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2066033

Elle Varner

Born in Los Angeles, CA

Elle Varner's Genre:

Contemporary R&B, R&B

Biography

One of the most promising R&B artists to emerge during the early 2010s, singer and songwriter Elle Varner grew up in a musical family -- one that spent much of its time together in recording studios. Both of Varner's parents were music industry veterans. Mikelyn Roderick, her mother, was a backup vocalist for Barry White and has written and recorded with Tevin Campbell and Rahsaan Patterson; she also released an album on the Dome label in 2007. Varner's father, Jimmy Varner, was a songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist; he has collaborated with Gerald Alston, Kool & the Gang, and Will Downing. As a child, Elle Varner accompanied her parents to sessions, learned the ins and outs of recording, and would be asked for feedback on her parents' material. Signed to the J label -- home to inspirations and contemporaries like Monica, Alicia Keys, Marsha Ambrosius, and Jazmine Sullivan -- Varner, while in her early twenties, debuted in August 2011 with "Only Wanna Give It to You," featuring J. Cole. The single peaked at number 20 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Due to label restructuring, the J label was eliminated; Varner shifted to the RCA roster before year's end. The lyrically and sonically distinctive "Refill" hit the chart in March 2012 and, within a few weeks, had nearly topped the debut. A free mixtape, Conversational Lush (its title taken from "Refill"), was issued prior to Varner's proper debut album, August 2012's Perfectly Imperfect. ~ Andy Kellman

AOL Radio Stations Elle Varner is Featured on (2)

Grammy Awards 2013

This station features all of the hits from the 2013 Grammy nominated artists. From established stars like Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen to breakout artists like Gotye and Frank Ocean- you'll hear all of the most acclaimed music of the last year, as determined by a panel of their peers.

Elle Varner

This station plays the best music from and music from related artists like Luke James, J Hene Aiko, Q Parker, Marcus Canty, Sevyn Streeter, RaVaughn, Dawn Richard, Alex Boyd, Solange, Avery*Sunshine and more.

All Stations

Elle Varner's Selected Discography (1)

Perfectly Imperfect

(P) 2011 RCA Records, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment201211 Songs

All Albums

Artists Related to Elle Varner (50)

