Minneapolis, MN-born vocalist Auburn grew up listening to contemporary gospel but eventually gravitated toward pop-R&B. Her first experience as a performer was at the age of 13, as a member of Loyal -- a group that once opened for B2K but did not progress beyond that. Solo material uploaded to her MySpace page led to Same Giirl, her debut album, on which she resembled a young Ciara. Released independently in 2007, the album was assisted by production work from Naughty by Nature's Kay Gee. Shorly after touring the U.S. as the opening act for Keyshia Cole, Auburn was swept up by Jonathan "JR" Rotem’s Beluga Heights boutique label. The playful "La La La," featuring Iyaz, was her first single produced by Rotem, and it reached the Billboard Hot 100 in July 2010, released as she continued to work on her second album, which was set to be issued through a deal with Warner Bros. ~ Andy Kellman