This chick released an album in 2000 and a music video. It's definitely her...watch the music video, listen to the voice. She used to look feminine back then, now she's masculine looking and rough around the edges. I thought the competition was for undiscovered talent. She may not have been a success but she had the pleasure of experiencing a music video and recording an album...let's see how this plays out. I'm pretty sure the other contestants would be upset if they found out she has experienced the record industry.

Music video link http://launch.yahoo.com/v...id=2143171


Bio from 2000 when she was 18 years old:

Album cover:








BIOGRAPHY
When she called her debut Restless Records album, . You Can. t Resist,. 18-year-old Jessica wasn. t kidding. An All-City, All-State and All-American basketball player, this Chicago native could have gone to the University of Wisconsin on a full athletic scholarship, but chose instead to use the moves that made her a hoop star to transform herself into the worlds newest teenage phenomenon. Growing up in the inner city projects, where she was raised by her grandmother, a pastor for the local church, Jessica overcame any number of hardships to pursue her dreams, whether it was sinking baskets or singing and dancing.

Jessica. s first single, . Get Up,. produced by Keith Andes [En Vogue, Johnny Gill,], expresses that boundless spirit with sensual, multi-gospel vocals (as in several of the songs, she takes both the high, double-tracked chorus and the husky, lower leads) and a positive point-of-view that shows how self-esteem, will power and ambition can lift you out of the most dire circumstances. Complete with dance-floor shout-outs to Chicago, New York, California, the A-T-L, New Orleans, DC, Houston and Miami.

Still just a teenager, Jessica understands only too well her responsibility as a role model to young fans, which is expressed in songs of female empowerment like the dance-pop, . Gotta Do It Right,. the soulful ballad . Don. t Give A Damn. , the sassy . Ain. t Worth My Kinda Lovin'. . the insistent . Get To Know Me. and the playful . You Don. t Need Him, which all preach self-pride and urges young girls not to be pressured into having sex before they. re ready.

. I chose these songs basically for young women. says Jessica, who collaborated on both lyrics and music to the majority of the songs on the album. . There are plenty of women out there who are either hurting, happy or sad. I tried to take a different perspective on each of them..

So, Jessica plays a lover scolding her cheating man in . Don. t Give A Damn. , cheekily complains about guys who lie about their income in . Ain. t Worth My Kinda Lovin'. and puts herself in the middle of a love triangle with her best girlfriend in . You Don. t Need Him. . But she also shows a nurturing side in the smoldering ballad, . I Can Make You Love Again,. a mystical longing in the Middle East-flavored soul plaint, . Are You The One?. and a hard-earned understanding in . Where Are We Now?,. which deals with Jessica. s previously strained relationship with her mother, absent for much of her childhood with emotional problems.

That Jessica even survived is testament to her focus and strength as an individual. Growing up as one of seven children--with three sisters and two brothers--Jessica was forced to mature at an early age, taking care of her three younger sisters. As a kid, she played saxophone in the school band and loved Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Boyz II Men, who signed Jessica when she was 16 to their Stone Creek production company and Epic-distributed label, though nothing came of it except a four-song demo.

After performing in her grandmother. s church choir, at birthday parties, school talent shows and the playground from the age of three, Jessica was discovered at one of her own Final Four high school basketball games, when she volunteered to sing the National Anthem when the scheduled vocalist got sick at the last minute. Her performance led the coach to introduce her to Kevin Nichols, a local manager, who works with Jessica to this day.

When she graduated high school as an All-American basketball player, nine major universities
tried to recruit her, including Wisconsin, but she chose to pursue a recording career instead, leading to interest from MCA, Jive, Epic and Universal Records. . I love basketball, but right now I. d choose music, says Jessica, while admitting one day she. d love to play in the WNBA. . Music is just more fun, more fulfilling, more enjoyable... I get to relate to different people more. But my goal is, one day, to do both If Shaquille O. Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Chris Webber can, why not Jessica? After all, born a Gemini in June, she was meant to have a dual nature.

Moving out to Los Angeles with her older brother, who gave up his job at UPS to look after her, Jessica immersed herself in writing her debut album with a host of top-notch collaborators, including producer/writers Keith Andes, Chucky Thompson, Alex Cantrell and Mark Kinchen (. Get to Know Me. ) as well as writers Kelly Price and Mechalie Jameson and background vocalists Deborah Cox.

Her debut album, . You Can. t Resist,. is aimed at the same youthful audience that has made stars of the likes of Monica, Brandy, Britney and Christina, but with a universal message anyone of any age can relate to.

. I want all the kids to know it. s important to have hope.. she says. . Coming from where I came from, I saw people with no direction in life, who thought there was no way out. I want my fans to look at me and realize, if you work hard enough, you can get out of wherever you are and make something of yourself. Because I did..

She. s exuberant and not afraid to express her sexuality, even though she. s abstaining until she. s married (. I enjoy the attention, but I. m not a flirt.) There. s also a competitive, hard-edge from her athletic background. Mature beyond her years, she. s also never forgotten her roots. . Get Up. could well be her encouragement to those she left behind.

. When you can reach kids with your music, they'll listen. Jessica explains. . I can. t wait for the opportunity to get out there live, into the crowd, to show them what I got. I want to dance for them and show them how we do it in Chicago, where we don. t cut any corners..

In fact, . You Can. t Resist. is just the beginning of this b-ballin' high-stepping teenage superstar in the making. . It makes me happy to perform on-stage,. she beams. . I get a kick out of it, like someone else does smoking a cigarette or having a drink. I feel like a totally different person. Because I can get out of my inner self and be someone else. I never really had an opportunity to do that growing up. I. ve always really wanted this and worked hard to achieve it, so I really appreciate it. I want people to see there. s something behind this image and these words, a three-dimensional human being..

After meeting Jessica, one thing. s for sure. You can. t resist.

BoriquaTeddy already got you covered. I missed the finale though.

AnckSuNamun said:

I saw a thread but I didn't see one with her music video from 2000 in it