Dave Hollister, Case, Adina Howard, and Changing Faces

Born on October 4, Case Woodward grew up in New York City, New York, US listening to R&B legends like Smokey Robinson and Luther Vandross and striving to reach the success achieved by his influential peers Babyface and Mat J. Blige. Case started his music career performing in various R&B groups like Future and Black and progressed towards an occupation as a back up singer, working for pop mainstays such as Usher, Christopher Williams, and AI B. Sure. Case’s hard work behind the scenes finally earned him the opportunity to act as a solo artist. His first single was written by soul diva Faith Evans. The track grabbed the attention of Def Jam Records, eventually leading him into a recording contract with the label.

Case was shuttled into mainstream success with some of his earliest recordings. His single “Touch Me, Tease Me”, which featured appearances by rapper Foxy Brown and singer Mary J. Blige landed on the popular soundtrack to “The Nutty Professor”. The album entered the US Billboard 200 at No. 63 and the R&B Charts at No. 4. His self-titled debut also included this single as well as the hits “More to Love” and “I Gotcha”. The album shot to No. 7 on the R&B Charts and featured material primarily written by Mary J. Blige.

His next album Personal Conversation” went platinum and contained the 3 singles “Happily Ever After” (feat. Beyonce Knowles), “Faded Pictures” (feat. Joe) and “Think of You”. 2001 marked the release of his 3rd and most successful album to date “Open Letter”. The album was his first to reach gold status, though “Personal Conversation” would eventually go on to do so as well. This release contained the R&B chart topping single “Missing You”, which acted as a major commercial boost for the album, pushing it all the way to No. 5 on the US albums chart.

2009’s “The Rose Experience” did not do as well as “Open Letter” on the US charts; however, it matched it’s success on the R&B charts peaking at No. 2. The album was produced by Case and was self-released through his personal label Indigo Blue. Wu-tang member Ghostface appeared as a guest rapper on the track “Shoulda Known Betta”. Case’s follow up album “Here, My Love” came out on 15 June 2010 through Real Talk Entertainment.

Singer-songwriter Adina Howard first came on the scene with the release of her debut album “Do You Wanna Ride?” in 1995. The platinum record propelled Howard to national stardom aided by the hugely popular single “Freak Like Me”. The heavily sexualised and provocative studio album peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 aided by “Freak Like Me” and the subsequent singles “My Up and Down” and “It’s All About You”. Following the release Howard collaborated with Warren G to produce the single “What’s Love Got to Do with It” for the “Police Story 3: Super Cop” soundtrack, followed by a contribution to the “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” soundtrack.

The singer’s sophomore album “Welcome to Fantasy Island” was led by the single “(Freak) And U Know It”, however was shelved by Elektra Records in 1997. A few years later the album was leaked onto the internet, and the track “T-Shirt & Panties” (featuring Jamie Foxx) found its way on the 1998 film “Woo” soundtrack and later released as a single. Howard subsequently released the studio album “The Second Coming” in 2004 after moving to Rufftown Records, led by the single “Nasty Grind”. The album didn’t sell well however, and plans to release a second single were dropped after Howard left the label shortly after the release.

An official mixtape “Let You Hit” followed in 2005 with a host of new songs, remixes and unreleased tracks. The full-length “Private Show” arrived in 2007 led by the singles “L.O.V.A”, “My Hips”, and “Tease”. Following the release the singer took a hiatus from music in which time she started her own restaurant and released her own cook book. Howard returned to music in 2015 with the release of her full-length “The Switch Up” led by the singles “Switch” and “Bad 4 Me”.