//Limelight Spotlight: Shontelle//

She grew up singing and dancing on the small Caribbean island of Barbados. She was discovered by famed record producers Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken who helped get her heard by the big wigs at Universal Music. Sound familiar? It should, but if you think this is Rihanna’s story, you’re wrong. Meet Shontelle.

Shontelle’s story may sound a bit like Rihanna‘s but don’t for a second think you’ve stumbled onto Rihanna 2.0. The 23-year-old brown-haired, hazel-eyed beauty is not only a talented singer with a tender voice and striking good looks, she’s also a versitile songwriter with a penchant for writing songs that inspire women to stand strong–and inspire them to get on the dancefloor.

She attended the University of the West Indies with a major in Entertainment Law, but her law degree was put on the back-burner when the bright lights of a pop career came calling when Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken of SRP Records heard her song “Roll” (which also features vocals from that other Bajan pop princess) on a Barbadian radio station. Impressed with Shontelle’s writing prowess, they sought the young writer out. When they found her they knew they’d struck gold–possibly platinum–again.

Not long after, SRC Records and Universal Motown got on board and they began work on Shontelle’s debut album, Shontelligence. The album is a musical potluck that fuses her caribbean influences with R&B and Pop. From the dancehall/reggae flavored “Naughty” featuring Beenie Man to the breezy r&b/pop “T-Shirt“ (which currently sits at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and rising), Shontelle is ready to prove that she’s an artist that can stand on her own merits–she’s no one’s continuation.

Learn more about Shontelle at her myspace page, hear two tracks from Shontelligence, “Battle Cry” and “Superwoman,” and watch the video for her US debut single, “T-shirt” on the other side.