Sabi (singer)
Encyclopedia
Jenice Dena "Sab-bion" Portlock (born November 24, 1988), also known as Sabi, is an American pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, dancer and actress from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. She was formerly known in the late 2000s as the lead singer of the Hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 girl group The Bangz that split in early 2010. Since then, she has been featured as a solo act in songs by Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

, Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...

, New Boyz
New Boyz
New Boyz is an American hip hop/rap group and a former jerkin crew duo made up of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas from Hesperia, California. They debuted in summer 2009 with their viral hit, "You're a Jerk", taken from their debut studio album Skinny Jeanz and a Mic,...

 and other artists. She is currently signed to Warner Bros. Records and working on her own album.

Early life and career beginnings

As a kid growing up in Inglewood, California
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...

, daughter of a Salvadorian mother and African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 father, Sabi was raised in a bilingual Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 and English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 household and spent every other weekend watching MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 at her father’s house after her parents divorced. Her father had cable and her mother didn’t, so she and her sisters were glued to the screen watching music videos all day - she especially loved watching Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

, and Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....

. That’s when she gained her immense passion for singing and song writing and made the decision that she wanted to be a performer. “I remember watching the Michael Jackson: Moonwalker video over and over and trying to pick up Michael’s moves,” she once said in a interview. Sabi would also choreograph dance routines and marshal her younger sisters into performing them for the family. She graduated in the class of 2005, in the Westchester Senior High School
Westchester High School (Los Angeles)
Westchester High School is a public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District 3.It is located in Westchester , USA, a suburban neighborhood adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport and bordered by Playa Vista to the north, Inglewood to the east, El Segundo to the...

. Her dream was to attend the Debbie Allen Dance Academy
Debbie Allen
Deborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities...

 in Los Angeles, but her mother couldn’t afford the tuition, so Sabi channeled her desire to entertain into acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....

. She got involved in theater in middle school and was cast in commercials
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 for ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...

, Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

, and Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...

 while majoring in communications at California State University, Long Beach, in 2009. In 2008, she also appeared in an independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

 short film called The Smallest River in Almirante, which was executive produced by actor Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...

. All the while, Sabi continued to work on her vocal technique trying to imitate other singers. “No matter who it was, Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...

, Brandy
Brandy Norwood
Brandy Rayana Norwood , known professionally as Brandy, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and dancer. In 2009, she introduced her rap alter-ego Bran'Nu....

, or Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

, I could mimic exactly how they sounded. That’s how I got comfortable with my voice.
” She began to write her own songs and record them on a voice recorder, but says that she really learned about the craft of songwriting after working with several producers that she had been introduced to through her then-manager.

2009-10: The Bangz and group disbandment

In the summer of 2009, Sabi was approached by The Co-Stars, a production team who were looking to launch a female duo. Arises the Los Angeles based urban/pop group The Bangz, featuring Sabi and another performer named Korttney Ann Elliot (a.k.a. Ella Ann) got signed to the indie
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 recording label VNR, Asylum Records
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...

 and Warner Bros. Records. With a video that hit almost a million views on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 and two singles ("Boys With Tattoos (We Jerkin')" and "Found My Swag" (featuring the New Boyz
New Boyz
New Boyz is an American hip hop/rap group and a former jerkin crew duo made up of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas from Hesperia, California. They debuted in summer 2009 with their viral hit, "You're a Jerk", taken from their debut studio album Skinny Jeanz and a Mic,...

)
) released, the group was starting to get national radio play and MTV exposure. Shortly after, Ella Ann got seriously injured in a drive by a stray bullet and unable to continue, leaving Sabi to go on alone. She tried to continue without her; Sabi even shot a video and did some performances on her own with back-up dancers, but no one felt the Bangz could continue without Ella, not even Sabi herself. The whole experience was an emotional rollercoaster to her.

2011-present: Solo career

However, executives at Warner Bros. Records loved Sabi’s talent and energy and wanted to continue the label’s relationship with her as a solo artist.
She is already attracting buzz from her collaborations on Spears' song "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" from her #1 album Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album)
Femme Fatale is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was released on March 25, 2011 by Jive Records . Recorded between 2009 and 2011, the album featured Spears working mainly alongside longtime collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke, who served as the...

and the Cobra Starship smash single "You Make Me Feel...
You Make Me Feel...
"You Make Me Feel..." is a song recorded by American synthpop band Cobra Starship with guest vocals by Sabi. It was the first single released from their fourth studio album, Night Shades. The song was released digitally through iTunes on May 10, 2011....

," which peaked at #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 and topped the charts in New Zealand, which is the band's first chart-topper. The hit is from their latest album, Night Shades
Night Shades
Night Shades is the fourth studio album by American dance rock band Cobra Starship, being released through Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records on August 29, 2011. The album is the follow-up to 2009's Hot Mess....

. She is also featured on the New Boyz
New Boyz
New Boyz is an American hip hop/rap group and a former jerkin crew duo made up of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas from Hesperia, California. They debuted in summer 2009 with their viral hit, "You're a Jerk", taken from their debut studio album Skinny Jeanz and a Mic,...

' song "Tough Kids", from their album Too Cool To Care
Too Cool to Care
-Chart performance:...

. It was released as the B-Side to the platinum hit "Backseat
Backseat (song)
"Backseat" is a song recorded by American hip hop duo New Boyz. The song was released as a single on February 15, 2011 as a digital download in the United States and currently serves as the second single released from the duo's second album Too Cool to Care...

