Amerie is the stage name of Amerie Mi Marie Rogers. She was born on January 12, 1980 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. After her high-school graduation, her family settled down in Virginia while she began to attend Georgetown University, from which she later graduated with a degree in English and fine arts. While living in Washington, D.C., she met producer Rich Harrison, who worked with such performers as Mary J. Blige, and began developing demos with him. This led to a deal with Rise Entertainment and, in turn, Columbia Records. In the spring of 2002, Columbia Records released Amerie’s debut single, "Why Don’t We Fall in Love." The song created a nice buzz for the album "All I Have," which was certified gold by the RIAA and produced another moderate hit for Amerie with "Talkin’ To Me." On April 26, 2005, Amerie released her second album, Touch. As with All I Have, the album was primarily produced by mentor Rich Harrison, who contributed seven (new) tracks to the record; additional productions came from Lil Jon, Bryce Wilson, Red Spyda, and Dre & Vidal. Unlike on her first album, Amerie co-wrote every track but one, "Come with Me", which Harrison wrote. Touch debuted and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and it was certifed gold by the RIAA in August that year. It received two Grammy Award nominations in 2006: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for its lead single, "1 Thing", and Best Contemporary R&B Album. Amerie has since released two more albums, Because I Love It in 2007 and In Love & War in 2009.
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