Casandra Ventura
(born August 26, 1986 in New London, Connecticut),
professionally known as Cassie, is an American R&B
singer, model and actress. She is best known for her
2005 single "Me & U", which became a hit
in 2006.
Biography: Ventura is the daughter of a Filipino
father and an African American/West Indian/Mexican
mother. While attending The Williams School, a
preparatory school on the Connecticut College campus,
Ventura began her career as a model at the age of
fourteen, appearing in ads for Delia's, Adidas,
Abercrombie & Fitch, and Seventeen. When she
completed high school in 2004, she announced that she
was going to pursue her career in modeling and music,
foregoing college.
In New York - where Ventura was modeling for Abercrombie
and Fitch - she took classes at the Broadway Dance
Center. Producer Ryan Leslie began spotting her at clubs
and parties in late 2004, later saying he was charmed by
her personality. She was finally introduced to him by
Sean "Diddy" Combs' make-up artist, who had
worked with Ventura on one of her modeling assignments.
Crowned the "Princess of NextSelection" by the
producer behind the brand, Ryan Leslie, singer Cassie
burst onto the New York music scene completely by
accident. Ryan was downtown at club Marquee with Usher,
and noticed a new face in the crowd that night.
Weeks later, he was surprised to run into her again at
Diddy's birthday bash in November 2004. Aside from her
multi-racial good looks (she's Filipino and Black), he
noticed something special about her personality, and was
finally introduced to her by Diddy's make-up artist, who
had worked with her before on a photoshoot.
A year later, there is a swirl of promise around this
talented young artist from New London, CT. Cassie has
never done things the traditional way. When she
graduated high school, she was the only student in her
class to announce that she was not going to college, but
was moving to New York to make it on her own, in
"real life".
Shortly after being introduced to Ryan, her mother
requested that Cassie record a song for her as a
birthday gift. She approached him about producing it,
and since she had never been in the studio before, he
put together a duet for them called "Kiss Me".
As it turned out, Cassie's mother wasn't the only one
who loved the song...Ryan played it for Tommy Mottola,
former chairman of Sony, and the executive behind J. Lo,
Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan, and dozens of others.
He offered her a management deal on the spot. Weeks
later, Cassie struck a deal with NextSelection to
produce her album, and was invited on a promo tour in
Germany to promote a single called "Me &
U" that had been leaked on the internet and become
a huge club hit there.
Though it was hard to believe, before she knew it, she
was on her way to becoming an international celebrity,
performing for thousands of fans, signing her first
autographs, and taking pictures with DJs that fell in
love with her sweet attitude and girl-next-door
personality.
Then came the requests... R&B singer Mario invited
her to be the lead (and only) girl in the video for his
single "Here I Go Again", Missy Elliot picked
Cassie to be the face of her Adidas "Respect
M.E." clothing line, Clean & Clear put her in a
commercial, Complex magazine featured her in a swimsuit
spread, and Target department store chose her to be on
their prime billboard space in Times Square.
Judging by this whirlwind of success over the past year,
Cassie's future seems to have "star" written
in it. Not bad for a girl who broke a school tradition
to follow her heart and write her own rules.
Shortly after being introduced to music producer Ryan
Leslie, Ventura's mother supposedly[citation needed]
asked Ventura to record a song for her as a birthday
gift. Ventura approached Leslie, who wrote a duet for
them called "Kiss Me". Leslie played the track
for Tommy Mottola, who offered Ventura a management
deal. Ventura inked a deal with Leslie's NextSelection
label. Leslie also co-wrote and produced Ventura's first
single, "Me & U", in 2005. By March 2006,
Ventura had signed with Diddy's record label, Bad Boy
Records.
On its release, "Me & U" proved to be a
massive hit - particularily in the US. It took the
charts by storm, reaching number three on the Billboard
Hot 100, number four on the Billboard Pop 100, and
number one on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart. Follow-up single "Long Way 2 Go" was
far less successful in comparison, peaking at
ninety-seven on the Billboard Hot 100.
As of June 2007 Cassie & Ryan has officially left
Bad Boy. According to inside sources at Bad Boy Records,
she and her manager Ryan Leslie are officially on their
own. Tells the source, "They [Cassie and Ryan] have
been released from Bad Boy. We wish them the best ...
but Bad Boy still retains an interest in [Ryan's indie
label] NextSelection Lifestyle Group." On Cassie's
Myspace page, she lists her record label as Indie (not
Major as stated before). and she's already removed Diddy
from her Friend's list...
Currently she is working on her second album, which is
currently untitled. Ryan Leslie and Robin Thicke have
been confirmed producers. Billboard reported that
Ventura's second album is due out September 18, 2007.
Cassie Ventura Profile,
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