", featuring Dev
Dev (singer)
Devin Star Tailes , better known by her stage name Dev, is an American singer. She was discovered by The Cataracs via MySpace after her friend Shane Crislip, posted her singing to some beats...

 and producing group The Cataracs
The Cataracs
The Cataracs are an American hip hop indie-pop duo formed in Berkeley, California, consisting of David “Campa” Benjamin Singer-Vine, a songwriter and vocalist and Niles “Cyrano” Hollowell-Dhar, a songwriter, vocalist, and producer. The duo started out as an independent group, during their years at...

. Meanwhile, she's in the studio with Benny Blanco, Klas (from the Teady Bears
The Teddy Bears (band)
The Teddy Bears was Phil Spector's first vocal group, the only one of which he was a member.-History:Following graduation from Fairfax high school in Los Angeles, California, Phil Spector became obsessed with the song "To Know Him Is to Love Him" he had written for his group, The Teddy Bears...

), Diplo, Ammo, Cirkut, The Cataracs and The Co-Stars working on her debut album, which she says will incorporate her love for pop, alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

, and urban music, inspired by artists like Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...

, Bat For Lashes
Bat for Lashes
Natasha Khan , also known by her stage name Bat for Lashes, is an English musician. She sings and plays the piano, bass, guitar, harpsichord and the autoharp....

, Florence + the Machine and Lykke Li
Lykke Li
Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson , better known by her stage name Lykke Li , is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos...

.

On April 4, 2011, Sabi released her song "Goodnight" on the internet as a buzz single from her debut album. Shortly after, Sabi teased fans with her just-released track "Wild Heart." The Cirkut-produced track is a club banger produced in a dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....

 style and pop fans are feeling the new discovery. With so much buzz building around the young star, she's aiming for an early 2012 album release date. Besides her music career, one of her goals is to help those who grew up like her in similar inner-city situations with limited resources. She's an ambassador for "A Place Called Home," among other organizations.

Sabi has been featured on a few dates of the Britney Spears' Femme Fatale Tour
Femme Fatale Tour
The Femme Fatale Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Britney Spears, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was officially announced in March 2011, with dates for North American venues revealed. The tour was initially planned as a co-headlining tour with Enrique...

 and will be featured on the tour live DVD to be released in November on EPIX. She made her first TV appearence at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
2011 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards took place on August 28, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. On July 20, the nominees were announced...

 along with rappers Tyler, the Creator
Tyler, the Creator
Tyler Okonma , better known by his stage name Tyler, The Creator, is an American rapper, record producer, music video director, actor, graphic artist and fashion designer from Los Angeles, currently signed to English independent record label XL Recordings and his own record label, Odd Future...

 and Kreayshawn
Kreayshawn
Natassia Gail Zolot, known by her stage name Kreayshawn, is an American rapper and music video director.-Early life:...

 and performed the song "You Make Me Feel…" with Cobra Starship during the pre-show. On September 13, 2011, Sabi performed "You Make Me Feel..." with Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...

 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...

 and on the day after she performed the song with Starship and Team iLuminate on America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...

 finale.

Her song, Wild Heart, is currently being used on Kourtney and Kim Take New York
Kourtney and Kim Take New York
Kourtney and Kim Take New York is an American reality television series, produced by Ryan Seacrest, that debuted on E! in the United States and Canada on January 23, 2011...

 season 2 promo.

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

AUS
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

CAN
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...

IRL
Irish Albums Chart
The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...

NLD
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...

NZ
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...

SWI
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...

UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

TBA
  • To be released in 2012
  • Label: Warner Bros. Records
    Warner Bros. Records
    Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

  • Formats: CD
    Compact Disc
    The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

    , digital download
    Music download
    A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...


Promotional singles

Title Year Album
"Wild Heart" 2011 TBA
"Goodnight"

Featured singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...


AUS
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...


CAN
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...


FRA
Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique
The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...


GER
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...


IRL
Irish Albums Chart
The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...


NLD
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...


NZ
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...


SWI
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...


UK
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...


"You Make Me Feel...
You Make Me Feel...
"You Make Me Feel..." is a song recorded by American synthpop band Cobra Starship with guest vocals by Sabi. It was the first single released from their fourth studio album, Night Shades. The song was released digitally through iTunes on May 10, 2011....

"
(Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...

 featuring Sabi)
2011 7 3 4 23 12 28 1 68 16
  • US
    Recording Industry Association of America
    The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

    : Platinum
  • CAN
    Canadian Recording Industry Association
    Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...

    : Gold
  • AUS: Platinum
  • NZ: Platinum
Night Shades
Night Shades
Night Shades is the fourth studio album by American dance rock band Cobra Starship, being released through Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records on August 29, 2011. The album is the follow-up to 2009's Hot Mess....

"—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart.

Other appearances

Year Song Artist(s) Album
2011 "(Drop Dead) Beautiful
(Drop Dead) Beautiful
" Beautiful" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, taken from her seventh studio album Femme Fatale . The dance-pop song features American recording artist Sabi. Spears started recording songs for the album in 2009...

"
Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album)
Femme Fatale is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was released on March 25, 2011 by Jive Records . Recorded between 2009 and 2011, the album featured Spears working mainly alongside longtime collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke, who served as the...

"Tough Kids" New Boyz
New Boyz
New Boyz is an American hip hop/rap group and a former jerkin crew duo made up of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas from Hesperia, California. They debuted in summer 2009 with their viral hit, "You're a Jerk", taken from their debut studio album Skinny Jeanz and a Mic,...

Too Cool to Care
Too Cool to Care
-Chart performance:...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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