Tamara Gee

Tamara Gee
Background information
Birth name Tamara Diane Wimer
Also known as Tamara Gee
Born (1972-10-11) October 11, 1972
Seattle, Washington, USA
Origin USA
Genres Pop
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, producer, model
Labels Universal Music Polska
Croatia Records
Adam Gee Records (Music Gee)
Tidal Water Records
Website www.tamaragee.com

Tamara Gee (born Tamara Diane Wimer on October 11, 1972 in Seattle, formerly known as Isis Gee), is an American vocalist, songwriter, producer, programmer, arranger, dancer, and model. She grew up singing and performing from the age of 5, and was a professional vocalist by the time she was 12 years old, winning various singing competitions throughout her adolescence and adulthood, as well as a beauty pageant. Gee opened for legendary vocalist Tony Bennett and his large orchestra after being the featured vocalist on various albums throughout her teen years.[1][2] She released her debut album Hidden Treasure with Universal Music in 2007, while living in Poland.[3] Her single from the album, "For Life", was voted unanimous winner[4] of Piosenka dla Europy, the Polish final for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. Tamara and her song "For Life" was the first Polish entry in history to qualify for the Eurovision final since the new rules were designed in the contest [5] and a French television commentator compared Gee's performance to Celine Dion.[6] A portion of Gee's Eurovision performance was shown on The Oprah Winfrey Show on the "The World's Got Talent'" episode with Simon Cowell where Gee was shown singing amidst legendary former participants Celine Dion, Abba and Julio Iglesias. In 2007 Gee co-wrote and performed "Fate" on DJ Schiller's album Sehnsucht.[7] The album went triple platinum and was nominated for a Grammy.[8] She released her solo EP Christmas Angel in 2009. On November 27, 2014, Tamara released a new highly anticipated album "LOVE, TAMARA" of which she wrote with and was produced by Multi Grammy Award winning producer/songwriter Walter Afanasieff (Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, etc.).[9] She has been named the next Celine Dion.[10]

Gee is the spokeswoman, face and co-creator of NEBU Milano,[11][12] a high luxury Italian cosmetic brand launched out of Milan on November 21, 2013.[13]

Biography

Early life, education

Gee and Tony Bennett

Tamara Gee is of Polish descent. She was born in Seattle, Washington, in the United States as Tamara Diane Wimer.[2] At 8 years old she began singing the National Anthem as a soloist for major Seattle sporting events at the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Mariners and Seattle Sonics games in arenas of 65,000+ people and was singing regularly at such events until her early 20's. Throughout her adolescence, Gee sang and toured the United States with the Seattle Girls Choir studying with Jerry Wright and the Northwest Girls Choir as well as trained privately with vocal coach Maestro David Kyle (Ann Wilson, Geoff Tate, Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, etc.) who Gee stated, taught her how to belt in her chest voice. She began her professional career in music at age 12, performing pop, R&B, classical, jazz, Broadway, and country music.[2] In an Tygodnik Angora Magazine article, Gee shared that the most memorable singing contest she ever entered as a child was when she was 12 years old, both winning the contest and $1,000.00 cash.

Gee attended Kentwood High School in Covington, Washington from 1988 to 1991 receiving awards such as "Most Inspirational Student" and "Most Likely To Succeed". Gee also received music scholarships at the University of Washington, Central Washington University, Pierce College and Highline Community College. She has sung at various events for individuals such as Bill Gates, Paul Allen and the Mayor of Seattle. At 17, Gee received the Best Female Vocalist Award in a singing contest with IMTA (International Modeling and Talent Association) in Los Angeles. California[14] Soon after, she went on to win a scholarship and beauty pageant (preliminary to Miss America) also winning the Talent Award.[14]

At the age of 19 she opened for Tony Bennett and his large orchestra, also touring and recording with various orchestra's and big jazz bands.[14] Before Gee turned 21, she had been the featured vocalist on an array of albums including recording with the Jazz Police, a 24 piece jazz band from Seattle on their 1992 album Phantom Suite. The album was released with Universal Music Group.[15] Gee was also the vocalist for Room to Move, featuring on the band's album No Time for Daydreams,[16] as well as the featured vocalist with the Bobby Medina Band (Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, etc.).[17]

During her Asia tour she also performed with McCoy Tyner (John Coltrane, Stanley Clarke, Bill Evans).[18] After moving to Los Angeles, Gee worked with songwriter Steve Dorff (Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston).[14]

In 2000, she starred in Jericho.

