, 1997 and entered the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart at No.1.

King was featured on the 1997 soundtrack to the documentary "When We Were Kings" where she performed the title track with Brian McKnight.In 1998, King joined Celine Dion and
Brownstone on stage to perform the hit "Treat Her Like a Lady" previously written and recorded by King from "Tougher Than Love" at the Essence Awards. That year, she also appeared on Soul Train, The RuPaul Show, and VIBE to promote "Think Like a Girl". She collaborated with artists such as Toots Hibbert, Ziggy Marley, Buju Banton, Ini Kamoze, Maxi Priest, Shaggy, Tony Rebel, I-Three, Brian Gold, Handel Tucker, Lowell 'Sly' Dunbar & Mikey Bennett on the charity single "Rise Up" with Jamaica United.

In 2002, King premiered her single, "Summer Breezin'" on BET and VH1 video outlets and it received some urban radio airplay. Her third album "Respect" was released on July 24, 2002 in Japan.
In 2006, she released the single "Spanish Town Blues" for a Taxi Records compilation album with Sly & Robbie. In 2007, King co-wrote and recorded the song "The Light Within" with the German reggae artist Gentleman for his album "Another Intensity".

In 2009, she collaborated with Richie Stephens on a remake of the ballad "The Closer I Get To You" for his album "Forever". In 2010, King's record label ThinkLikeAgirL Music Inc. went through a licensing deal with Warner Music Japan with the release of her fourth album "Warrior Gurl". The album was released in Japan on September 22, 2010.

For the international release of the album, King renamed the album to "AgirLnaMeKING" and it was released on her birthday November 8, 2012. Two more singles "Closer" and "Jeanz N T-Shirt" were released in 2012. In 2016, she announced she was at work on an all-lesbian record label in addition to a new studio album and an EP. The full-length album would be a reggae release, while her EP would be an EDM (electronic dance music) release.

In June 2012, King came out as a lesbian via Facebook. She stated: "I answer now, not because it's anyone's business but because it feels right with my soul and I believe by not answering or hiding it all these years somehow makes it appear as if I am ashamed of it or that I believe it is wrong." She has 15 siblings but due to her coming out, she is only close to one.

In January 2018, King announced that she had married her long-time girlfriend, Jamaican violinist Mijanne Webster. She holds both Jamaican and US citizenships. She has been active since 1993 to present.