Shai (band)

American vocal R&B/soul quartet

Shai

Origin| Washington, D.C., United States
Genres| R&B
Years active| 1991–present
Labels| Gasoline Alley/MCA (1991–1996)
Big Play (1998–1999)
Shai Music (2003–2004)
9 World Wide (2007–2008)
Fight 4 Mu (ALIVE) (2008–present)
Members| Darnell Van Rensalier
Garfield A. Bright
Carl Martin
Marc Gay
Erik Willis (came later, replaced Carl Martin)

Shai (pronounced "shy") is an American vocal R&B/soul quartet that rose to prominence in the 1990s.[1] The group met and formed on the campus of Howard University, influenced by the vocal stylings of Boyz II Men, Jodeci, and Color Me Badd, among others.[2] The group remains best known for their 1992 debut single "If I Ever Fall in Love," which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

## History

[edit]

### Early beginnings and formation

[edit]

Shai (a Swahili word meaning "personification of destiny") was formed on the campus of Howard University.[3] In 1990, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers, Marc Gay, Carl Martin, and Darnell Van Rensalier invited fellow Howard University student Garfield Bright to join their a capella group after two other founding members departed.[2] None of the members had professional singing experience and mostly performed in and around campus for fun, according to Gay.[2]

The group came together seriously after winning a Howard University talent show.[1] From there, they decided to pursue a record deal in New York City but did not receive any offers. Martin later gave Paco Lopez, a local deejay at WPGC radio in Washington, a demo cassette copy of "If I Ever Fall in Love," and he began promoting the single on the air.[4] In September 1992, the group signed with Gasoline Alley/MCA Records and released their debut album later that year.[2]

### 1992-1993: If I Ever Fall In Love and Right Back at Cha

[edit]

Shai released "If I Ever Fall in Love" as the first single from the debut album of the same title,[5] which peaked at No. 2 in the U.S. and sold over two million copies.[6] [4] The next two releases from the platinum album, "Comforter" and "Baby I'm Yours",[7] each peaked at No. 10 in the U.S.

At the insistence of the group members, the video for "Baby I'm Yours" was shot on the Howard University campus.[2] The female love interests, including future television host and model Ananda Lewis, and many of the extras were actual Howard students.

The group's next album release was Right Back at Cha,[8] a remix album that largely consisted of new versions of their previous hits and a couple of new songs. A completely reworked version of their previous hit, "Baby I'm Yours," simply titled "Yours," was released as a single (US No. 63).

In 1993, the group won an NAACP Image Award (Outstanding New Artist), and they performed at Bill Clinton's inauguration along with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, and Diana Ross, among others.[9] Additionally, Shai appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show and The Tonight Show.

### 1994-2001

[edit]

At the beginning of 1994, Shai made a guest appearance on the sitcom "Family Matters" in the episode, "Good Cop, Bad Cop", in a dream sequence.

The group released "The Place Where You Belong," from the Beverly Hills Cop III soundtrack. It was the group's final Top 40 single (No. 32 R&B). In late 1995, their follow-up album Blackface was released[10] (No. 42 Pop & No. 15 R&B). It featured their final R&B Top 20 single "Come with Me" (US No. 43). The 1996 remix, "I Don't Wanna Be Alone" (featuring Jay-Z), peaked at No. 89 in the U.S.[11] It was inspired by Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven Is a Place on Earth."[citation needed]

"Song For You" by Rick Braun, featuring Shai, peaked at No. 39 on the R&B chart in 2001.[12]

## Discography

[edit]

### Albums

[edit]

List of albums, with selected chart positions  Title  | Album details  | Peak chart
positions  | Certification

|
|
|

[13][14][15] | AUS
[16]
...If I Ever Fall in Love |

* Released 1992
* Label: MCA

| 6 | 24  |

* RIAA: Platinum

Right Back at Cha |

* Released 1993
* Label: Gasoline / MCA

| 127 | 140  |
Blackface |

* Released 1995
* Label: Gasoline / MCA

| 42 | 111  |
Destiny |

* Released 1998
* Label: Big Play

| — | —  |
Back from the Mystery System: The Love Cycle |

* Released 2004

| — | —  |
Love Cycle: Back from the Mystery System |

* Released 2007
* Label: 9 World Wide

| — | —  |
Worldwide
(as D-n-G of Shai)  |

* Released 2009
* Label: Fight4Music

| — | —  |
Musically Yours |

* Released June 2018
* Label: Cleopatra Records Inc.

| — | —  |

### Compilations

[edit]

* 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Shai (2001)
* If I Ever Fall in Love: The Best Of (3 re-recorded tracks from the original album) (2011)
* If I Ever Fall in Love: Greatest Hits (same 3 tracks re-recorded with new members Dwayne Jones & George Spencer III) (2011)
* In Concert (2018)

### Singles

[edit]