Polish releases

Behind stage at Dancing With The Stars

In 2004 she married Adam Gołębiowski[19] and moved to Warsaw, Poland.[3][20] She continued to pursue her career in Poland and released her debut album Hidden Treasure with Universal Music in 2007.[3] Grammy Award-winning engineer Simon Gogerly assisted and mixed the entire album, as well as her single "For Life".[21] KK co-produced three tracks on the album.

In 2007, Gee worked with German DJ Schiller (Christopher von Deylen) on his new album Sehnsucht, co-writing and performing the song "Fate", which was released with Universal Music. The album and song received Platinum, selling over 200,000 units in a few months time.[7] The album went triple platinum and was nominated for a Grammy.[8]

In 2007, Gee also took part in Dancing with the Stars: Taniec z Gwiazdami on TVN in Poland. She reached the quarter final, ranking a top 5 position out of 14 couples. Her dance partner was world champion Ukrainian dancer Zora Korolyov. During her last performance, she broke her ribs, hit her dance partner's knee, and ended up in the hospital.[22] She performed at the semifinal of Taniec z Gwiazdami (season 6) and in the final of the program, Gee was the special guest featured singing Caruso with a large orchestra. On August 2008 in Kraków, Gee and Korolyov were chosen as one of four couples from the program's history to take part in a Guinness Book of World Records event, where they are recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for teaching 1,600 couples to dance the cha-cha.

In 2008, Gee recorded and performed her Christmas compositions from her album Christmas Angel with the Harlem Gospel Choir in New York City and Warsaw, Poland.[23] According to the liner notes, the album was dedicated to her cousin Mindy, who had died in a car crash earlier that year.

Eurovision Song Contest

Gee's song "For Life", which she had written and produced, was chosen from among over one hundred songs as one of twelve entries to participate in Piosenka dla Europy, the Polish national final for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. During the live broadcast on February 23, 2008, her entry was selected to represent Poland at Eurovision 2008. She received the maximum points by both the jury and text voting from the public.[4]

At the semi-final, Gee qualified for the final receiving 42 points and placing 10th; the top 10 entries qualified for the final.[5] As of 2014, Gee was the first Polish representative to have ever reached the Eurovision final with the new format of semifinals and final selection rules which were designed due to the 40+ countries in the contest presently (My Słowianie by Donatan and Cleo became the next song to qualify for the final with this format in the 2014 contest).[5] In the final "For Life" was awarded 14 points, received from the United Kingdom and Ireland [24] and a French television commentator compared her performance to Celine Dion.[5][25] Dima Bilan of Russia won first place in the 2008 contest, though his victory's integrity was questioned by Ukraine's officials later in May.[26] Gee was referred to by Angora Magazine as "Miss Eurovision" in an article entitled "Huge Swindle" Eurovision 2008.[27]

At Eurovision

She was also voted the most beautiful contestant in Eurovision by the National Broadcaster of Serbia RTS,[28] and was nominated as one of the top 5 best female vocalists in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.[29] In the poll website Eurovision ESC Today, Gee was nominated in two categories - Best Performance by a Vocalist and Best-Dressed Performer.[30] She rated 3rd in an online poll as "Best female vocal performance" in the 2008 Contest.

