Birth name Ashley Támar Davis Genres Alternative/Indie, World | Labels Universal Records | |
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Born March 31, 1980 (age 36) ( 1980-03-31 ) Years active 1990–1993 (group)1998–present (solo) Associated acts Girl's Tyme, Prince, Kelly Rowland, Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, Destiny's Child, Alisan Porter, Nick Hagelin, Bryan Bautista, Ryan Quinn, Kata Hay, Maya Smith, Shalyah Fearing Movies Tyler Perry's Laugh to Keep from Crying, The Marriage Counselor Albums My Name Is Tamar, I Am the Storm Similar Prince, Alisan Porter, Beyoncé, Shalyah Fearing, Chandra Currelley‑Young Profiles | ||
Ashley Támar Davis, known professionally as Támar, is an American singer who came to prominence through her association with Prince. She sang the co-lead vocals on his Grammy-nominated song "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed" from his 2006 album, 3121 and on backup vocals throughout the album. Támar started her musical career in the group Girl's Tyme, appearing with them on Star Search, but left before the group was renamed Destiny's Child. In 2016, she auditioned for season 10 of the American talent competition The Voice.
Contents
- Early years and cooperation with Prince
- My Name is Tmar
- Acting career
- The Voice
- Personal life
- Discography
- References
Early years and cooperation with Prince
Around 1994, Prince heard a demo by Támar and told her that one day when she was older, he wanted to hear her again. A few years later, Prince called her into his Paisley Park studio. Nothing transpired from that visit, nor did she get to meet with Prince, so Támar went about doing her own thing, graduating from Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and then studying music business at the University of Southern California, all while focusing on her musical career. Támar who also speaks French, German and Swahili became part of an all-female jazz/funk band called Angaza (which means "to give light" in Swahili), who released an album called Light. At the time, she went by the name Ashley T'Amar Davis.
In 2004 she auditioned for Star Search once again as a solo artist but did not prevail through the competitions. In the fourth season of American Idol she auditioned, but did not make the cut. While living in Los Angeles, she snared an invite to one of Prince's house parties and introduced herself to him. He remembered meeting the saucy singer and asked her to audition for him on the spot, which she did. He then asked her to sing in a video he was working on. Since then, Támar has joined the ranks of female artists Prince has mentored, including Vanity, Sheila E., Sheena Easton, Apollonia Kotero, Carmen Electra and Martika. She signed with Universal Records the same day Prince did in December 2005.
In 2006, Támar toured with Prince, helping to promote his album 3121. She appeared with him on Saturday Night Live (February 4, 2006), Good Morning America, the Brit Awards, as well as his video, "Fury", where she appears alongside fellow female singer/dancers the Twinz, two former Australian Idol contestants.
In March 2006, Támar was supported by Prince with an ensemble of session musicians and performed a number of small club concerts in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Miami to promote her upcoming album. The concerts included cuts from her Milk & Honey album, as well as cover versions of such artists as Mary J. Blige and Aretha Franklin. Prince fans, who were really there to see him, were also treated to him performing rare tunes during her costume changes, including "Anotherloverholenyohead", "Partyman" and "Calhoun Square" (from Crystal Ball). Also of interest was the full complement doing a cover of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" with Prince playing the synthesizer solo from the original recording on the guitar. The concerts were approximately 90 minutes in length. Bootlegs are currently in circulation of some (if not all) of these concerts.
My Name is Támar
Set to be Támar's debut album, Milk & Honey was originally to be titled Beautiful, Loved and Blessed, but was later renamed after one of the other tracks. The album appeared to feature significant input by Prince: many of the song titles employed his style of abbreviations. Milk & Honey was originally intended to be released together with Prince's 3121 album. A later date was set for the album to be released on May 5, 2006, but was delayed for not revealed reasons. Although the record label never disclosed an official communication on the subject, it is known that the project was eventually leaked onto the internet by Támar on her website. Several other rumored release dates came and went and the album was eventually canceled except for a Japanese release (and then canceled in Japan after all), even though a few promotional singles had already been issued. John Elmore III and Terrell Sass then produced a new debut, "Juz Do It" while touring with Tyler Perry's "The Marriage Counselor". The album was eventually cancelled as well. My Name Is Támar was released on March 24, 2011 and was also primarily produced and mixed by John Elmore III and Terrell Sass.
Acting career
She appears in multiple Tyler Perry plays, such as: The Marriage Counselor, Laugh to Keep from Crying, Madea's Big Happy Family and also A Madea Christmas. She also starred in Perry's most recent play Madea Gets a Job. She also toured with Motown: The Musical as an understudy for Diana Ross.
The Voice
Tamar Davis auditioned for season 10 of the American series The Voice. On an episode broadcast on NBC on March 8, 2016, she sang "Chain of Fools" with two of the four judges Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton turning their chairs. She opted to continue competing as part of Team Christina.
Personal life
Támar is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.