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Born in Southampton, New York, singer Samantha Cole had taken music lessons and performed in bands from her early teenage years. However, her big break came when Cole appeared on the MTV dance show The Grind, which led to her soon becoming a regular performer at Tatou in New York City. At Tatou, Cole made the acquaintance of some executives from EMI and soon afterwards cut some demos. Within two weeks, she signed a record deal with Universal and her self-titled debut was released in 1997. With photogenic good looks, an impressive vocal range and an proven group of chartbusters (including David Foster, Nile Rodgers, and Diane Warren) helping, everything was in place for success. Samantha Cole did little, though, failing to reel off the string of expected hit singles, and was soon forgotten. The singer found major success four years later, appearing on Shaggy's Number One album Hot Shot and her song "Bring It To Me" was included on the soundtrack to the television show Dark Angel in 2002. ~ Tom Demalon