Terra



Ava Beverley Smith-Parker (born September 4th, 1985) known as, Terra is a Barbadian R&B/Pop singer/songwriter. In 2008, Terra was signed with record label, Lost & Found Records and soon released her debut album, “Terrarism”. She is best known for her breakthrough number one singles, “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “They Call Me Goldie” and her work with the former R&B superstar, the late Kiara. She is also part of a collective of writers and producers known as The Click.

Early life
Ava Smith-Parker attended the West Terrace Primary School at the age of 5 in Barbados and attained grades to attend the island's prestigious Queen's College Secondary School at the age of 10. However, in 1994, Terra and her parents relocated to Brooklyn, New York in search of a better life as a recession had hit Barbados at the time. For about three years they changed houses monthly looking for the right place to settle down until they found a suitable apartment building in Manhattan. Shortly after moving to Manhattan, Terra's mother Jocelyn died from breast cancer and Terra was left with her father and her older brother Damian.

At the age of 15, Terra joined a hip-hop group entitled, “Young N Fresh” and they performed at several parties and events in New York City, even making it into a few nightclubs. They recorded several mixtapes and were named New York’s Best Underground Group of 1999 as well as 2001.

In 2003, Terra tried out for CBS' Star Search but was unsuccessful, not even making it past the first round. She eventually left Young N Fresh and attended The New York Institute of Music & The Arts majoring in Music Production and Theatre. There, Terra met the members of The Click and they officially formed the group after their graduation.

2008-2009: The Click and Terrarism
At the start of 2008, Terra and her colleagues of The Click initiated a deal with some of their previous professors in order to attain funding for a new project which they entitled, "LifeSaver". With sufficient funds, the team managed to get into contact with XoNE Records and were recruited for the production of one of their new acts' singles. By July. the single, "Rollerblades" was written and fully produced and the label selected it as the first single for debut act, Synkronii. It soon reached the top spot on iTunes and on November 8, the single went straight to number one on the Hot Singles Chart with sales of 116,376. Response to the single from critics was so positive that XoNE Records decided to use the group for the production of the majority of the album.

Following this success, The Click went on to produce for more mainstream artists such as Maya Smith, Kiara, Jenna B and more making even more number ones. With the spotlight focused on The Click, team members received a call from new label, Lost & Found Records who were looking for new acts. Terra decided to take the opportunity while it was there and scored a record deal on the spot.

By late November, Terra had begun to record music for her debut album in New York with full promotion coming from the label. Terra announced via her Myspace blog that she was experimenting with different sounds such as Rock, Pop and Indian music which strayed from her strength of R&B/Hip-Hop and Reggae. Strong promotion followed and bloggers began to rave even prior to the release of her debut single as high expectations had amounted from the success of her discography as a writer and a producer.

In January of 2009 her first single, "Tearin' Up My Heart" featuring Ludar was released and was the number one song for two weeks and went on to receive Grammy nominations for Best R&B Song and Best Rap/Sung Vocal Performance, the latter of which she won. She then released her debut album, "Terrarism" on March 10, 2009. The album received extremely positive critical acclaim and garnered one Grammy nomination prior to its release for "Tearin' Up My Heart". Terra worked with five producers on the album - the members of the Click, Billy Bob, Dale Purple, Rinaya Jumbaya and Killabeatz. The latter produced the second single, "They Call Me Goldie" which, like its predecessor hit number one. The third single, a collaboration with Pop singer, Ethan Randall entitled "Candy Mountain" which was a musical spoof of YouTube's Charlie the Unicorn was not promoted and did not have a music video but still hit number one in Downloads and also went to number three on the Hot Singles Chart. On the album she also collaborated with Nicole Phillips, Calvin Price and The Mannequins. Her work with The Mannequins, entitled "DeadLove" was announced as the fourth single but due to a collapse in the industry it was never released. To date, Terrarism is certified Platinum with sales of 1,224,254 copies after only 14 weeks.

Terra's successful run of singles undoubtedly gave her the title of Best Female Singles Artist of 2009 while her album came close behind sales of pop newbie, Serena Davis and her album, "Crystal Clear".

Future projects
On December 18, 2009, Lost & Found Records published a promotional page on their website entitled, "Terra: The Return Is Near". According to the site, Terra's sophomore album will include production from The Click, Billy Bob, up-and-coming dance-pop/electronica engineer, Jimmy Kwoon and so much more. Rumours have circulated that Terra will be working with Ethan Randall again for her first single but it is yet to be confirmed. The title of her upcoming album is unknown.

Film & Television
Prior to her success in the music industry, Terra managed to gain spots on some of primetime television's more popular shows with appearances on My Wife & Kids, The Game and a brief stint as an extra on Frasier.

After she was signed in 2008, Terra had a supporting role in Kiara's biofilm, I Am Legend. Her performance in that film was highly praised by critics and fans alike.

Philanthropy
After her album release, Terra began the One Heart @ A Time Campaign - initially titled, The Mending Up Your Heart Campaign - whose focus is to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS worldwide and to assist the cardiac wards of hospitals in America. The idea came about from her debut single, "Tearin' Up My Heart" and is funded by UNICEF and Lost & Found Records. In 2009, Terra raised over $3 million for the organization.

Terra is also a proud supporter of breast cancer as she speaks out and performed at several breast cancer rallies in 2008 and 2009.

Personal Life
In January 2009, Terra began dating Terrence J of 106 & Park but a few months afterwards the relationship came to an end. She has often been linked up with co-workers Ethan Randall and Ludar by fans and the press but there have been no official announcements regarding the status of their relationships.

Several rumours were also initiated that Terra was in a sexual relationship with the late Kiara Knowles but she quickly denied those rumours.

Terra currently resides in a penthouse building in New York with her aunt Cheryl and her niece, Kaleecia.

Albums

 * Terrarism (March 10, 2009)
 * Terrarism, Vol. II (October 27, 2010)

Tours

 * 2009: The Destiny & Dynasty Tour with Kiara