On May 11, 2009 a portion of Gee's Eurovision performance was shown on The Oprah Winfrey Show during the "The World's Got Talent with Simon Cowell" episode. In the clip Gee is shown singing amidst Celine Dion, Abba and Julio Iglesias.[31] She was also featured singing on European television programs such as the The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in Ireland.[32] In 2009, Gee re-appeared during Piosenka dla Europy to perform as a guest act.[33]

Before Eurovision she had performed in over 35 countries in one year's time, including at venues such as the Scala Club in London.[34]

Recent years

Producer Walter Afanasieff and Tamara Gee
Music videos

In 2007, she signed to Universal Music Poland where she released the album Hidden Treasure and an associated music video with the single.[2] As of 2013 she has released four music videos for songs she has written, including "Hidden Treasure," "What You See," "For Life," and "How About That."[35]

Recent releases

In 2010 she recorded the duet ballad single "Live" with Jacques Houdek and co-produced the song with Canadian writer and producer Tino Izzo (Celine Dion). The song was recorded in London and released as a single by Croatia Records.[36]

In 2012 she released an EP single and the first song she and Anders Hansson produced together, entitled "How About That". Hansson is the author of the Agnes Carlsson songs Release me and "On and On". Gee wrote, programmed and arranged "How About That" in Italy and co-produced with Anders' team of producers from Sweden,[37] including Marta Grauers, Erik Arivander (Lady Gaga - Alejandro), Felix Person and Adam Gee.[38]

In November 2014, Gee released her highly anticipated album "LOVE, TAMARA" of which she wrote with and was produced by Walter Afanasieff (Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, Barbra Streisand, Leona Lewis, Christina Aguilera and others).[9][39] As of 2013, she is managed by Jim Morey Management in Los Angeles. (Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Miley Cyrus) The first single from her album was released on February 14, 2014 entitled "Your Alibi" along with a music video clip featuring some scenes of Gee and Afanasieff recording in Los Angeles.[40] Also in November 2014, Gee was on the cover of the high luxury beauty and fashion magazine "Milano World" and her album "LOVE, TAMARA" was released in Italy with the magazine.

Gee and Mr. Mazzolari, at the brand opening of NEBU Milano
NEBU Milano

After moving part-time to Italy with her husband, in 2011 Gee was approached to be the spokeswoman and face of NEBU Milano,[11][12] a luxury cosmetic brand that sells 24 carat golden plated cosmetics with Swarovski Crystal elements. Gee is the face, ambassador and co-creator of the prestigious brand which was launched out of Milan on November 21, 2013 in Mazzolari perfumeries. Gee and NEBU Milano have been featured in various Italian magazines, including Vogue Italia released during fashion week in Milan, REVE Italian Beauty Magazine, a 2014 edition of Italian luxury Magazine "Shopping For You"[41] and fashion and beauty magazine "Milano World", where Gee was reviewed as the perfect fit of beauty and talent in representing the brand, and comparing her vocal capacity to Celine Dion. Gee and the brand have also been featured in Polish editions of ELLE, InStyle, Gala and Twoj Styl, where the brand won Best New Brand of the year 2014 at the magazines annual gala event. Also in 2011, Gee was on the cover of Shopping For You.[41] In November 2014, Gee was showcased in various articles related to the brand in Milano World magazine. As of 2016, NEBU Milano is available in the most luxurious perfumeries around the world.

Voice

Tamara is a soprano noted to have a vocal range that spans over four octaves and is known for her powerful belt and strong vocal tambour. She has been named the next Celine Dion.[10]

Personal life

Tamara Gee is currently living in Los Angeles[42] and traveling to a variety of countries globally for concerts and appearances related to NEBU Milano.[13]

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Year Title Album
2007 "Hidden Treasure" Hidden Treasure
"What You See"
2008 "For Life"
"Fate" Sehnsucht
"Christmas Angel" Christmas Angel
2009 "Times of Change" Inauguration of Barack Obama
"Too Far From Here" RubikOne
"Sleep Away the Day" Underwater Love
2010 "Live" Live
2011 "How About That" How About That[43]
2011 "How About That" CutFather Remix, Promid Remix
2014 "Your Alibi" Love, Tamara[44]
2015 "I will be strong"

