Originally posted Monday, October 1, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Shamari DeVoe is a fresh face for "The Real Housewives of Atlanta."
Here are seven things about the 38-year-old singer you’ll need to know when she shows up for season 11.
Her story has many connections to that with Kandi Burruss, who was also part of an all-girl group (Xscape) as a teen and had a bunch of early hits.
Its unclear if Shamari will show up in the very first episode but the show returns Sunday, November 4 at 8 p.m. on Bravo.
1 - She has Atlanta pedigree: Born in Detroit in 1980 as Shamari Fears, she began singing at age three. She moved to Atlanta in the mid-1980s and began performing publicly in middle school.
2- Girl groups galore. Shamari first worked with a country-urban hybrid group unfortunately called Buutz. That led to another group Intrigue. She then met Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC fame and formed Blaque with Brandi D. Williams and Natina Reed.
3- Two big hits. In 1999, the trio released "808," which hit No. 8 on the Billboard pop chart. The self-titled album sold more than 1.5 milion units. And their biggest hit "Bring It All To Me" peaked at No. 4.
4- Bring it on! Shamari played Lava in the hit film "Bring it On" about competitive cheerleading squads.
5- Quick flameout. Columbia Records decided not to release Blaque's second album and Elektra Records picked them up. But they never released an album for the label.
6- Wedding ring. Shamari married Ronnie DeVoe of New Edition fame in 2006. She had twin boys with him in 2017. She and Ronnie hosted a marriage retreat in September and recently talked to my colleague Grace Bond Staples about how they found a way to strengthen their marriage through counseling. They were promoting a "Married 4 Life Walk."
Ronnie DeVoe said simple gestures such as walking together and holding hands help to build relationships while demonstrating love for each other.
“Knowing what we had gone through and being able to break through the challenges, we saw this as an opportunity to shine a light on their vision,” Ronnie DeVoe said. “We felt like it should be part of our mission.”
7- No more Blaque. Shamari in the mid-2000s pursued a solo career to no avail. And efforts to get the group together and release more music didn't come to fruition. After Reed died in a car accident in 2012, Blaque disbanded for good.
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