Kristinia DeBarge

Kristinia Jamie DeBarge (born March 8, 1990) is an American singer and actress.

Born in 1990, DeBarge is the daughter of James DeBarge.

DeBarge began singing when she was 3 years old, but did not begin to take it seriously until she was 12.

When she was 12, her father took her into a recording studio where they worked until 4 A.M. recording a duet titled "How I Feel Inside", which made her father realize that she was serious about beginning a singing career.

She first appeared on national television in 2003 as a contestant on the American Idol spin-off, American Juniors.

During Summer 2003 she was a contestant on the American Idol spin-off, American Juniors.

DeBarge progressed to the semi-final round of 20 contestants.

She was featured in the first group of ten semi-finalists and sang the song "Reflection" from the Disney film Mulan.

However, she was not one of the five to progress from that group into the final ten.

DeBarge is of mixed race.

Her father is of African American, English, and French descent.

Her mother is of Mexican, English, Norwegian, and French descent.

DeBarge's ancestors on her mother's side include, 6th great-grandfather

Robert Sevier and 6th great-granduncle John Sevier (first member of the Watauga Association/founding father of Tennessee), and first cousin twice removed Elías Nandino, a Mexican poet and confidant of Frida Kahlo.

Among her mother's distant relatives is King [Robert I of France].

At 14, DeBarge was introduced to Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.

She worked with him for five years and, two days before her nineteenth birthday, signed to a new division of Island Def Jam Records founded by Edmonds and Jeff Burroughs called Sodapop Records.

In 2009, DeBarge signed a contract with the Island Records department Sodapop, releasing her debut album, Exposed, in July of the same year.

DeBarge's first single "Goodbye" off her debut album Exposed was released in April 2009.

"Goodbye" met with commercial success in the United States, the single debuted at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and later reached a peak of number 15 on the chart.

The single was also a success in Canada, where it reached a peak of number 15 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Exposed, was released on July 28, 2009.

Exposed received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 69/100 from Metacritic.

In the United States, the album debuted at number 23 on the Billboard 200.

DeBarge also opened up for pop singer Britney Spears, during Spears' 2009 world tour, The Circus Starring: Britney Spears.

In November 2009, The Wet Seal, Inc., a leading specialty retailer to young women, announced a partnership with DeBarge which included a collection of fashion pieces selected by DeBarge.

In January 2010, DeBarge received an NAACP Image Award nomination for "Outstanding New Artist".

DeBarge made an appearance in School Gyrls, which premiered on Nickelodeon in March 2010.

In September 2012, DeBarge released her single "Cry Wolf" from her exclusive Japan album Young & Restless.

In October 2012, the "Cry Wolf" music video was premiered on her VEVO artist page.

On November 9, 2012, DeBarge made her acting debut in "Christmas in Compton" starring Keith David, Omar Gooding, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Eric Roberts.

On April 3, 2013, DeBarge released another single ("Ignite") from Young & Restless exclusively to Japan through Manhattan Records.

The song peaked at number six one day after its release on the Japanese iTunes R&B Chart.

On May 29, 2013, DeBarge released another single from the album, "Higher".

DeBarge was featured on Redrama's new single and music video "Let Go" on January 17, 2014.

DeBarge and Redrama performed on live television for Finland's finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 at the Barona Areena in Espoo on February 1, 2014.

The single was a success in Finland, where it reached No. 1 on NRJ's Top 10 list on February 4, 2014, and No. 1 on Spotify on February 7, 2014.

The single reached a peak of No. 3 on the Finnish Single Charts.

On February 25, 2014, the single reached a peak of No. 1 on the Finnish Airplay Charts.

DeBarge started working on her third studio album in March 2014 with Adonis Shropshire.