Anyone who has attended any of Clay's concerts -- is sure to have come away moved and impressed by the vocal performances of Quiana Parler, one of the vocalists who sings with Clay. She is not only a fantastic performer, she is also a close friend. She is on tour again this summer.
She has been wonderful about helping us with our site and always accessible for questions. I can't thank her enough for always being there for us.
Here is a little bit we learned about Quiana:
Quiana was born on December 27, 1979, in Charleston, South Carolina. She grew up just outside of Charleston, in the tiny (population just over 600) historic community of Harleyville. Although her family is small, they are very close. Her grandparents lived nearby, and her parents have been married for 27 years. She has one younger brother, Malik who recently graduated from college and is a photojournalist at a local news station. She also has a beautiful son Chamberlin who just recently turned one.
She knew she wanted to become a singer when she was still a little girl. Initially, she took dance classes (ballet and tap) but, in Quiana's words "she sucked at it" and, so, that was not something she felt especially motivated to continue. Then, when she was in the second or third grade--around the time when she was eight--she heard her mother and father singing at home, while rehearsing for a wedding. That was it--she knew that she wanted to become a singer. Quiana was a talkative and outgoing child. Her parents told her that she always loved to entertain people when they came over to visit at the family home. Even when she played, she sang. Everyday, she and her brother would sing and dance together in their grandmother's backyard. At the age of eight, she proved how serious she was about her love of singing when she began studying voice at Charleston's Dock Street Theater, under the direction of June Bonner.
As Quiana grew up, her musical influences were many -- more than she could possibly name: Whitney Houston, Sara Vaughn, Ray Charles, Dianne Reeves, Ella Fitzgerald, and more. She listened to as many musical artists as possible, and tried to infuse their styles and techniques into her singing.
Despite her love for singing, when Quiana moved to Charleston in 1998 to attend the College of Charleston she majored in Mass Communication, and, with her love of children, actually had hopes of someday becoming a pediatrician. However, with a voice like Quiana's, and with a growing desire to use that voice to entertain and inspire others, she began more and more to focus on making singing her full-time occupation.
On October 17, 2002, Quiana tried out for a guaranteed audition for American Idol through WCCB, the Charlotte, NC, Fox affiliate TV station. She won, beating out a fellow contestant by the name of Clayton Aiken. (Clay, of course, refused to take "no" for an answer and drove to Atlanta to try again.) Quiana went on to Atlanta, and, then, Hollywood, and became one of the top 49 finalists in the American Idol 2 contest--an impressive achievement. It was during the audition and selection process that she came to know and love Clay as a friend and fellow artist. When Clay headed out on his first post-American Idol Tour, with Kelly Clarkson, it was Quiana he called to help provide backup vocals for the two singers.
Quiana continues to make singing a focus of her life. She has performed on many national television shows, such as Saturday Night Live, Jay Leno, the View, the Today Show, and many more. She has opened for such well-known jazz and R & B artists as Phil Perry, Alphonso Blackwell, Paul Taylor, Keith Sweat, The Dolphins, Waymon Tisdale, Mike Phillips, and Ann Nesby. Currently, Quiana has been working with David Foster, Bianca Ryan from the TV show "America's Got Talent", and Renee Olstead from the TV show "Still Standing". In addition to performing, she is also the owner of “The Voice Box,” where she teaches voice to aspiring singers.
Quiana said on her website that, “the most significant musical event of 2004 was my performing at Madison Square Garden. Here my dreams met reality. In that moment, it dawned on me that we can really manifest whatever is our hearts desire." Of course, this was before she had Chamberlin. He was born on June 14, 2006.
Like Clay, she feels that artists have a responsibility to inspire -- that they are accountable for the art they produce, and the feelings that art creates. She looks forward to the future--to her own musical and personal evolution, and to sharing, and using, the gift of her voice to connect and inspire.