Tonya Mitchell
Active years 1999-2002
Tonya Mitchell is an American pop singer, as well as an aspiring model and actress. She came to fame in 2001 with the release of her debut single, "Broken Promises" from her debut album I Represent, which became a minor hit.
In 1998, Tonya was performing at a regional benefit for St. Jude's Hospital when Justin Timberlake's grandfather, Bill Bomar, was in the audience and heard the young teen sing. Overwhelmed with what he heard, the man approched Tonya and introduced himself. He told Tonya that Justin was his grandson and that maybe he can help her break into the music industry.
At the time, Tonya didn't think anything of it, but it eventually led to her signing with Justin Timberlake's management company, JustinTime Entertainment and being managed by Justin's mother, Lynn Harless. Tonya was later then signed to Universal Records and entered the studio to record her twelve-song debut album.
On February 27, 2001, after a few weeks of recording the album, Mitchell's first single, Broken Promises, an up-beat track produced by Brian Kieruff and Josh Schwartz, hit radio. The song reached #36 on Radio & Records' CHR/Pop tracks chart and peaked at #17 on the ARC Weekly Top 40 in late April. Following the successful release of the single, Mitchell released her debut solo album, I Represent, on April 10, 2001.
In 2001, Tonya was asked to be one of the opening acts for the NSYNC Pop Odyssey Tour. This took Tonya's career to a higher level by making appearances at venues and performing in front of audiences of 50,000+
On November 12, 2001, Tonya was dropped from Universal Records. Soon to follow, in early 2002, the record companies stopped returning calls and emails from Mitchell's management. Tonya's father, Cowboy Louie Mitchell, decided to take it upon himself to help his daughter get back into the public eye once more and get her signed again. He died in July 2001.
In August 2005, Tonya signed with her new management company, Brand-On Entertainment. She started recording a month later. Along with BAD GIRL, Mitchell has also released Shy Role, Sometimey Friend, Miss It, Blah Blah Blah and "Yes I Will" as well as recording a jingle for Monster Energy drink. In late 2007, Tonya was no longer signed to a management company.
In Fall of 2008 Tonya announced that she is no longer actively pursuing a music career. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.