Elle Varner

Wikipedia:

Gabrielle Varner (born February 12, 1989), simply known as Elle Varner is an American recording artist and musician. She was raised in Los Angeles by her mother and father who both happen to be songwriters and publishers. At age six she began to play musical instruments, beginning with the flute, and later she moved on to piano and guitar. She attended several music programs including Amazing Grace Conservatory and Alexander Hamilton High School's Academy of Music's Vocal Jazz Group. In 2008 Varner graduated from NYU's renowned Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music. In October 2009 she signed with MBK/J-RCA Records along with a co-publishing agreement with Sony Music. Her debut single "Only Wanna Give It to You" features J. Cole and was released August 16, 2011. The song serves as the lead single off her upcoming album Perfectly Imperfect. Before the release of the album, Varner released her first project, a mixtape titled Conversational Lush (2012).

Biography

1987–2010: Early life and career beginnings

Elle Varner, was born and raised in Los Angeles, California by her mother and father who both happen to be songwriters and publishers. Born of two published songwriters, she spent most of her childhood sleeping on studio couches, running around green rooms, and watching her parents struggle to make a name in the industry. With music running through her veins, Varner was singing as soon as she could speak, playing the flute at 6 and the piano at 9. But it wasn't until her attendance at AGC (Amazing Grace Conservatory) that her ear for harmony, melody and complex rhythm truly developed.

At age 16, Elle picked up the guitar for the first time. Frustrated that she wasn't instantly as good as Hendrix, she dropped the guitar and became a part of Alexander Hamilton High School's Academy of Music's Vocal Jazz Group. Once there, she learned about the complexity of the voice, jazz music and talented jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald. Varner was surprised to discover that she had been chosen to be a part of The Grammy in the Schools Mentoring Program. Through this program she was taken weekly to the Fox Studio, where she met with mentor Kelly Burgos, and President of Fox Music, Robert Kraft. Soon after, Varner hesitantly applied to NYU with her C average and was surprisingly accepted. Not only did she get in, but also she was admitted into the second class of the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music. Upon graduating, she was awarded "most likely to get signed" and "most likely to win a Grammy." Four years later she finds herself a well-rounded and cultured singer-songwriter.

In 2008 Varner graduated from NYU's renowned Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music. In October 2009 she signed with MBK/J-RCA Records along with a co-publishing agreement with Sony Music.

2011–present: Perfectly Imperfect

On October 7, 2011 RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Varner (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release her future material on RCA Records. Varner was one of the artists featured in BET's Music Matters campaign. She was listed as one of TheBoomBox's '15 Artists to Watch'.

She released her debut single "Only Wanna Give It to You" on August 6, 2011 from her upcoming debut studio album. The song peaked at #20 on the US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In preparation for her debut studio album, Varner released a mixtape on January 23, 2012, titled Conversational Lush as promotion towards her debut. The second single from Varner's debut album "Refill" was released to iTunes January 31, 2012, and debuted at #78 on the US R&B chart. When asked in a interview what is to be expected from the album Varner said in a statement “a lot of color, a lot of range” on her self-written debut Perfectly Imperfect, due later this year. “There’s fun songs, emotional songs, deep songs, everything you could think about is on that album."

On February 11, 2012, Varner and The Roots gave a performance dedicated to Whitney Houston, for the Roots Pre-Grammy Jam Session at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.