June's Diary

2016: Chasing Destiny

Chasing Destiny was the docu-series in 2016 formed with the help of former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland and the famous choreographer/director Frank Gatson Jr. To find a new African American girl group based on talent and sisterhood. During an interview with New York Post Kelly Rowland stated “I felt like there was a void for a girls group in the music industry and this is something that I have wanted to do since Destiny’s Child’s Destiny Fulfilled tour. There were so many girl groups back in the day and now there is only one,” she continues, referring to Fifth Harmony. “I want to show that women can get back to making money together.”

Rowland held auditions for the girl group in three cities, narrowed down from 600 girls to 15 and later choosing the final five consisting(particularly order) Gabrielle "Gabby" Carreiro, Kristal Lyn Smith (originally from the girl group RichGirl), Ashly Williams, Brienna DeVlugt and Shyann Roberts. However, only DeVlugt, Carreiro and Roberts were selected as top 15. Williams was cut during the auditions but was later brought back by Gatson because he thought that talent was lacking among the top 15. Gatson also added Smith later cause he had worked with her in 2004 with Beyonce during her Grammy Performance. During the process of the show the girls gained media success in May 2016 after a cover of Drake's Hotline Bling on the Chasing Destiny went viral.

2016–present: Future projects

On June 7, 2016, as the final episode of Chasing Destiny, the group released their first buzz single on iTunes "All of Us" later confirming that despite conflicting reports, they are currently still in search of a name for the group. The quintet is signed to L.A. Reid's record label Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.. On June 23, 2016 they announced their official group name as June's Diary. Smith explained the story behind the name as “Even though we were put together in February, June is the month that we spiritually connected as a group. A lot of great things happened for us in the month of June. We were just having a talk last week, that something just clicked. Something just happened between us, and we were just like ‘Wow.’ And diary is just us telling our story and writing a different page every single day.” On June 24, 2016, the group released their debut single "L.A.N.C.E" on iTunes before released the video during the red carpet event for the 2016 BET Awards. The group embarked on their first promotional tour in fall 2016, later joining R. Kelly on both the Buffet Tour and 12 Nights of Christmas tour after he was impressed with their performance of the Black National Anthem in the same year.

Ashly Williams

Ashly Breshé Williams was born on (1989-01-15) January 15, 1989 originally from Compton, California

Williams auditioned for The X Factor in Los Angeles, CA, singing Whitney Houston's signature hit, a cover of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You. She performed Aerosmith's song I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing during the 4 chair challenge gaining a seat to compete in Demi Lovato's final 4 in her Girls Category later being replaced by another contestant with Williams exit the competition. The R&B singer starred on the BET doc-series Chasing Destiny and became a member chosen as part of Kelly Rowland's girl group June's Diary.

Kristal Lyn Smith

Kristal Lyn Smith was born on (1987-07-29) July 29, 1987 originally from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Smith was previously a member of the R&B four-person group RichGirl from 2007-2011. After parting ways from the group, she dropped an EP entitled Proclamation stating, this EP was just something for the fans to enjoy until she started her solo career. Smith joined Usher on his UR experience tour as one of his backup singers. She was brought onto the show "Chasing Destiny" in Episode 3 - Houston We Have A Problem. It was later revealed in Episode 7 - Black Girl Magic, that she would be a part of the girl group June's Diary.

Brienna DeVlugt

Brienna DeVlugt, was born on (1993-11-26) November 26, 1993 originally from Princeton, New Jersey.

A 1/6 daughter of former Reggae boy group POV, Lincoln ‘Link’ DeVlugt. She studied economics before dropping out with only three credits left to pursue her music career and try out for Chasing Destiny. DeVlugt has cited Destiny's Child, Danity Kane and Dream as her biggest musical influences. R&B singer starred on the BET doc-series Chasing Destiny and became a member chosen as part of Kelly Rowland's girl group June's Diary.

Gabrielle "Gabby" Carreiro

Gabrielle "Gabby" Carreiro was born on (1996-05-20) May 20, 1996 originally from Glendale, California.

Carreiro was signed up for choir in seventh grade by her father and grew to love music from there. In 2015, she released a YouTube Acapella song entitled "Bitter," which (since the inception of June's Diary) showcases her sultry jazz-inspired alto due to her different musical background. She has cited (influenced by) artists such as The Talking Heads, The Badesses, Sarah Vaughan, and Michael Buble as some of her favorites. Carreiro starred on the BET doc-series Chasing Destiny and became one of the five finalists chosen to become part of Kelly Rowland's girl group June's Diary.

Shyann Roberts

Shyann Roberts was born on (1996-08-31) August 31, 1996 originally from St. Petersburg, Florida.

Her mother's name is Qiana Horsley. She started singing at the age of 2 and has been performing since she was 4. Roberts has opened for known artists such as Boyz II Men and sang the National Anthem for a 76ers game once. R&B singer starred on the BET doc-series Chasing Destiny and became the youngest member chosen as part of Kelly Rowland's girl group June's Diary.

Headlining

Opening Act