	Luke James	Luke James (aka Luke Boyd) injected some maturity into early-2010s contemporary R&B. As a child growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was inspired while watching a Showtime at the Apollo contestant perform Donny Hathaway's version of Leon Russell's "A Song for You.
	J Hene Aiko
	Q Parker	A member of 112, an R&B group that amassed seven Top Ten R&B hits and a pair of multi-platinum albums while on the Bad Boy and Def Soul labels, Atlanta native Quinnes "Q" Parker first stepped out as a solo artist in the late 2000s.
	Marcus Canty	As a youngster growing up in Palmer Park, Maryland, Marcus Canty developed loves for acting, basketball, and singing.
	Sevyn Streeter	Songwriter and vocalist Amber Streeter (aka Ambee, Se7en, Sevyn) was the first member of TG4, a pop-R&B outfit put together by Chris Stokes (Immature, B2K).
	RaVaughn
	Dawn Richard	New Orleans, Louisiana native Dawn Richard, the daughter of Chocolate Milk percussionist and vocalist Frank Richard, released her first solo material under the name Dawn Angeliqué.
	Alex Boyd	An entertainer since early childhood, Virginia native Alex Boyd had his life changed in multiple ways when he was accepted into Washington, D.
	Solange	Solange Knowles, the younger sister of Beyoncé Knowles, studied dance and theater as a child and made her singing debut at age five at an amusement park.
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	Elle Varner
	Urban Mystic	Contemporary R&B upstart Urban Mystic, the son of a church minister, grew up in a world of music and made his jump into the industry while still a teenager.
	Mateo
	Tiffany Evans	Prior to turning 13, Tiffany Evans, a singer and actor from the Bronx, won the Grand Champion title in the junior singer division of Star Search.
	Jarvis
	Melanie Amaro	The winner of the first season of The X Factor USA, Melanie Amaro drew comparisons to classic R&B divas such as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.
	Ester Dean	Ester Dean's singing aspirations were so strong that she cold-called recording studios around her Oklahoma home and ingratiated herself enough to provide vocals on demos.
	Wale & Omarion
	B. Smyth	R&B singer/songwriter B. Smyth got his start as one of millions of teenagers uploading YouTube videos of himself covering other artists' songs.
	Charles Jenkins
	Lianne La Havas	Offering a mostly acoustic and hushed hybrid of alternative folk and soul, Lianne La Havas was born and raised in London, England, the daughter of a Jamaican mother and Greek father.
	Kiings
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	Daley	Compared to Simply Red's Mick Hucknall due to his Manchester, England origin, red hair, and R&B roots -- the parallels end there, really -- Gareth Daley kicked his career into gear once he submitted a low-key but affecting ballad, "Rainy Day," to the BBC.
	Tamar Braxton	Tamar Braxton's entry into the music industry came through her five-member sibling group, the Braxtons, which featured older sisters Traci, Trina, Towanda and, most notably, Toni.
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	The OMG Girlz	Atlanta-based pop-R&B trio OMG Girlz were developed by Tameka "Tiny" Cottle (former member of Xscape, one of the most successful R&B acts of the '90s) and her business partner, Keisha Miles.
	Cherish	Atlanta-based R&B quartet Cherish debuted in 2003 with the single "Miss P." produced by Jermaine Dupri.
	How To Dress Well	Research fellow Tom Krell makes ghostly, lo-fi R&B under the moniker How to Dress Well, a name he stumbled upon and adopted as his own in a Minneapolis bookstore in 2004.
	Doll Phace	Skilled vocalist and CEO Doll Phace got her nickname as a teenager, when she was on her high school’s track tream.
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	TGT	Longtime friends and veteran R&B singers Tyrese, Ginuwine, and Tank formed a trio, dubbed TGT, in 2007.
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	Jazmine Sullivan	Contemporary R&B star Jazmine Sullivan spent several years learning the ropes of the recording industry before signing to J Records and making her solo recording debut in 2008 with the number one R&B single "Need U Bad.
	Melanie Fiona	Offering a throwback sound to complement her rich, womanly voice, Melanie Fiona is a bright R&B artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
	Chrisette Michele	In a very short span of time, R&B singer/songwriter Chrisette Michele shot from small-time performer up to one of Def Jam's most promising talents, purely based on her unique instrument -- a gorgeous and effortlessly versatile singing voice colored with Billie Holiday-esque inflections of vocal pop and jazz.
	Nikki Jean	Vocalist and songwriter Nikki Jean, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, was a member of Nouveau Riche, a Philadelphia-based group featuring Roots affiliate Dice Raw.
	K'La	Like the Jackson family and Deniece Williams before her, singer, MC, and songwriter K'La is from Gary, Indiana.
	Estelle	Able to rap, sing, and write songs that had everyone from John Legend to Roots Manuva singing her praises, Estelle Swaray got her start in London's renowned hip-hop record store Deal Real.
	Liv Warfield
	Dondria	Dondria is a contemporary R&B singer who was discovered on YouTube by So So Def founder Jermaine Dupri.
	Judith Hill
	Jacob Latimore	Actor and pop-R&B vocalist Jacob Latimore got his first taste of fame at a very young age, when his first single, the 2006 release "Best Friend," was played on Radio Disney.
	Kelis	Harlem-bred vocalist Kelis left her parents' home at 16 and landed a deal with Virgin four years later.
	Shontelle	Barbadian pop singer Shontelle (born Shontelle Layne) gained notice as the songwriter behind Alison Hinds' "Roll It Gal," a hit in her native country.
	Keyshia Cole	One of the more genuine urban songstresses to emerge in the 2000s, Keyshia Cole worked her way up the industry ladder diligently yet quickly, making her major-label debut in 2004 at age 21.
	Marsha Ambrosius	Shortly after the end of her gold-selling R&B act Floetry, singer, songwriter, and producer Marsha Ambrosius -- whose biggest claim to fame as a writer is Michael Jackson's Top 20 hit "Butterflies" -- signed with Dr.
	Livvi Franc	Hailing from Barbados, though she spent the first several years of her life in North Yorkshire, England, Livvi Franc (born Olivia Charlotte Waithe) signed to the Jive label in 2007 and was paired with a diverse set of collaborators who included Salaam Remi (Nas, Amy Winehouse), RedOne (Lady GaGa), and J.
	Amerie	Pop-oriented R&B singer Amerie, the daughter of a Korean mother and an African-American father who was a career military member, grew up on bases from Alaska to Germany.
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