Cassie

Cassandra Ventura (born on August 26, 1986) is an American model, R&B and pop singer, and occasional actress. She is best known for her single "Me & U", which became a hit in 2006. She lives in New London, Connecticut and has an apartment in New York.

Early life
Cassie was born in New London, Connecticut, to a Filipino father and an African American & Mexican mother. Cassie graduated from The Williams School, a preparatory school in New London. When she completed high school in 2004, she announced that she would pursue her career in modeling and singing, foregoing college.

Modeling career
At fourteen, Cassie began her career as a model. Represented by Wilhelmina Models, she appeared in print ads for Delia's, Adidas, Abercrombie & Fitch, Seventeen and appeared in a commercial for Clean and Clear, in a swimsuit spread; and was on the prime billboard space in Times Square for the Target Corporation. Cassie is also a spokesmodel for the Sean John women's collection, along with Lauren London; which Diddy said would be released in July 2007. She is also signed to 1/One Management in New York City.


Music career
After high school Cassie moved to New York City and continued modelling; as well attending classes at the Broadway Dance Center. Meanwhile, music producer Ryan Leslie spotted her at clubs and parties in late 2004 frequently. Shortly after a formal introduction to Ryan Leslie, Cassie became the focus of NextSelection. The two wrote a duet called "Kiss Me" and after recording the track, Next Selection made a management move to play the song for music executive Tommy Mottola. Leslie also co-wrote and produced Cassie's first single, "Me & U". Cassie was introduced to Sean "Diddy" Combs by a make-up artist from one of her modeling assignments which helped her to get a shot at a music career.

Before signing with Bad Boy, Cassie's first single, "Me & U", had already hit the airwaves and was a major hit in dance clubs. On its official release, "Me & U" proved to be a hit song. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Billboard Pop 100. Her follow up single, "Long Way 2 Go" was far less successful, peaking at ninety-seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Cassie's debut album, Cassie, was released on August 8, 2006 and sold 321,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. In contrast to her album sales, Cassie's hit single, "Me & U", sold over 1 million digital downloads. To promote her album, Cassie performed on Total Request Live and 106 & Park: BET's Top 10 Live. Her performances were described as "rocky" and "less-than-stellar", but Diddy said that it was due to her inexperience. He said that he would be "with her through her development", and that he has no "questioning on her ability [to sing]". Cassie addressed the events on her MySpace page, saying that she aware that her performances were "pretty bad," and that she was "still getting over stage fright".

MTV News reported in June 2007 that contrary to rumors, Cassie had not been dropped from Bad Boy Records after only releasing two singles from her album, and would be working with producers Kanye West and Pharrell Williams on her second album. In January 2008, Billboard magazine reported that her album is scheduled for release in June 2008, and includes production work from Ryan Leslie, Swizz Beatz, Bryan Michael Cox, Rodney Jerkins and Kanye West.[10] The first single from the album, "Official Girl", will have a video and digital release with rapper, Lil Wayne. The single is scheduled to be released on August 1, 2008, as specified in Cassie's latest internet blog.[11]

Cassie made an appearance in Jay-Z's music video for "Roc Boys" from his album American Gangster, and provided background vocals.[12] She also made a cameo appearance in Kanye West's music video for "Stronger" from his album Graduation.