List of singles, with selected chart positions  Title  | Year  | Peak chart positions  | Album

|
|
|

[17] | US
R&B/HH
[18] | AUS
[19][16] | BEL
(FL)
[20] | GER
[21] | NLD
[22] | NZ
[23] | UK
[24]
"If I Ever Fall in Love"  | 1992  | 2 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 47 | 11 | 5 | 36  | ...If I Ever Fall in Love
"Comforter"  | 1993  | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 24 | —
"Baby I'm Yours"  | 10 | 16 | 70 | — | — | — | 40 | —
"Together Forever"  | — | 89 | — | — | — | — | — | —
"Yours"  | 63 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | —
"The Place Where You Belong"  | 1994  | 34 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | —  | Beverly Hills Cop III
"Come with Me"  | 1995  | 43 | 15 | 91 | — | — | — | 25 | —  | Blackface
"I Don't Wanna Be Alone"  | 89 | 51 | 197 | — | — | — | 27 | —
"Destiny" (promo only) | 1998  | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  | Destiny
"He's Doing You Wrong" (promo only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

## Filmography

[edit]

* Video Personification: Vol. 1 (1993)

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

* NAACP Image Awards (1993), Outstanding new artist - winner[25]
* Soul Train Music Awards (1993), Best New R&B/Soul Artist - nominee[26]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Shai Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
2. ^ a b c d Hunt, Dennis (1993-01-24). "SHAI : R&B; Students' Homework Pays Off". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
3. ^ By (1993-06-21). "SHAI REVIVES, REVISES A CAPPELLA HARMONIES OF '60S". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
4. ^ a b "VIDEO GIRLS? NOT AT SHAI'S CASTING CALL". Washington Post. 2024-03-02. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
5. ^ "If I Ever Fall in Love by Shai".
6. ^ "Shai on Apple Music".
7. ^ "Baby I'm Yours". Spotify. January 1992.
8. ^ "Right Back at Cha - Shai | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
9. ^ "NAACP Image Award winners - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
10. ^ "Blackface - Shai | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
11. ^ "I Don't Wanna be Alone - Shai | Releases | AllMusic". AllMusic.
12. ^ "Shai". Billboard.
13. ^ "Shai Albums and Discography". AllMusic.
14. ^ "Shai Best Songs List: Top, New, & Old". AllMusic.
15. ^ "Shai". Billboard.
16. ^ a b "Shai ARIA Chart history (complete to 2024)". ARIA. Retrieved July 26, 2024 - via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
17. ^ "Shai - US Hot 100". billboard.com. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
18. ^ "Shai - US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". billboard.com. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
19. ^ Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
* Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > Shai in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
* Top 100 peaks to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 249.
* "Come with Me": "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 05 Nov 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 13 July 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
20. ^ "Shai - Belgian Chart". ultratop.be. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
21. ^ "Shai - German Chart". officialcharts.de. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
22. ^ "Shai - Dutch chart". dutchcharts.nl. 20 January 2015.
23. ^ "Shai - New Zealand Chart". charts.nz. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
24. ^ "Shai - UK Chart". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
25. ^ "NAACP Image Award winners - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
26. ^ Valentine, Don. "Shai High". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2024-03-18.

* v
* t
* e

Shai

* Darnell Van Rensalier
* Garfield A. Bright
* Carl Martin
* Marc Gay

Studio albums|

* ...If I Ever Fall in Love  (1992)
* Right Back at Cha (1993)
* Blackface (1995)
* Destiny (1999)
* Back from the Mystery System: The Love Cycle (2004)
* Love Cycle: Back from the Mystery System (2007)

Compilation albums|

* 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Shai (2001)

Single albums|

* "If I Ever Fall In Love"
* "Comforter"

* v
* t
* e

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist

1980s|

* Whitney Houston (1984)
* Vanessa Williams (1988)
* After 7 (1989)

1990s|

* Boyz II Men (1991)
* Arrested Development (1992)
* Shai (1993)
* Brandy (1995)
* Kenny Lattimore (1996)
* Erykah Badu (1997)
* Lauryn Hill (1998)
* Eve (1999)

2000s|

* Carl Thomas (2000)
* Alicia Keys (2001)
* Ashanti (2002)
* Ruben Studdard (2003)
* Kanye West (2004)
* Chris Brown (2005)
* Corinne Bailey Rae (2006)
* Jordin Sparks (2007)
* Jennifer Hudson (2008)
* Keri Hilson (2009)

2010s|

* Willow Smith (2010)
* Diggy Simmons (2011)
* Elle Varner (2012)
* K. Michelle (2013)
* 3 Winans Brothers (2014)
* Jussie Smollett (2015)
* Chance the Rapper (2016)
* SZA (2017)
* Ella Mai (2018)
* Lil Nas X (2019)

2020s|

* Doja Cat (2020)
* Saweetie (2021)
* Coco Jones (2022)
* Victoria Monét (2023)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

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