Jazmine Sullivan

Named by her mother for her favorite musical genre, it seems as if Jazmine Sullivan was born to be a musician. While the Philadelphia native did grow up to become a vocalist and songwriter, and took elements of her namesake genre into her style, her debut record Fearless (J Records) is much more than just one genre can describe.

At just 21 years old, Jazmine has proved herself a talented and unique songwriter, penning a majority of the tracks on her debut, and gathering a list of fans that includes Missy Elliott, who worked as a producer on the first single from the record, "Need U Bad." This single finds Jazmine experimenting with reggae, with Missy recruiting Salt-N-Pepa to chant the catchy chorus.

Fearless also contains hints of flamenco – "Bust Your Windows" – and even a full orchestra – "Lions, Tigers & Bears," all of which tap into Jazmine's varied influences that range from her love of The Wiz to her early years singing in church that led her to classic R&B.

From a chance to perform with the legendary Steve Wonder – Jazmine sang "These Three Words" – the singer ended up grabbing his attention, and word spread through the industry that she was a girl to watch. Jazmine prepared for a year for the opportunity to play her songs for J Records' Clive Davis. The hard word paid off, and he welcomed her to the family right away.

Says Jazmine of her breakout freshman success, "Fearless embodies my state of mind right now. I'm 21, confident, fearless of being honest in my songwriting and musically not afraid to try different things."