References

  1. ↑ http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/year/participant-profile/?song=24529
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Isis Gee" (in Polish). Universal Music: Poland. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  3. 1 2 3 "Isis Gee" (in Polish). Universal Music Polska. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  4. 1 2 "Isis Gee to Eurovision". ESCToday. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Final". Eurovision.tv. 2008-05-24. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  6. ↑ http://palcoprincipal.sapo.cv/bandasMain/isis_gee/video/yTaqRhXge6w
  7. 1 2 "News". Schiller Server. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  8. 1 2 "Not Found". InfoMusic.pl. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  9. 1 2 "Contact Us". TamaraGee.com. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  10. 1 2 Second Celine Dion
  11. 1 2 "Isis Gee: Sharp Cheddar Popcorn Mix" (in Polish). Region. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  12. 1 2 "Isis Gee twarzą włoskich kosmetyków (Isis face of Italian cosmetics)" (in Polish). Plotek. April 8, 2010. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  13. 1 2 "Evento Nebu". Mazzolari. November 21, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "About Isis Gee". Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  15. ↑ Bowers, Jack (May 1, 2002). "The Jazz Police: Daniel Barry -- Phantom Suite / The Music of Daniel Barry (2002)". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  16. ↑ "Nelda Swiggett Trio". NeldaSwigget.com. March 2010. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  17. ↑ "Blazin'". WorldCat. 2000. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  18. ↑ "All Kinds of Everything: Poland 08". Internet Archive. July 30, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  19. ↑ Adam Gołębiewski
  20. ↑ "Poland 2008 - Artist Biography". EBU. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  21. ↑ "Simon Gogerly Discography". SimonGogerly.com. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  22. ↑ "Co się stało Isis Gee?". Muzyka (in Polish). 2007. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  23. ↑ "Christmas Angel". Discogs. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  24. ↑ "esctoday.com awards: Vocal performance results". ESC Today. December 25, 2008. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  25. ↑ "Isis Gee Eurovision Class Performance versus the Circus". PalcoPrincipal.sapo.cv. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  26. ↑ Украина заявляет о фальсификации результатов "Евровидения-2008" NEWSru.com, 29 May 2008.
  27. ↑ "Wielki szwindel". Angora Magazine (in Polish). 2008-06-02. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  28. ↑ "Isis voted most beautiful contestant of Eurovision!". EuroVisionFamily.com. May 18, 2008. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  29. ↑ F, Steve (December 8, 2008). "Esctoday.com announces award categories: Best female vocals". Marija Serifovic Fan Site. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  30. ↑ "esctoday.com awards: the nominations!". EsctoDay.com. December 2, 2008. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  31. ↑ "Tamara Gee on Oprah". TamaraGee.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  32. ↑ "Isis Gee in Ireland". The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. YouTube. 2008. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  33. ↑ Laufer, Gil (2009-02-14). "National final in Poland". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  34. ↑ Davies, Russell (May 1, 2008). "Exclusive London interview with Isis Gee. Poland: From Miss America to Eurovision". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  35. ↑ "Tamara Gee Official Videos". IsisGee at YouTube. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  36. ↑ "Olovni Ples - Daj Mi Malo Vjere (Official Video)" (in Polish). Croatia Records. 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  37. ↑ "Poland: Isis Gee talks to esctoday.com". Esctoday.com. January 27, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  38. ↑ "Taneczna Isis Gee: Co ty na to? (Rozmiar tekstu: A A A Dance Isis Gee: What do you think?)". Muzyka (in Polish). January 25, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  39. ↑ "Pamiętacie Isis Gee? Powraca jako Tamara Gee (slajd 9 z 10)". Muyzka (in Polish). Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  40. ↑ Tamara Gee "Your Alibi"
  41. 1 2 "Lady in Gold". Shopping for You (in Italian). Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  42. ↑ "Isis Gee zaczyna nowe życie (Isis starts a new life)". Muyzka (in Polish). April 26, 2009. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  43. ↑ "Muzyka". muzka.onet.pl. Retrieved 2013-11-13.
  44. ↑ "Dyskotekowa Isis Gee - zobacz jej taneczny teledysk w Onet.pl - Onet Muzyka". Muzyka.onet.pl. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tamara Gee.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
The Jet Set
with "Time To Party"		 Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest
2008 		Succeeded by
Lidia Kopania
with "I Don't Wanna Leave"
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