Early life

Mitchell was born in Madisonville

Madisonville, Kentucky

Madisonville is a city in Hopkins County, Kentucky, United States of the Western Coal Field region, located along US 41 and The Pennyrile Parkway. The population was 19,307 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hopkins County. The city was named in honor of U.S...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 to "Cowboy" Louie, who had quite a bit of fame as a performer, and Paulette Mitchell.

Mitchell grew up in Huron, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, a small town just north east of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

. In 1998, Tonya was performing country music at a regional benefit for St. Jude's Hospital when Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake

Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...

's grandfather, Bill Bomar, heard the young teen sing. Excited by her voice, the man approached Tonya and introduced himself. He told Tonya that Justin was his grandson and that he could help her break into the music industry.

Tonya did not think much about this but later it led to her signing with Justin Timberlake's management company, JustinTime Entertainment and being managed by Justin's mother, Lynn Harless. Tonya was later signed to Universal Records

Universal Records

Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...

 and entered the studio to record her twelve-song debut album.

"I Represent"

On February 27, 2001, a few weeks after recording her album, Mitchell's first single, "Broken Promises" hit the radio stations. The song reached #36 on Radio & Records

Radio & Records

Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...

' CHR/Pop tracks chart and peaked at #17 on the in late April. Following the release of the single, Mitchell released her debut solo album, "I Represent", on April 10, 2001.

In 2001, Tonya was asked to be one of the opening acts for the NSYNC Pop Odyssey Tour. This helped Tonya's career as she began making appearances at venues and performing in front of audiences of fifty thousand plus. Mitchell shared the stage with some of the world's biggest acts today which included: Nelly

Nelly

Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album...

, Boys II Men, Lil Romeo, Dream

Dream

Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...

 and Tyrese

Tyrese

Tyrese Darnell Gibson , also known simply as Tyrese, is an American R&B singer, rapper, actor, author, former fashion model and MTV VJ. After releasing several albums, he transitioned into films, with lead roles in several Hollywood releases.-Early life:Gibson was born in Los Angeles, California,...

.

After the tour ended, Mitchell performed at various radio shows throughout the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, including a performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...

.

The End Of An Era

In July 2001, Tonya's father, Cowboy Louie Mitchell, died. Following the heartache of losing her father, Tonya was dropped from Universal Records

Universal Records

Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...

. She decided to step away from the recording industry to spend time with her family.

Albums

• April 10, 2001 I Represent

Track Listing

• 1 I Represent (Brian Kierulf; Josh Schwartz; Nate Butler) - 3:07
• 2 Broken Promises (Dino Esposito; Scot Rammer) - 3:36
• 3 Stay (Cheryl Yie; Gen Rubin) - 5:16
• 4 You're The One I Want (Chris Liggio; Kimberly Leadbetter) - 3:03
• 5 Place Like This (Greg Charley; Mark Mueller) - 4:35
• 6 Wasted Breath (Dino Esposito) - 4:08
• 7. Little Too Late (Brian Kierulf; Josh Schwartz) - 4:02
• 8 I Don't Wanna Fall In Love (Denise Rich; Gen Rubin) - 4:47
• 9 Only One (Denise Rich; Gen Rubin) - 3:32
• 10 Turn Around (Denise Rich; Gen Rubin) - 4:39
• 11 I Cry Real Tears (Linda Thompson-Jenner; Reed Vertelney) - 4:03
• 12 Should I Stay (Dave Katz; Steven Wolf) - 4:02

Singles

• Release Date: February 27, 2001 Broken Promises

peaked at #17 on the on April 28, 2001
(1)

Year	Title	Chart Positions				Video Director	Album
		U.S. Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	UK Singles UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	AUS Singles
2002 2002 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...	"Broken Promises"	17	5	22	6	-	I Represent

External links

• Tonya Mitchell Fan Club-Creator of this Wiki page
• Tonya Mitchell Fan Club Myspace Page
• Official Tonya Mitchell Myspace Page